AIR CONDITIONING CONTROL SYSTEM AND NON-TRANSITORY STORAGE MEDIUM TO STORE AIR CONDITIONING CONTROL SYSTEM PROGRAM

Abstract

An air conditioning control system includes: an engine acquisition unit that acquires or generates one or more engines including at least one of a control logic for controlling an air conditioning device or a setting parameter for controlling the air conditioning device; and a device control unit that controls the air conditioning device, using the acquired or generated engine. The device control unit performs control by using at least one or more of each of: an abstract control engine that is a control algorithm and a parameter of the air conditioning device that do not depend on external input/output to/from the device control unit; a preprocessing engine for generating, from information input from outside the device control unit, information suitable the abstract control engine; and a postprocessing engine for generating, from output of the abstract control engine, information suitable for output to the outside of the device control unit.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a U.S. national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2021/004561 filed on Feb. 8, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning control system and an air conditioning control system program for controlling air conditioning of an air conditioning device.

BACKGROUND

When air conditioning is provided by an air conditioning device, different people have considerably different preference and feeling of comfort with regard to an air conditioned environment such as temperature and humidity. For this reason, the control of the air conditioning device needs to be set appropriately so as to provide the air conditioned environment that a user feels comfortable.

In particular, in a case where an air conditioning device is used in an environment, such as a hotel, other than an air conditioned environment under which a user normally spends time, it is relatively difficult to appropriately set the control of the air conditioning device. This is because the same set temperature and set humidity of an air conditioning device often result in different effectiveness of air conditioning and different feel of comfort depending on the air conditioning device or a difference in the environment to be air conditioned.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of storing an ambient condition, which is expressed in physical quantities such as temperature, humidity, and air volume, of a space that a user normally uses such as home, and performing control to reproduce the stored ambient condition in a target space different from the space that the user normally uses.

PATENT LITERATURE

Patent Literature 1: International Publication No. WO 2019/013316

The technique of Patent Literature 1 above performs control to reproduce the target ambient condition expressed only in the physical quantities without changing a control algorithm of the air conditioning device. This poses a problem of failure to change the control or processing, even if a future technological advancement allows for development of processing using a new physical quantity or calculation, control that reduces power consumption without changing target physical quantities, control that reduces power consumption by changing target physical quantities without impairing comfort of a user, and the like. This results in failure to enjoy benefits of the technological advancement.

An example of the processing using a new physical quantity or calculation is processing of measuring the temperature of a specific part of a human body from a thermal image and determining a target temperature of a specific area. An example of the control that reduces power consumption without changing target physical quantities is optimization of control of a device of the air conditioning device. An example of the control that reduces power consumption by changing target physical quantities without impairing comfort of a user is control that performs air conditioning intensively only in the vicinity of a user.

Moreover, the ambient condition which the user feels comfortable changes depending on various factors such as season, climate, clothes, and physical condition. Thus, the control that reproduces the ambient condition expressed in the physical quantities can fail to make the user feel comfortable. To address such a problem, it is necessary to reproduce control taking the user or ambient condition into consideration as well.

Unfortunately, the control of the air conditioning device includes control using various sensors, actuators, and communication devices. For air conditioning devices having different sensors, actuators, and communication devices installed, in many cases, a method of controlling one of these air conditioning devices cannot be simply reproduced as it is on another. That is, in many cases, the control method for one of air conditioning devices having different specifications cannot be simply reproduced as it is on another.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an air conditioning control system that allows a control algorithm used by one of air conditioning devices having different specifications to be reproduced by another.

To solve the above problem and achieve the object, an air conditioning control system according to the present disclosure comprises: an engine acquisition unit to acquire or generate one or more engines including at least one of a control logic for controlling an air conditioning device or a setting parameter for controlling the air conditioning device; and a device control unit to control the air conditioning device, using the engine acquired or generated by the engine acquisition unit. The device control unit performs control, using at least one or more of each of: an abstract control engine that is a control algorithm and a parameter of the air conditioning device, the control algorithm and the parameter do not depending on external input/output to/from the device control unit; a preprocessing engine that is an engine to perform processing for generating, from information input from outside the device control unit, information suitable for input to the abstract control engine; and a postprocessing engine that is an engine to perform processing for generating, from output of the abstract control engine, information suitable for output to the outside of the device control unit.

The air conditioning control system according to the present disclosure has an effect of allowing the control algorithm used by one of the air conditioning devices having different specifications to be reproduced by another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning device of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating transmission of information in a device control unit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing by the air conditioning device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission of information in the device control unit of the air conditioning device of a model A in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission of information in the device control unit of the air conditioning device of a model B in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of a configuration of an air conditioning control system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing by an engine acquisition unit of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a basic example of a processing configuration of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a table illustrating definition examples of the processing configuration of the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a modification of the processing configuration of the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of addition made to the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of addition made to the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing configuration in a case where a preference estimation unit is included in the processing configuration as an engine in the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing configuration in a case where the preference estimation unit is included in the processing configuration as the engine in the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing configuration of the air conditioning control system including an environmental characteristic estimation unit in the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of a third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing in user registration by the air conditioning control system of the third embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing of preference information registration in the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing at the time of engine acquisition in the third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration utilizing preference information in the third embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the configuration of the air conditioning control system of the third embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a processing configuration when preference information is input via a smartphone in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a processing configuration of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a processing configuration of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration in a case where functions of the air conditioning control system according to the first to fifth embodiments are implemented by a computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An air conditioning control system and an air conditioning control system program according to embodiments will be hereinafter described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an air conditioning device in a first embodiment. An air conditioning device 1 in the first embodiment includes a storage unit 2A, a control unit 4A, a communication unit 7, a sensor 8, a remote controller 9, and an actuator 10.

The storage unit 2A stores various types of information used for controlling the air conditioning device 1. The storage unit 2A includes an engine storage unit 2 that stores engines 3.

The engine 3, which is a control engine for controlling the air conditioning device 1, includes at least one of a control logic or a setting parameter for controlling the air conditioning device 1. The engine 3 includes, for example, processing that determines a wind direction or a wind speed, processing that controls the actuator 10 such as a fan, processing that detects a person from the sensor 8 and a threshold for that detection, automatic setting or automatically set values of temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, etc. related to air conditioning control. A physical entity of the engine 3 includes, for example, an executable form such as an executable file or a library, a file having batches or scripts described therein, a setting file having parameters described therein, or a combination of these elements. The physical entity of the engine 3 is not limited to those listed above, but can be any form that stores information necessary for controlling the air conditioning device 1. Also, a plurality of the engines 3 may be stored in one file or one memory area.

The control unit 4A includes an air conditioning control system 4. The air conditioning control system 4 determines a control operation of the air conditioning device 1 and outputs a command value to be transmitted to the actuator 10 or information to be transmitted from the communication unit 7.

The communication unit 7 communicates with a device outside the air conditioning device 1 such as a cloud system 11.

The sensor 8 detects various types of information used for air conditioning control of the air conditioning device 1.

The air conditioning control system 4 includes an engine acquisition unit 5 and a device control unit 6. The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires or generates the engine 3 necessary for the control operation of the air conditioning device 1. The device control unit 6 controls the air conditioning device 1. The device control unit 6 determines the control operation of the air conditioning device 1 on the basis of information input from the communication unit 7, the sensor 8, and the remote controller 9, and outputs the command value to the actuator or the information to be transmitted from the communication unit 7. The remote controller may be hereinafter referred to as a remote control.

The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires one or more of the engines 3 used for controlling the air conditioning device 1 or generates one or more of the engines 3 on the basis of given information, and passes the engines 3 to the device control unit 6. The engine 3 can be acquired using, for example, a method that involves having the engine storage unit 2 available in the air conditioning device 1 as illustrated in FIG. 1, and acquiring the engine 3 stored in advance in the engine storage unit 2.

The engine 3 can be acquired using a method that involves acquiring the engine 3 from outside the air conditioning device 1 at a timing when the engine 3 is needed. The engine 3 can be acquired from outside the air conditioning device 1 using, for example, a method that involves downloading the engine 3 from the cloud system 11 via the Internet. The engine 3 can be generated by, for example, a method that involves receiving a setting parameter such as necessity of individual processing and building a source code on the basis of the setting parameter to obtain the engine 3.

The device control unit 6 controls the air conditioning device 1, using the engine 3 passed from the engine acquisition unit 5. As a specific example, in a case where the engine 3 is in the form of a defined executable file, library, or script, a method of loading the engine 3 on a memory and executing the engine 3 can be used. In a case where the engine 3 is a setting parameter file, a method of reading the setting parameter from the setting parameter file and utilizing corresponding information in control processing can be used. The above methods are merely examples, and the method of controlling the air conditioning device 1 using the engine 3 may be any method that performs control using information included in the engine 3.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating transmission of information in the device control unit in the first embodiment. The transmission of information in the operation of the device control unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The device control unit 6 includes an abstract control engine 14, a preprocessing engine 13, and a postprocessing engine 15. The device control unit 6 performs processing using at least one or more of each of the abstract control engine 14, the preprocessing engine 13, and the postprocessing engine 15.

The abstract control engine 14 is a control algorithm and a parameter of the air conditioning device 1, the control algorithm and the parameter not depending on external input/output of individual devices. The external input/output includes an external input 12 and an external output 16. The external input 12 is an input to the preprocessing engine 13. The external output 16 is an output from the postprocessing engine 15.

The preprocessing engine 13 is an engine that performs processing for generating, from information received from the external input 12, information suitable for input to the abstract control engine 14. The information received from the external input 12 will be hereinafter referred to as “external input information”. The information suitable for input to the abstract control engine 14 is information that can be processed by the abstract control engine 14.

The postprocessing engine 15 is an engine that performs processing for generating, from an output of the abstract control engine 14, information suitable for the external output 16. The information suitable for the external output 16 will be hereinafter referred to as “external output information”. The information suitable for the external output 16 is information that can be processed by a destination of the external output.

Note that FIG. 2 and subsequent drawings illustrate the abstract control engine 14, the preprocessing engine 13, and the postprocessing engine 15, each of which directly performs the processing on the assumption that each of the engines is an executable file or a library. It is to be noted that the essence does not change even in a case where the abstract control engine 14, the preprocessing engine 13, and the postprocessing engine 15 are each a setting parameter file, and control processing reads the setting parameter included in the engine.

The external input information input to the device control unit 6 is first processed by the preprocessing engine 13. Examples of the external input information include temperature, humidity, output of an infrared sensor, settings by the remote control 9, and content of communication with an external device.

The preprocessing engine 13 generates information that does not depend on “variations” of the air conditioning device 1, from the external input 12 of the sensor 8, the remote control 9, communication, etc. that varies depending on the “variations” of the air conditioning device 1. The “variations” include the model of the air conditioning device 1, the option of the air conditioning device 1, and the hardware of the air conditioning device 1. The “variations” of the air conditioning device 1 will be hereinafter collectively and simply referred to as the “model”. That is, the preprocessing engine 13 generates information that does not depend on the model. Moreover, the air conditioning device 1 of a different model can be said to be the air conditioning device 1 having different specifications.

Specifically, the processing performed by the preprocessing engine 13 includes processing of calculating a position, a posture, and an activity of a person and a current temperature of a specific area, from a thermal image obtained from the infrared sensor, and processing of generating information expressed in terms of a physical quantity, from setting of a wind direction or a wind speed that varies depending on the model of an indoor unit of the air conditioning device 1. Examples of the model of the indoor unit of the air conditioning device 1 include a ceiling embedded type, a ceiling suspended type, a wall mounted type, and a floor mounted type as methods of installation. The physical quantity includes, for example, angles from a horizontal plane and a front face of the air conditioning device in the case of the wind direction, or units of m/s in the case of the wind speed.

Thus, the processing performed by the preprocessing engine 13 includes processing of performing calculation on one or more pieces of the external input information input to the preprocessing engine 13 and generating information having a meaning different from that of the input information.

The abstract control engine 14 determines a control operation of the air conditioning device 1 with an input information that does not depend on the model, and outputs information that does not depend on the model of the air conditioning device. Examples of the information not depending on the model include an air temperature, a wind direction, a wind speed, power consumption, contents of which to notify a user, and contents to be communicated to an outdoor unit of the air conditioning device 1 or an external system outside the air conditioning device 1. The contents of which to notify the user include a notification of receipt of an operation of the remote control 9, and an operating state of the air conditioning device 1. The information not depending on the model is expressed in an abstract expression form not depending on the model.

In other words, the processing performed by the abstract control engine 14 includes processing of performing calculation on one or more pieces of information input to the preprocessing engine 13 and generating information having a meaning different from that of the input information. More specifically, the processing performed by the abstract control engine 14 includes processing of performing calculation on one or more pieces of input information given to the abstract control engine 14 and generating information having a meaning different from that of the input information.

Note that the input to the abstract control engine 14 is not limited to the information generated by the preprocessing engine 13, and the external input information that does not depend on the model may be directly input thereto. Alternatively, internal data such as a result of previous control of the air conditioning device 1 may be used for input thereto. The abstract control engine 14 most preferably includes a control function that can provide an appealing specific value for a user, such as control for improving user comfort and control for reducing power consumption without impairing user comfort.

The postprocessing engine 15 generates, from information that does not depend on the model, the external output information such as a command value directed to the actuator 10 or an actual communication content directed to an external system. Specifically, the processing performed by the postprocessing engine 15 includes processing of calculating, from a target wind direction or wind speed expressed in a physical quantity, a command value directed to the actuator 10 such as a fan, a flap, or a louver, and processing of calculating, from a target temperature of a specific area in a room that is a space to be air-conditioned by the air conditioning device 1, a command value directed to the actuator 10, an air temperature, and a heat amount required from the outdoor unit.

In other words, the processing performed by the postprocessing engine 15 includes processing of performing calculation on one or more pieces of information input to the preprocessing engine 13 and generating information having a meaning different from that of the input information. That is, the processing performed by the postprocessing engine 15 includes processing of performing calculation on one or more pieces of input information given to the postprocessing engine 15 and generating information having a meaning different from that of the input information.

As described above, the abstract control engine 14 implements control that is common to different models. The preprocessing engine 13 and the postprocessing engine 15 have a role of concealing such that the abstract control engine 14 does not depend on a specific model by accommodating a difference between the external input or output information varying from model to model and the input/output information common to models.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing by the air conditioning device in the first embodiment. First performed is engine storing processing that stores, in the engine storage unit 2, one or more of the engines 3 including at least one of a logic or a setting parameter for controlling the air conditioning device 1 (step S110). Next, device control processing is performed in which processing, the air conditioning device 1 is controlled using the engine 3 acquired in engine acquisition processing.

In the device control processing, preprocessing is performed first (step S120). The preprocessing is processing performed by the preprocessing engine 13. On the basis of information received from the external input 12, the preprocessing generates information suitable for input to the abstract control engine 14. Next, abstract control processing is performed (step S130). The abstract processing, which is processing performed by the abstract control engine 14, uses a control algorithm and a parameter of the air conditioning device 1 that do not depend on external input/output to/from the device control unit 6. Next, postprocessing is performed (step S140). The postprocessing is processing performed by the postprocessing engine 15. The postprocessing generates, from an output of the abstract control engine 14, information suitable for the external output 16. In the device control processing, the preprocessing, the abstract control processing, and the postprocessing are each performed once or more. That is, the device control processing includes one or more of each of the preprocessing, the abstract control processing, and the postprocessing.

The device control processing is implemented by a computer executing an air conditioning control system program that is a program for performing each of the preprocessing, the abstract control processing, and the postprocessing once or more.

