JPH04332330A - Operation controller of air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer an air-conditioner which is useful for a patient or during sleeping by a method wherein operation of the air-conditioner is controlled using the blood flow amount of a human body as a control parameter. CONSTITUTION:Inside an air-conditioned space 3, the blood flow amount of a vein near the skin of a human body is detected by a blood flow detector 31. An optimum value of blood flow amount equivalent to neutral zone of sensible temperature is previously determined from the change pattern of blood flow amount and stored in a memory 22. Operation of an air conditioner is controlled by an operating controller 21 so that the measured blood flow amount approaches the optimum value stored. As the change in the blood flow amount before and after the neutral zone of sensible temperature is sharpest and is easy to detect, the air conditioner is controlled using the blood flow amount as a control parameter to perform air-conditioning useful for a patient and during sleeping.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation control device for an air conditioner, and more particularly to one that maintains a room at a comfortable temperature that makes the human body feel comfortable.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-1252
As disclosed in Publication No. 43, the thigh region, which has a high correlation with the thermal sensation of the human body, is used as an operation control device for an air conditioner.
A temperature sensor detects the skin temperature of areas such as the lower legs and hands, and controls the operation of the air conditioner so that the skin temperature matches a preset comfortable skin temperature. It is a well-known technology to create a comfortable thermal environment based on the above, and to perform air conditioning suitable for the sick, elderly, infants, etc.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, there is not necessarily an accurate correlation between the thermal sensation of the human body and skin temperature, and there are particular individual differences, so it is not necessary to uniformly Even if a comfortable skin temperature is set as a control target, there is a risk that the control target itself may not match the comfortable thermal sensation.

In view of this, the present invention analyzes parameters correlated with the thermal sensation of the human body, and operates an air conditioner according to the parameters that can most acutely determine the neutral range of sensible temperature. The aim is to improve the comfort of air conditioning by controlling the

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the solution means of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Targets operation control devices for air conditioners.

[0006] A blood flow detection means (31) for measuring the blood flow in veins near the skin of the human body, and a device that stores in advance an optimum value of blood flow corresponding to a neutral range of sensible temperature based on the pattern of blood flow changes. an air conditioner that receives the output of the storage means (22) for detecting the blood flow and the blood flow detection means (31) so that the blood flow in veins near the skin of the human body becomes the optimum value stored in the storage means (22). The configuration includes an operation control means (21) for controlling the operation.

[0007]

[Operation] With the above configuration, in the present invention, the operation control means (21) makes the blood flow detected by the blood flow detection means (31) the optimum value of the blood flow stored in the storage means (22). The operation of the air conditioner is controlled accordingly. That is, the thermal environment within the air-conditioned space is controlled to be comfortable for the human body, and the blood flow rate in the veins near the skin of the human body is maintained to converge to a value corresponding to the neutral range of the human body.

[0008] Among the parameters that change according to the sensible temperature of the human body, the change in blood flow is the most remarkable before and after the neutral range of the sensible temperature, and it is difficult to determine whether or not the sensible temperature is in the neutral range. is easy. Therefore, by controlling the operation of the air conditioner using this blood flow rate as a control parameter, it becomes possible to control the operation of the air conditioner with high precision. In particular, the range of the neutral range of sensible temperature varies greatly from person to person, but by using such sensitive parameters, temperature control that takes individual differences into account becomes possible, and temperature control for sick people and during sleep becomes possible. It becomes an air conditioner useful as a control.

[0009]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (1) is an air conditioner main body, and (2) is a controller for controlling the operation of the air conditioner main body (1). La,
(3) is an indoor space as an air-conditioned space whose temperature is controlled by the air conditioner.

In the indoor space (3), a blood flow meter (3) is installed as a blood flow rate detection means for detecting the blood flow rate in the human body.
1) is attached to a human finger (4). The blood flow meter (31) includes a cuff (32) surrounding a human finger (4) in a certain closed space, and an air actuator (33) for supplying air pressure to the cuff (32). , the above cuff (32
) and the above-mentioned finger (4).
LED (3) installed on the back side of the
5) and a photosensor (36) that detects the amount of transmitted light emitted from the LED (35). That is, the photosensor (36) measures the amount of transmitted light from the finger (4), detects the volume increase of the area compressed by the cuff (32), and adjusts the pressure applied to the cuff (32). The blood flow rate is measured based on the following principle from the change in volume of this area when the area is changed.

FIG. 3 shows the principle of measuring blood flow by the venous occlusion plethysmograph method using the above-mentioned blood flow meter (31). B, actual outflow volume C, arterial pressure DP, cuff pressure C
P and venous pressure JP (other than pressure are expressed as relative changes; i.e., air actuator (33
) to maintain a constant cuff pressure (dotted line CP in the figure) on the cuff (32).
The pressure shown in is 70 mmH, which corresponds to the diastolic blood pressure.
When the vein is closed by adding g), there is no inhibition of arterial blood flow, so a rapid increase in the hand volume V accompanied by pulsation occurs. At that time, since the actual outflow blood volume A is completely "0" at the beginning, the inflow volume B during that period (during the first phase in the figure) is equal to the original value. Next, the volume V of the hand after the vein is closed increases with each beat, while the apparent inflow amount A and the actual inflow amount B gradually decrease (second phase in the figure). Then, the volume V of the hand further increases and eventually reaches a certain value. At this time, the venous pressure JP also rises and exceeds the cuff pressure CP, so venous flow passes under the cuff (32) and outflows (
Phase 3). That is, the apparent inflow amount A is expressed as the difference between the actual inflow amount B and the actual outflow amount C. Of the above phases, the volume increase in the first phase immediately after venous closure is converted per unit time and unit volume to determine the blood flow rate in the hand. In other words,
During this period when the apparent inflow amount A is equal to the actual inflow amount B (
The blood flow rate is expressed as the amount of increase in volume per unit time during the first phase).

