JP7655396B2 - Airflow control device, airflow control system, airflow device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an air blowing control device that controls the air blowing direction of an air blowing device that agitates air, an air blowing control system , and an air blowing device that can control the air blowing direction.

Portable air blowing devices such as electric fans and circulators can blow air upwards by being equipped with a swivel mechanism that allows the blower to be pointed straight up.

When such a conventional blower is used to agitate air in a closed space such as a room, the user carries and places the blower in an empty space in the room or in a place that is assumed to be suitable for agitating the air, and operates the blower by fixing the blower so that it faces in the direction that the blower should be directed, or by adjusting the blower so that it faces when swinging. The direction that the blower should be directed is, for example, a location where the temperature distribution of the indoor air is biased, and by blowing air in that direction, the indoor air can be agitated and the temperature of the indoor air can be made uniform.
In this case, since the user cannot visually check the temperature distribution of the air, the airflow direction may not necessarily be aligned with the direction in which the temperature distribution is biased, and the temperature of the indoor air cannot be uniformed effectively. For this reason, for example, the electric fan disclosed in Patent Document 1 is designed to blow air in the direction where the room temperature is likely to be high based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. Specifically, multiple temperature detection ranges are set, and air is blown toward the detection range where the temperature difference between the average temperature of all the detection ranges and the temperature of each detection range is greater than a predetermined value.

JP 2015-224603 A

The electric fan of Patent Document 1 detects the temperature distribution of an object with an infrared sensor provided in the electric fan and controls the direction of airflow from the electric fan. Since the electric fan is portable and installed anywhere in the room, it is difficult to determine the direction of airflow from the temperature distribution information obtained from the air conditioner.
The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an air-blowing control device that can use a temperature sensor provided in an air conditioner to control the air blowing direction of an air blowing section provided in an electric fan in accordance with the temperature distribution in the room.

The air blowing control device of the present disclosure includes a first temperature sensor fixed in a room, a portable air blowing unit that can be placed at any position in the room, an estimation unit that inputs temperature information indicating the temperature of an object detected by the temperature sensor and estimates the temperature distribution of the object and position information of the air blowing unit based on the temperature information, and a control unit that controls the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit and the position information of the air blowing unit.

The air blowing control device disclosed herein includes an estimation unit that estimates the temperature distribution of an object based on temperature information and the position information of the air blowing device, and a control unit that controls the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit and the position information of the air blowing device. Therefore, the position of a portable air blowing unit that can be placed at any position in the room can be estimated from temperature information from a temperature sensor fixed in the room, and the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit can be set to a direction corresponding to the temperature distribution in the space.

Schematic diagram of temperature distribution and detection results in a room according to the first embodiment FIG. 1 is a plan view and a side view of an electric fan equipped with a blower control device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electric fan equipped with a blower control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Flowchart showing the operation of the air blower control device A plan view of temperature information obtained based on temperature information of the ceiling abfe. Interior perspective view from walls a, b, c, and d 1 is a flowchart showing an operation of an estimation unit according to a first embodiment. Plan view of a plane passing through nm and parallel to wall abcd A perspective view with the temperature sensor A at the center An explanatory diagram of each position when the temperature sensor A is the center of view. Plan view of the ceiling obtained in the first embodiment A plan view of temperature information obtained based on temperature information of the ceiling abfe. Schematic diagram of temperature distribution and detection results in a room according to the first embodiment FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric fan and an air conditioner according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric fan equipped with a blower control device according to a second embodiment. A plan view of temperature information obtained based on temperature information of the ceiling abfe.

Embodiment 1.
1(a) and 1(b) are schematic diagrams of a room for explaining an overview of an air flow control device 4 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, showing a state of a room 1 in which an air conditioner 2 is installed. The air conditioner 2 is installed on a wall abcd of the room 1, and an electric fan 3 is placed as an air blower equipped with the air flow control device (not shown) according to the first embodiment in the corner formed by the walls efgh, adhe, and floor cdhg.
When the air conditioner 2 is operated in heating mode, the air in the indoor space is heated by the warm air blown from the air outlet 21 of the air conditioner 2. Even if the air outlet 21 is facing downwards, high temperature air is lighter than low temperature air, so the high temperature air gathers at the top of the room 1, and the temperature in the room 1 is not uniform, resulting in temperature bias, that is, temperature unevenness. Fig. 1(a) shows an example of the temperature distribution in the room 1 when the air conditioner 2 is operated in heating mode, showing how the temperature near the ceiling far from the air outlet 21 in the room 1 is higher than the temperature in other places. In Fig. 1(a), area T1 is an area above a predetermined temperature, and area T2 is an area within area T1 that can be called a hot spot with higher temperatures.

With this temperature distribution, users near the floor cdhg cannot feel the heating effect, so it is necessary to circulate and stir the air in the indoor space with the electric fan 3. Therefore, the electric fan 3 equipped with the air blowing control device 4 of the first embodiment is adapted to direct the air blowing direction of the electric fan 3 in a direction that stirs the air in the indoor space more effectively in a situation where there are temperature unevenness in the room 1.
For this reason, the airflow control device 4 of the first embodiment first detects the temperature of the object in the room 1, for example, the wall and the ceiling, with a temperature sensor A22 (not shown) provided in the air conditioner 2, and obtains the detection result as shown in Fig. 1(b). Fig. 1(b) shows a case where the temperature of the ceiling abfe and the wall bcgf is detected by the temperature sensor A22, and shows an area T3 on the ceiling abfe that is above a predetermined temperature, an area T4 that is higher than the temperature in this area T3, and an area T5 on the wall bcgf that is above a predetermined temperature. Then, the airflow control device 4 estimates the temperature distribution of the space as shown in Fig. 1(a) from the detection result of the temperature of the object as shown in Fig. 1(b), and controls the airflow direction of the electric fan 3 based on the estimated temperature distribution. The control means, for example, directing the electric fan 3 facing the wall efgh in the airflow direction. The airflow direction in this case is, for example, the direction of area T2 where heat buildup occurs. By blowing air in the direction of area T2, the heat buildup can be eliminated and the temperature of the indoor air can be made uniform.

The blower control device 4 of the first embodiment will be described in more detail below. FIG. 2(a) is a plan view of the electric fan 3 as a blower device equipped with the blower control device 4 of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2(b) is a side view of the electric fan 3. The electric fan 3 includes a base 31, a support column 32 supported by the base 31, and a blower section 33 supported by the support column 32. The blower section 33 includes a drive motor 331 (not shown) and a blade 332 rotated by the drive motor 331, and further includes a swing mechanism 34 (not shown) that changes the blowing direction of the blower section 33. The swing mechanism 34 includes a rotation angle control mechanism that rotates the blower section 33 to the left and right of the support column 32 around the support column 32, and an elevation angle control mechanism that swings the blower section 33 in the elevation angle direction of the blowing direction, i.e., up and down.

Since the electric fan 3 is portable, it can be installed anywhere in the room. To determine the airflow direction of the electric fan 3 from the temperature information obtained from the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner, the temperature distribution of the object and the position information of the blower are estimated from the temperature information of the object detected by the temperature sensor A22, and the airflow direction of the blower unit is controlled, so that the airflow direction of the blower unit can be set to a direction according to the temperature distribution in the room using the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the electric fan 3 and the configuration of the air conditioner 2 installed in the room 1.
The air blowing control device 4 of the first embodiment includes an estimation unit 41 that inputs temperature information indicating the temperature of the object output from the temperature sensor A22 and estimates the temperature distribution in the space between the object whose temperature is detected and the temperature sensor A22 based on the input temperature information, a control unit 42 that controls the blowing direction of the blower unit 33 by controlling the swing mechanism 34 based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit 41, and a high temperature position acquisition unit 43 that acquires the position of the high temperature area of the object. The air blowing control device 4 also includes a communication unit 35 that communicates with the air conditioner 2. The high temperature position acquisition unit 43 in the air blowing control device 4 of the first embodiment previously stores the actual width L0 of the wall bcgf and the actual width Wr of the wall efgh.

The air conditioner 2 includes a blower section 20 that blows air when the air conditioner 2 is in operation, an outlet 21 that blows the air from the blower section 20 into the room 1, a temperature sensor A22 as an air conditioner temperature sensor that detects the temperature of an object in the room 1 and outputs two-dimensional temperature information, and a communication section 23 that transmits the temperature information of the object detected by the temperature sensor A22 to the communication section 35 of the air blowing control device 4. The temperature sensor A22 is configured to be rotatable in the vertical and horizontal directions. Communication between the communication section 35 and the communication section 23 may be performed indirectly or directly via an indoor router using a wireless communication method such as WiFi. The temperature sensor A22 detects the temperature of the object based on infrared rays emitted from the object to obtain a heat distribution, and detects the temperature of the object closest to the sensor's line of sight, such as a person, a wall in the room, or an air conditioner.

Next, the operation of the airflow control device 4 configured in this manner will be described. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the airflow control device 4. Here, a case will be described in which the air conditioner 2 is performing heating operation and the electric fan 3 is used as a circulator. In this case, a user of the electric fan 3 places the electric fan 3 at a desired location in the room 1 and performs an operation to operate the electric fan 3 in circulator mode. As a configuration for performing this operation, for example, a button for starting operation in circulator mode is provided on the electric fan 3.
When an operation is performed to operate the electric fan 3 in circulator mode, the air blowing control device 4 starts up in step S1, and in step S2, the estimation unit 41 estimates the position of the heat pool, i.e., area T2, as part of the temperature distribution in the space inside the room 1, based on temperature information detected by the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2.

The operation of estimating the position of area T2 will be described below. In the first embodiment, for example, it is assumed that the temperature of the hot spot area T2 shown in Fig. 1(a) is reflected in the temperature of the ceiling abfe shown in Fig. 1(b), and the position of the hot spot area T2 is obtained based on the position of the high temperature area T4 on the ceiling abfe. For this purpose, first, the coordinates (xp, yp) of the high temperature area T4 on the ceiling abfe are obtained. For example, these coordinates are expressed by taking the corner point b of the ceiling abfe as the origin, and expressing the distance xp in the X-axis direction and the distance yp in the Y-axis direction from the origin as coordinates.
Fig. 5 is a plan view showing temperature information obtained by performing processes such as coordinate conversion on the temperature information of the ceiling abfe detected by the temperature sensor A22, and shows temperature information expressed in a two-dimensional coordinate system when the ceiling abfe is viewed from above. In Fig. 5, area T4 is an area with a higher temperature than other parts, and the center or center of gravity of area T4 is set as point p, which represents area T4, and the coordinates of point p are (xp, yp).

In embodiment 1, we explain the case where the temperature information used to estimate the position of the hot spot is temperature information obtained from a temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2.

The operation of estimating the position of area T2 will be described below. When temperature sensor A22 captures an image in the direction of ceiling abfe, temperature information as shown in the perspective view of Figure 6 is obtained. In Figure 6, side mn is a straight line that passes through electric fan 3 and intersects a plane parallel to wall abcd with the ceiling abfe when electric fan 3 is placed in the position shown in Figure 1. This temperature information can be viewed as image information such as a one-point perspective view, and the estimation unit 41 acquires such temperature information from the air conditioner 2 and, based on this temperature information, determines the coordinates (xp, yp) of representative point p of high-temperature area T4 on the ceiling abfe as high-temperature position information.

6 acquired by the estimation unit 41 indicates the relative positions of the walls of the room 1 and area T4, but does not include information on the length that serves as the reference for the coordinates in the room 1, and therefore the coordinates of area T4 cannot be identified as is. For this reason, the estimation unit 41 estimates the coordinates of the heat pool using the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2 and information on the known length.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing detailed operation of step S2 by the estimation unit 41 of the air blowing control device 4 in embodiment 1.

First, in step S21, the estimation unit 41 sends a signal (hereinafter referred to as a temperature information request signal) to the air conditioner 2 via the communication unit 23, requesting temperature information detected by a temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2, and the control unit 42 starts the drive motor 331 provided in the electric fan 3.
The air conditioner 2 detects temperature information of objects in the room 1 by the temperature sensor A22 for use in controlling temperature and wind direction by the air conditioner 2. This temperature information is obtained by the temperature sensor A22 capturing an image of infrared light within its detection range, and is two-dimensional information indicating the temperature of objects within the detection range, such as walls, ceilings, and objects placed in the room 1, and also includes temperature information of the location where the electric fan 3 is placed, and is information that indicates the approximate shapes of these objects.

When the air conditioner 2 receives a temperature information request signal from the air blowing control device 4 via the communication unit 23, it transmits the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor A22 to the air blowing control device 4 via the communication unit 23 before and after receiving the temperature information request signal. After this, the air conditioner 2 continues to transmit temperature information to the air blowing control device 4 via the communication unit 23 on a regular basis.

After transmitting a temperature information request signal for the room 1 in step S21, the air blowing control device 4 identifies the position of the electric fan 3 in the temperature information captured by the temperature sensor A22 in step S22. Before the air conditioner 2 receives the temperature information request signal, the drive motor 331 of the electric fan 3 is not running, and after receiving the temperature information request signal, the drive motor 331 of the electric fan 3 starts up and generates heat. Therefore, by comparing the temperature information, i.e., the temperature information when the drive motor 331 is not running and when it is running, the location where the temperature difference is large can be identified as the location where the electric fan 3 is located. Note that the position of the electric fan 3 at this point in time is the position in the two-dimensional temperature information obtained by the temperature sensor A22 capturing an image of its detection range.

Next, in step S23, when the temperature information transmitted from the air conditioner 2 is received, the following process is carried out to estimate the distance between the air conditioner 2 and the electric fan 3 in the room 1 using the received temperature information.
The temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2 and the blower section 33 of the fan 3 can both rotate vertically and horizontally, and the state in which the temperature sensor 22 faces directly in front of the air conditioner 2 and the state in which the blowing surface of the blower section 33 of the fan 3 is parallel to the walls a, b, c, and d are respectively defined as states in which the rotation angles in the vertical and horizontal directions are 0 degrees, and this is defined as the reference state.
Fig. 8 shows a plan view of a plane passing through nm and parallel to the wall abcd. In Fig. 8, the blower 33 of the electric fan 3 is in a reference state. In the plan view of Fig. 8, the width of the electric fan 3 is WFA, and the width of the room is WRA. In the perspective view of Fig. 6, the width of the electric fan 3 is WFB, and the width of the room is WRB. The suffix A indicates the actual size, and the suffix B indicates the size on the perspective view.
The outer diameter of the blower fan is determined for each fan, and the data is stored in the control unit. In Fig. 6, points on a plane (YZ plane) parallel to the wall abcd are seen to be reduced in the same ratio as the actual size. Therefore, the actual width of the room WRA can be estimated by calculating the ratio between the outer diameter WFB of the fan 3 on the perspective view when the elevation angle is zero degrees and the reference angle is zero degrees and multiplying the ratio by the actual outer diameter WFA of the blower fan.
WFA:WRA=WFB:WRB...(1)
∴WRA=(WRB/WFB)×WFA...(2)
The height of the room can also be calculated using a similar ratio. In Figure 8, the width of the room is HRA. In Figure 6, the height of the room is HRB.
WFA:HRA=WFB:HRB...(3)
∴HRA=(HRB/WFB)×WFA...(4)

In the depth direction and X direction as viewed from the temperature sensor A 22, the farther away it is, the smaller it appears to be, so there is no simple proportional relationship. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a plane parallel to the wall abcd, passing through nm, with the temperature sensor A as the visual center, with the blower section 33 of the electric fan 3 in the reference state. Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship of each position when the temperature sensor A is the visual center. Using Figs. 9 and 10, the actual size in the X direction can be estimated as follows from the relationship with the visual center in the perspective view.
Since Fig. 9 is a one-point perspective view, the line segments parallel to the line of sight converge at the center of the view. In Fig. 9, the length in the vertical direction (Z direction) from the center of the base of the electric fan 3 to the center of the view is ZCB, and the length from the center of the base of the electric fan 3 to the outer periphery of the base of the electric fan 3 (i.e., the radius of the base of the electric fan) is ZBB. ZBB is a value specific to the electric fan and is stored in advance.

10 is a perspective view showing a state in which information on a floor surface parallel to the walls a, b, c, and d is converted into a perspective view. The information on the floor surface is observed through the perspective surface. The actual size of the radius of the base of the electric fan is XBA, and the length in the X direction from the temperature sensor A22 to the outer periphery of the base of the electric fan 3 is XCA.
Here, the following proportional relationship holds:
ZBB:ZCB=XB1A:XC1A=XBA:XCA...(5)
∴XCA=(ZCB/ZBB)×XBA...(6)
In other words, the length on the floor from the viewpoint to the object can be calculated by multiplying the ratio of the length of the object on the floor parallel to the line of sight on the perspective drawing to the length from the object to the center of view by the actual size of the object.
Thus, LX can be obtained.
XCA+XBA=XA1+XA2=LX...(7)

XBA is a unique value for each electric fan, and ZBB and ZCB are obtained from temperature information detected by temperature sensor A22, so it is possible to estimate the distance LX in the X direction between temperature sensor A22 of air conditioner 2 and electric fan 3. By using this LX as length information that serves as the reference for the X direction of the coordinates in room 1, it becomes possible to identify the coordinates (xp, yp) of area T4, i.e., the high temperature position information.

In step S24, the coordinates (xp, yp) of the high temperature area T4 on the ceiling abfe are found using the distance LX between the air conditioner 2 and the electric fan 3 found in step S23.
Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a schematic representation of temperature information obtained based on temperature information of the ceiling abfe detected by the temperature sensor A22 of the air conditioner 2, and shows temperature information when the ceiling abfe is viewed from above and expressed in a two-dimensional coordinate system. Fig. 12 shows a plan view of temperature information obtained based on temperature information of the ceiling abfe.
12, the center or center of gravity of area T4 is defined as point p representing area T4, and the coordinates of point p are (xp, yp). In order to find the coordinates (xp, yp) of point p represented in this two-dimensional coordinate system, temperature information of the ceiling abfe obtained from the temperature sensor A22 is used.
The temperature information of the ceiling abfe obtained from the temperature sensor A22 is captured from the viewpoint of the temperature sensor A22, and just as objects that are far away appear smaller than objects that are closer, even if the actual dimensions are the same length, they are captured at different lengths depending on the distance from the temperature sensor A22. However, since the ratio of lengths of objects at the same distance does not change, and using similar shapes in the temperature information and the distance LW from the temperature sensor A22 to the blades 332 of the fan 3 calculated in step S23, the coordinates (xp, yp) of point p in the temperature information in Figure 13 can be calculated.

Specifically, in temperature information as shown in FIG. 12 which is virtually represented, a straight line passing through area T4 and parallel to side ab is designated as LA1, a diagonal line of the rectangle abnm which passes through area T4 is designated as LA2, and the intersection of line segments LA1 and LA2 is designated as point p. Point p is assumed to be a point which represents area T4, and the coordinates (xp, yp) of point p on the ceiling are found to be the coordinates of area T4.
To find the coordinates (xp, yp) in the temperature information in Fig. 12, the temperature information of the ceiling abfe obtained from the temperature sensor A22 is used. First, similar to the lines and points defined in Fig. 11, the lines and points in the temperature information in Fig. 12 are defined as follows. The line segment that passes through area T4 and is parallel to side ab is defined as LB1, the line segment connecting point a and point n is defined as LB1, and the intersection with line segment LB1 is defined as point p representing area T4. Also, the line segment that passes through point b and point p and extends to side mn is defined as LB3, and the intersection with line segment LB3 and side mn is defined as point q.

12, the length of side ab is YB1, the length of side mn is YB3, and the length from point n to point q is YB2. The distance between side ab and line segment LB1 is XB1, and the distance between side mn and line segment LB1 is XB2.
Since side mn is in the back, it appears smaller than YB1, and YB2 also appears to be reduced by the same scale.
YA3:YA2=YB3:YB2...(8)
From this,
YA3/YA2=YB3/YB2...(9)
It is.
Since triangles abp and nqp are similar, the homothetic ratio XA1:XA2 in the X-axis direction is the same as the homothetic ratio YA3:YA2 in the Y-axis direction. Therefore,
XA1:XA2=YA3:YA2...(10)
From this,
XA1/XA2=YA3/YA2...(11)
It is.
Then, from equations (8) and (10),
XA1/XA2=YB3/YB2...(12)
It is.
In this way, based on the ratio YB3/YB2 in the temperature information of the ceiling abfe detected by the temperature sensor A22 of the air conditioner 2, the ratio XA1/XA2 in the temperature information representing the ceiling abfe in a two-dimensional coordinate system can be obtained.

As described above, once XA1/XA2 is found and the actual size of (XA1+XA2) is known, the value of XA1, i.e., xp, the X coordinate of point p, can be found. The actual size of (XA1+XA2) is LX. From this (XA1+XA2) and the above XA1/XA2, xp, the X coordinate of point p in Figure 7 of T4, can be found.

In addition, the Y coordinate of point p can be calculated as follows. If the distance from the intersection s with side bn to T4 on the line segment LB1 in FIG. 11 is YB4, and the distance from the intersection with side am to point p is YB5, then
LB1=YB4+YB5...(13)
When the ratio between LB1 and YB4 in the line segment LB1 in FIG. 7 is reflected in FIG. 12,
YA4=YA1×{YB4/(YB4+YB5)}...(14)
Since YA4=yp, the Y coordinate yp of point p can be found by equation (14).

As described above, the coordinates (xp, yp) of area T4 can be found based on the temperature information of the ceiling abfe obtained from the temperature sensor A22 of the air conditioner 2.
In step S24, the coordinates of the high temperature area on the wall bcgf are obtained in a similar manner.

Next, proceeding to step S25, the estimation unit 41 estimates that the heat pool in the temperature distribution of the space in the room 1 is in the direction of the high temperature area from the obtained coordinates of the high temperature areas of the ceiling abfe and the walls bcgf. The estimation unit 41 may also calculate the position of the heat pool in the spatial temperature distribution of the room 1 from the obtained coordinates of the high temperature areas of the ceiling abfe and the walls bcgf. This heat pool is assumed to be a three-dimensional space in the room 1, and its position is calculated. Specifically, the heat pool is assumed to be a three-dimensional space where two cylinders extending vertically from each bottom intersect, with a circle of radius 5 cm centered on the coordinates of the high temperature areas of the ceiling abfe and the walls bcgf as its base, and the representative point of the three-dimensional space, or the area occupied by the three-dimensional space, is estimated to be the position of the heat pool.

The above operations from step S21 to step S25 estimate the position of the hot spot in step S2, and then the process proceeds to step S3, where the control unit 42 controls the oscillating mechanism 34 based on the position of the hot spot estimated in step S2, and the oscillating mechanism 34 directs the airflow direction of the blower 33 toward the hot spot. This eliminates the hot spot by blowing air in the direction of area T2 in Figure 1, and makes it possible to equalize the temperature of the indoor air.

As described above, in embodiment 1, the temperature of objects such as the walls, ceiling, etc. in the room 1 is detected by the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2, the temperature distribution in the room 1 is estimated from the detection results of the temperature of the objects, and the air blowing direction of the electric fan 3 is controlled based on the estimated temperature distribution, thereby eliminating heat accumulation in the room 1 and making the temperature of the indoor air uniform.
According to embodiment 1, length information serving as the reference coordinates within the room 1 is obtained based on temperature information detected by the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2, so that the position of the hot spot can be estimated without performing complex coordinate transformation, and the temperature of the indoor air can be made uniform.

Embodiment 2.
13(a) and 13(b) are schematic diagrams of a room for explaining an overview of the airflow control device 4 of the first embodiment according to the present disclosure, showing the state of a room 1 in which an air conditioner 2 is installed. The air conditioner 2 is installed on a wall abcd of this room 1, and an electric fan 3 is placed in the corner formed by the walls efgh, adhe, and the floor cdhg as an air blower equipped with the airflow control device (not shown) of the second embodiment. Everything except the electric fan 3 is the same as in FIG. 1 shown in the first embodiment.

The blower control device 4 of the first embodiment will be described in more detail below. FIG. 14(a) is a plan view of the electric fan 3 as a blower device equipped with the blower control device 4 of the second embodiment, and FIG. 14(b) is a side view of the electric fan 3. The electric fan 3 includes a base 31, a support 32 supported by the base 31, and an air blower 33 supported by the support 32. The air blower 33 includes a drive motor 331 (not shown) and a blade 332 rotated by the drive motor 331, and further includes a swing mechanism 34 (not shown) that changes the blowing direction of the air blower 33. The swing mechanism 34 includes a rotation angle control mechanism that rotates the air blower 33 left and right, and an elevation angle control mechanism that swings the air blower 33 in the elevation angle direction, i.e., up and down. In addition, a temperature sensor B5 is provided on the upper part of the electric fan 3 to detect the temperature of an object and output detected temperature information indicating the detected temperature.

The electric fan 3 is portable and installed anywhere in the room. To determine the airflow direction of the electric fan 3 from temperature information obtained from the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner, the temperature distribution of the object and the position information of the blower are estimated from the temperature information of the object detected by the temperature sensor A22, and the airflow direction of the blower is controlled, so that the airflow direction of the blower can be set to a direction according to the temperature distribution in the room using the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the electric fan 3 and the configuration of the air conditioner 2 installed in the room 1.
The air blowing control device 4 of the first embodiment includes an estimation unit 41 that inputs temperature information indicating the temperature of the object output from the temperature sensor B5 and estimates the temperature distribution in the space between the object whose temperature is detected and the temperature sensor B5 based on the input temperature information, a control unit 42 that controls the blowing direction of the air blowing unit 33 by controlling the swing mechanism 34 based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit 41, and a high temperature position acquisition unit 43 that acquires the position of the high temperature area of the object. The air blowing control device 4 also includes a communication unit 35 that communicates with the air conditioner 2. The high temperature position acquisition unit 43 in the air blowing control device 4 of the first embodiment previously stores the actual width L0 of the wall bcgf and the actual width Wr of the wall efgh.

Next, the operation of the air blowing control device 4 configured in this manner will be described. Here, a case will be described in which the air conditioner 2 is performing heating operation and the electric fan 3 is used as a circulator. In this case, a user of the electric fan 3 places the electric fan 3 at a desired location in the room 1 and performs an operation to operate the electric fan 3 in circulator mode. As a configuration for performing this operation, for example, a button for starting operation in circulator mode is provided on the electric fan 3.
When an operation is performed to operate the electric fan 3 in circulator mode, the air blowing control device 4 is started in step S1, and in step S2, the estimation unit 41 estimates the position of the heat pool, i.e., area T2, as a temperature distribution in the space within the room 1, based on temperature information detected by the temperature sensor B5 provided in the electric fan 3.

The operation of estimating the position of area T2 will be described below. In the second embodiment, for example, it is assumed that the temperature of the hot spot area T2 shown in Fig. 13(a) is reflected in the temperature of the ceiling abfe shown in Fig. 13(b), and the position of the hot spot area T2 is obtained based on the position of the high temperature area T4 on the ceiling abfe. For this purpose, first, the coordinates (xp, yp) of the high temperature area T4 on the ceiling abfe are obtained. For example, these coordinates are expressed by taking the corner point b of the ceiling abfe as the origin, and expressing the distance xp in the X-axis direction and the distance yp in the Y-axis direction from the origin as coordinates.
Fig. 16 is a plan view showing a schematic representation of temperature information obtained by performing processing such as coordinate conversion on the temperature information of the ceiling abfe detected by the temperature sensor B5, and shows temperature information expressed in a two-dimensional coordinate system when the ceiling abfe is viewed from above. In Fig. 16, area T4 is an area with a higher temperature than other parts, and the center or center of gravity of area T4 is set as point p, which represents area T4, and the coordinates of point p are (xp, yp).

The temperature information of the ceiling abfe obtained by the estimation unit 41 from the temperature sensor B5 is captured from the viewpoint of the temperature sensor B5, and even if the actual length is the same, objects that are far away are captured at different lengths depending on the distance from the temperature sensor B5 so that objects that are far away appear smaller than objects that are close by. In order to match this temperature information with the actual size of the ceiling abfe, the estimation unit 41 performs coordinate transformation on the temperature information captured by the temperature sensor B5. This coordinate transformation corrects the ratio of the sides bf and fe to match the ratio between the length L0 of the side bf, which is the width of the wall bcgf stored in the high temperature position acquisition unit 43, and the length Wr of the side fe, which is the actual width of the wall efgh, and also corrects the difference in apparent length due to the distance from the temperature sensor B5. The coordinates (xp, yp) of representative point p of high temperature area T4 on ceiling abfe can be calculated from the ratio of the lengths of the X and Y axes from the origin b to point p in the temperature information represented by a plan view such as that in Figure 16, the length L0 of side bf, and the length Wr of side fe, which is the actual width of wall efgh.

The estimation unit 41 also obtains temperature information of the wall bcgf from the temperature sensor B5, and determines the coordinates of the high-temperature area T5 on the wall bcgf in the same manner as when determining the position of the high-temperature area on the ceiling abfe. In the same manner as the operation described in the first embodiment, the position of the hot spot as the temperature distribution in the space of the room 1 is determined.

In this manner, the position of the hot spot is estimated in step S2, and the process proceeds to step S3, where the control unit 42 controls the oscillating mechanism 34 based on the position of the hot spot estimated in step S2. Specifically, the control unit 42 drives the oscillating mechanism 34 so that the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit 33 is in the direction of the hot spot.
By the operations from step S1 to step S3, the electric fan 3 blows air in the direction of the hot area T2.

As described above, in embodiment 2, the temperature of objects such as the walls and ceiling in room 1 is detected by temperature sensor B5 provided on fan 3, the temperature distribution in room 1 is estimated from the detection results of the temperature of the objects, and the air blowing direction of fan 3 is controlled based on the estimated temperature distribution, thereby eliminating heat accumulation in room 1 and making the temperature of the indoor air uniform.
According to the second embodiment, the temperature sensor B5 provided in the electric fan 3 detects the temperature of an object such as the ceiling, so that the electric fan 3 alone can constitute a blower device that can equalize the temperature of the indoor air. Also, compared to the first embodiment, the configuration includes two temperature sensors, so that the accuracy of estimating the position of the hot spot in the room can be improved.

In any of the above embodiments, when estimating a hot spot as a temperature distribution in space, an example has been described in which a circle with a radius of 5 cm centered on the coordinates of the high temperature areas of the ceiling abfe and walls bcgf is assumed to be a three-dimensional space where the base and cylinder intersect as the hot spot. However, the shape, size, and direction of extension from the bottom are not limited to these, and it is sufficient if the space of the hot spot can be estimated based on the high temperature areas of the two objects. For example, if no overlapping space is created when extending vertically from the bottom, adjustments such as increasing the radius of the base or changing the direction of extension can be made to create an overlapping space.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the air conditioner 2 is in heating operation and the temperature distribution in the space is described as a case in which high-temperature hot spots are located near the ceiling. However, when the air conditioner 2 is in cooling operation, the position of low-temperature hot spots in the temperature distribution in the space may be estimated and air may be blown.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the temperature distribution in a space is estimated using temperature information from multiple objects, i.e., the ceiling abfe and the walls bcgf, but the temperature distribution in a space may be estimated from temperature information from a single object. For example, if the area of area T3 or area T4 is large, it may be estimated that the hot spot is near the ceiling, and if the area is small, it may be estimated that the hot spot is far from the ceiling.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the temperature information used to estimate the position of the hot spot is described as temperature information obtained from the temperature sensor B5 provided in the electric fan 3 or the temperature sensor A22 provided in the air conditioner 2, but the temperature information may also be obtained from other sensors, for example, from a temperature sensor installed in the room independently of the air conditioner 2 and the electric fan 3.
Furthermore, as temperature information used to estimate the position of the hot spot, the high temperature position acquisition unit 43 may acquire high temperature position information indicating the position of the high temperature area in the temperature information from the outside, and estimate the position of the hot spot based on this high temperature position information.

2 Air conditioner, 3 Electric fan, 4 Air blowing control device, 5 Temperature sensor Temperature sensor B, 20 Air blowing section, 21 Air outlet, 22 Temperature sensor A, 23 Communication section, 33 Air blowing section, 34 Swing mechanism, 35 Communication section, 41 Estimation section, 42 Control section, 43 High temperature position acquisition section, 331 Drive motor, 332 Blade

Claims (9)

an estimation unit that receives temperature information indicating the temperature of an object detected by a first temperature sensor fixed in a room, estimates a temperature distribution of the object based on the temperature information, and estimates position information of a portable air blower device that is placed at an arbitrary position in the room and has an air blower unit that blows air from the temperature information before the air blower unit is started and the temperature information when the air blower unit is started to generate heat;
a control unit that controls the blowing direction of the blower unit based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit and position information of the blower unit. The air blowing control device described in claim 1 , wherein the estimation unit estimates a temperature distribution in the space between the object and the first temperature sensor based on the temperature information, and the control unit controls the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit. The air blower control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the estimation unit includes a high temperature position acquisition unit that acquires high temperature position information indicating the position of a high temperature area in the temperature information, and estimates the temperature distribution based on the high temperature position information. The air blowing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the estimation unit inputs multiple pieces of temperature information obtained by detecting the temperatures of multiple objects, and estimates the temperature distribution based on the multiple pieces of input temperature information. The air blowing control device described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the first temperature sensor is an air conditioner temperature sensor provided in an air conditioner, and is equipped with a communication unit that receives temperature information indicating the temperature of an object detected by the air conditioner temperature sensor, and outputs the received temperature information as the temperature information input to the estimation unit. The air blowing control device as described in claim 5, characterized in that the air blowing device is provided with a second temperature sensor that detects the temperature of an object and outputs detected temperature information indicating the detected temperature of the object as the temperature information input by the estimation unit. The blower control device described in claim 6, characterized in that the estimation unit inputs the detected temperature information output from the second temperature sensor provided in the blower device and the received temperature information output from the communication unit, and estimates the temperature distribution based on the input detected temperature information and received temperature information. A first temperature sensor fixed in the room;
A portable air blowing device that is disposed at an arbitrary position in the room and has a blowing unit that blows air;
inputting temperature information indicating a temperature of the object detected by the first temperature sensor, estimating a temperature distribution of the object based on the temperature information, and estimating the temperature information before starting the blower unit;
an estimation unit that estimates position information of the air blowing device from the temperature information when the air blowing unit is activated and generating heat;
a control unit that controls the blowing direction of the blower unit based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit and position information of the blower device. A portable air blowing device that is provided with an air blowing unit that blows air and is placed at any position in a room,
an estimation unit that detects a temperature of an object, estimates a temperature distribution of the object based on temperature information indicating the temperature of the object detected by a first temperature sensor fixed in the room, and estimates position information of the air blowing device from the temperature information before the air blowing unit is started and the temperature information when the air blowing unit is started to generate heat;
a control unit that controls a blowing direction of the blower unit based on the temperature distribution estimated by the estimation unit and position information of the blower unit.

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