Next, how the engine 3 is utilized between different models will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission of information in the device control unit of the air conditioning device of a model A in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 illustrates the transmission of information including external input/output to/from the device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1 of the model A. The device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1 of the model A includes a model A preprocessing engine 19, an abstract control engine (common) 20, and a model A postprocessing engine 21. For the abstract control engine (common) 20, the term “(common)” indicates that the abstract control engine (common) 20 is used in common with the device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1 of a model B as will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

The model A preprocessing engine 19 used by the air conditioning device 1 of the model A generates information suitable for the abstract control engine (common) 20, using information input from devices such as the remote control 9, and sensors 8, i.e., a room temperature sensor 17 and an infrared sensor 18. The model A postprocessing engine 21 uses input information that is output from the abstract control engine (common) 20, and generates a command value suitable for components such as a fan 22 and a flap 23 used in the air conditioning device 1 of the model A.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission of information in the device control unit of the air conditioning device of the model B in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 illustrates the transmission of information including external input/output to/from the device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1 of the model B. The device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1 of the model B includes a model B preprocessing engine 25, the abstract control engine (common) 20, and a model B postprocessing engine 26.

The model B preprocessing engine 25 used by the air conditioning device 1 of the model B is different from the model A preprocessing engine 19, and can handle information received from the communication unit 7 and the sensor 8, i.e., a high quality infrared sensor 24 both of which are unique to the air conditioning device 1 of the model B. The model B preprocessing engine 25 can also handle information received from the remote control 9 and the room temperature sensor 17. Meanwhile, information output from the model B preprocessing engine 25 is the same as the information output from the model A preprocessing engine 19. Moreover, the abstract control engine (common) is usable in common by the air conditioning device 1 of the model A and the air conditioning device 1 of the model B.

Moreover, the model B postprocessing engine 26 used by the air conditioning device 1 of the model B is different from the model A postprocessing engine 21, and can implement processing unique to the model B such as transmitting data via the communication unit 7 and separately controlling two flaps, i.e., a left flap 27 and a right flap 28. The model B postprocessing engine 26 can also implement processing of controlling the fan 22. As the abstract control engine (common) 20 is common to the air conditioning device 1 of the model A and the air conditioning device 1 of the model B, information to be input to the model B postprocessing engine 26 is the same as that to the model A postprocessing engine 21.

As illustrated in the above example, since the abstract control engine 14 can be used in common by the models, the abstract control engine 14 used in another model can be used as it is. For example, in a case where there is air conditioning control that a user prefers to use for the air conditioning device 1 which the user usually uses, it is possible to introduce exactly the same control processing as the air conditioning control preferably used by the user, to a temporarily used air conditioning device 1 or a newly installed air conditioning device 1, so that comfortable air conditioning control can be implemented immediately without obtaining user feedback. The temporarily used air conditioning device 1 is, for example, the air conditioning device 1 used in a hotel, a restaurant, a karaoke, and a hospital room. The newly installed air conditioning device 1 is the air conditioning device 1 installed in a room of one's home where the air conditioning device 1 has not been installed so far.

Moreover, as illustrated in the above example, since the abstract control engine 14 can be used in common by the models, it is possible to easily introduce control developed by a future technological advancement such as control that provides further improvement in comfort, control that contributes to reduction in power consumption, and control that considers user and ambient conditions.

On the other hand, the preprocessing engine 13 and the postprocessing engine 15 can perform processing utilizing the characteristics of individual models such as the sensor 8, the actuator 10, and the communication function. For example, in the case of using a model including an infrared sensor having an increased number of pixels in a thermal image, the preprocessing engine 13 can execute human body detection processing in accordance with the increased number of pixels to thereby achieve more accurate air conditioning control without changing the abstract control engine 14.

Note that as a purpose of generating information by the preprocessing engine 13 and the postprocessing engine 15 is to eliminate the need for changing the abstract control engine 14 depending on the model, it is not necessary to generate new information regarding input/output that is common to all models and highly likely to be unchanged in the future. The input/output that is common to all models and highly likely to be unchanged in the future is, for example, a set temperature. In the case of the external input information, for example, the external input information may be directly input to the abstract control engine 14, or may be input to the preprocessing engine 13 but directly output to the abstract control engine 14 without conversion.

Moreover, in FIG. 1, the engine acquisition unit and the device control unit 6 are both placed in the air conditioning device 1, but the functional blocks of the engine acquisition unit 5 and the device control unit 6 can be placed in any other manner than as illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the configuration of the air conditioning control system in the first embodiment. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the engine storage unit 2 and the engine acquisition unit 5 may be placed in the cloud system 11. In this case, the communication unit 7 of the air conditioning device 1 can communicate with a communication unit 29 of the cloud system 11. The device control unit 6 can then acquire the engine 3 from the engine acquisition unit 5 via the communication unit 29 of the cloud system 11 and the communication unit 7 of the air conditioning device 1.

As described above, the air conditioning control system 4 of the first embodiment is configured to perform control by using at least one or more of each of: the abstract control engine 14 that is the control algorithm and the parameter of the air conditioning device 1 that do not depend on the external input/output to/from the device control unit 6; the preprocessing engine 13 that is the engine for performing the processing of generating, from the information input from outside the device control unit 6, the information suitable for input to the abstract control engine 14; and the postprocessing engine 15 that is the engine for performing the processing of generating, from the output of the abstract control engine 14, the information suitable for output to the outside of the device control unit 6.

The abstract control engine 14 implements the control that is common to different models. Moreover, the preprocessing engine 13 and the postprocessing engine 15 have the role of concealing such that the abstract control engine 14 does not depend on a specific model by accommodating the difference between the external input or output information varying from model to model and the input/output information common to the models. As a result, for example, in a case where there is air conditioning control that a user prefers to use for the air conditioning device 1 which the user usually uses, it is possible to introduce exactly the same control processing as the air conditioning control preferably used by the user, to the temporarily used air conditioning device 1 or the newly installed air conditioning device 1, so that comfortable air conditioning control can be implemented immediately.

According to the air conditioning control system 4 of the first embodiment, the control algorithm used in one of the air conditioning devices having different specifications can be reproduced in another, and even an air conditioned environment not normally used can become comfortable.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment will describe an example of implementing air control with a plurality of the engines 3 by using information on a processing configuration of the engines 3 used for air conditioning control.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment. The air conditioning control system 4 of the second embodiment includes a processing configuration storage unit 30, the engine acquisition unit 5, and the device control unit 6.

The processing configuration storage unit 30 stores information on the processing configuration that indicates information uniquely identifying the engine 3 to be used for the air conditioning control, and an order of execution of processing of the plurality of the engines 3 or dependency among the plurality of the engines 3.

In the second embodiment, the engine acquisition unit 5 acquires the processing configuration from the processing configuration storage unit 30 and then acquires or generates the engine 3 that is necessary.

In the second embodiment, the device control unit 6 determines an air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1 on the basis of the information on the processing configuration acquired from the processing configuration storage unit 30, and performs the air conditioning control.

The processing configuration storage unit 30 holds one or more pieces of the information on the engine 3 used for the air conditioning control of the air conditioning device 1. The information on the engine 3 used for the air conditioning control of the air conditioning device 1 includes the information on the processing configuration. The processing configuration indicates the information uniquely identifying the engine 3, and the order of execution of the processing of the plurality of the engines 3 or the dependency among the plurality of the engines 3.

The information uniquely identifying the engine 3 includes, for example, a character string that identifies the engine 3. Examples of the character string that identifies the engine 3 include a character string indicating an identification (ID) of the engine 3 and a character string indicating a version of the engine 3.

The information on the processing configuration of the engine 3 includes one or more of the preprocessing engines 13, one or more of the abstract control engines 14, and one or more of the postprocessing engines 15, and indicates the order of execution or the dependency of the engines. That is, the information on the processing configuration of the engine 3 is used by the device control unit 6 and indicates the order of execution or the dependency of one or more of the preprocessing engines 13, one or more of the abstract control engines 14, and one or more of the postprocessing engines 15. The information on the processing configuration of the engine may be hereinafter referred to as “processing configuration information”.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing by the engine acquisition unit of the second embodiment. The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires the processing configuration information from the processing configuration storage unit 30 (step S210). Next, the engine acquisition unit 5 either acquires, from one or more of the engines 3 identified by the acquired processing configuration information, one or more of the engines 3 for use in controlling the air conditioning device 1, or generates one or more of the engines 3 for use in controlling the air conditioning device 1 on the basis of the given information (step S220). The engine acquisition unit 5 then outputs the acquired or generated engines 3 to the device control unit 6 (step S230).