On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows typical thermophysiological characteristics of the human body (an example of calculation using the Kawashima-Yamamoto model).
(January 10, 981, edited by Akio Nakayama, published by Rikogakusha)
This is disclosed in FIG. 4-107 in FIG. In the figure, Q is metabolic heat production (Kcal/h), F is blood flow (m3/h)
), N is the sweat rate (Kg/h), and θ4 is the skin temperature (
℃), θ5 is the internal temperature (℃), and Q'=Q/Q
o, F'=F/Fo, N'=N/No, θ'=θ
/θo (however, Qo = 802.0 (Kcal
/h), Fo = 0.7595 (m3 /h), No
=0.8753(Kg/h), θo =1.0(℃
)).

In the figure, ① to ② are regions (adjustable ranges) in which the human body can adjust its own body temperature, etc. Among them, the region ■ is a neutral region that is neither hot nor cold, and this neutral region ■
The body regulates body temperature by controlling the release of heat to the periphery through vasodilation and contraction. In addition, region ■ is a low-temperature region where you feel cold, and in this low-temperature region ■, you maintain your body temperature by increasing heat production through shivering. Furthermore, region (2) is a high-temperature region where you feel hot, and in this high-temperature region (2), heat is released in the form of latent heat of evaporation through sweating, thereby regulating your body temperature.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the neutral region ■
Before and after, blood flow F is 0.000658 to 0.0460
(m3/h)). In other words, compared to other parameters such as sweat rate N, skin temperature θ4, and metabolic heat production Q, which change with sensible temperature, the change in blood flow F is the most remarkable before and after the neutral range ■. , the value is constant in the low-temperature region (■) and the high-temperature region (2), so it can be seen that it is easiest to determine whether or not it is in the neutral region (2).

In the controller (2), (22) is a storage device as a storage means, and the storage device (22) stores the value of the blood flow F in the neutral region (for example, 0.000658). ~0.0460(m3/h
) is stored as the control target value. And (21) is a CPU as an operation control means for controlling the operation of the air conditioner body (1), and the CPU (21)
1), the temperature of the air-conditioned space (3) is controlled so that the blood flow F of the finger (4) becomes a target value stored in the storage device (22).

Therefore, in the above embodiment, the CPU (operation control means) (21) stores the blood flow F detected by the photosensor (blood flow detection means) (36) in the storage device (2).
2) The operation of the air conditioner is controlled to achieve the optimal value of blood flow stored in step 2). That is, the thermal environment in the indoor space (3) is controlled to be comfortable for the human body, and the blood flow F in the veins of the finger (4) is maintained so as to converge to the neutral range (3) shown in FIG. 4 above.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4 above, among the parameters that change according to the sensible temperature of the human body, the change in blood flow F is the most remarkable before and after the neutral region It is easy to determine whether or not it is in area (3). Therefore, by controlling the operation of the air conditioner using this blood flow rate F as a parameter, it is expected that the most accurate operation control of the air conditioner can be performed. In particular, the range of the neutral range■ of sensible temperature varies greatly from person to person.
By using such sensitive parameters, it is possible to perform temperature control that takes into account individual differences, and it is therefore possible to provide an air conditioner that is useful for temperature control for sick people and during sleep. .

[0019] In the above embodiment, the blood flow in the finger (4) of the human body is measured, but the part where the blood flow is detected is not limited to this embodiment. It goes without saying that blood flow in veins near the skin in a site, for example, the forearm, may also be measured.

[0020]

As explained above, in the present invention, as an operation control device for an air conditioner, the venous blood flow near the skin of the human body is measured, and the neutral range of sensible temperature is determined from the pattern of blood flow change. The optimal value of the blood flow corresponding to the temperature is stored in advance, and the operation of the air conditioner is controlled so that the measured blood flow converges to this optimal value. By controlling the operation of the air conditioner using the blood flow rate, which has the most acute and easy-to-determine changes before and after the neutral range, as a control parameter, it is possible to achieve high accuracy while taking individual variations into account. It is possible to provide an air conditioner that can perform temperature control and is particularly useful for temperature control for sick people and during sleep.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of an air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the principle of measuring blood flow.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in various parameters with respect to changes in sensible temperature.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Indoor space (air-conditioned space) 21 CPU (operation control means) 22 Storage device (storage means) 31 Blood flow meter (blood flow detection means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: An operation control device for an air conditioner that supplies conditioned air to an air-conditioned space to adjust the temperature in the air-conditioned space, the device comprising: a blood flow rate that measures the blood flow rate in veins near the skin of a human body; A detection means (31), a storage means (22) for storing in advance an optimal value of blood flow corresponding to the neutral range of sensible temperature from a pattern of blood flow changes, and an output of the blood flow detection means (31). an operation control means (for controlling the operation of the air conditioner so that the blood flow rate in veins near the skin of the human body becomes an optimal value stored in the storage means (22));
21) An operation control device for an air conditioner, comprising: