Abstract: Pulse waves and ballistocardiac waves propagate to a piezoelectric vibration sensor 110 attached to a seating surface 102 of a chair 100, and are output after being converted to electrical signals. Thereafter, the electrical signals are filtered by a low-pass digital filter 202P and a band-pass digital filter 202B, with the pulse waves GP output from the low-pass digital filters 202P and the ballistocardiac waves GB output from the band-pass digital filter 202B. These pulse waves GP and ballistocardiac waves GB are processed by absolute value circuits 212P, 212B and low-pass filters 214P, 214B of envelope-processing circuits 210P, 210B, to obtain envelopes. Then, pulse wave propagation velocity PWV is calculated based on the difference between the peaks of the obtained envelopes. The pulse waves/their velocity can be detected/obtained even when the piezoelectric vibration sensor is not attached directly to the human body.

Abstract: An air conditioner having an indoor unit placed in a room to be heated or cooled, and a draft directing apparatus, such as a vertically tilting louver, which can assume a first position directing an outlet draft toward the location where a user is normally positioned, e.g., downward, and a wecond position directing the output draft away from said location, e.g., upward. The draft directing apparatus is controlled to assume the first position and the second position alternately, in such a manner that the proportion of the time for which the draft directing apparatus is in the first position is adjusted in accordance with the detected temperature of the draft. This adjusts the proportion of the time the draft is directed toward the user, and it is therefore possible to adjust the stimulation affecting the user.