Next, a specific example of the processing configuration will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a basic example of the processing configuration of the second embodiment. FIG. 9 illustrates the processing configuration for implementing a control operation of the air conditioning device 1 using a preprocessing engine X 102, a preprocessing engine Y 105, an abstract control engine 106, a postprocessing engine 107, and an operating information transmission engine 111. An actual air conditioning device includes many more inputs/outputs and control processing than those in FIG. 9, but only a small part thereof is extracted and simplified for the purpose of description.

The preprocessing engine X 102 performs processing of acquiring external input information, i.e., a thermal image from an infrared sensor 101 and outputting information such as the number of persons in a room that is a space to be air conditioned by the air conditioning device 1, a position of a person in the room, a posture of a person in the room, a level of activity of a person in the room, and the like.

The preprocessing engine Y 105 acquires external input information, i.e., room temperature information from a room temperature sensor 103. The preprocessing engine Y 105 also acquires, from the remote control 104, model-dependent information, i.e., remote control operated information. The remote control information is information on details operated by the remote control 104 such as a set temperature, a set humidity, a wind direction, and a wind speed. Then, the preprocessing engine Y 105 performs processing of generating information expressed in the physical quantities, more specifically, physical quantities that do not depend on the model, such as the wind direction and the wind speed.

The abstract control engine 106 determines an air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1 from the information generated by the preprocessing engine X 102 and the preprocessing engine Y 105 and outputs information that does not depend on the model of the air conditioning device 1, i.e., control information such as the wind direction and the wind speed and operating information such as an operation mode and power consumption. For example, in a case where information on the wind direction and the wind speed is explicitly specified by the remote control 104, the abstract control engine 106 outputs the control information that is the specified wind direction and wind speed as it is. In a case where information on the wind direction and the wind speed is not explicitly indicated as “automatic” or the like, the abstract control engine 106 calculates an appropriate value on the basis of the information generated by the preprocessing engine X 102 and the preprocessing engine Y 105, and outputs the calculated value as the control information. In the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the abstract control engine 106 depends on the preprocessing engine X 102 and the preprocessing engine Y 105, and thus the processing of the abstract control engine 106 starts after completion of the processing of both of the preprocessing engines.

The postprocessing engine 107 receives the information such as the wind direction and the wind speed output from the abstract control engine 106, and calculates command values directed to the actuators 10 such as a rotational speed of a fan 108, an orientation of a flap 109, and an orientation of a louver 110.

The operating information transmission engine 111 performs information generation processing of receiving the operating information output from the abstract control engine 106 and allowing the operating information to be transmitted from a communication unit 112 to an external system such as the cloud system 11.

The processing configuration information stored in the processing configuration storage unit 30 indicates the order of execution of the processing of the above-described five engines or the dependency among the five engines, and such processing configuration information is described in, for example, a script or the like.

Note that the processing configuration information may be stored by pattern of the processing configuration as illustrated in FIG. 9, or input/output necessary for each engine 3 may be stored so that the engine acquisition unit 5 can select the engine 3 meeting a condition. The processing configuration information can be in any format indicating the dependency of the information used by the engines 3.

FIG. 10 is a table illustrating definition examples of the processing configuration of the second embodiment. In FIG. 10, a dependent engine, a depended-on engine, and a name of information to be used are illustrated in a tabular form. In FIG. 10, the dependent engine, the depended-on engine, and the name of information to be used indicated in the same row in the table are associated with one another. The name of information to be used, which is a name of output information from the depended-on engine, is a name of information to be used by the dependent engine.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the depended-on engine and the information to be used are defined for each dependent engine. This uniquely specifies which output information from which depended-on engine is used by each dependent engine. Note that, although the external input/output destination is also treated as a part of the dependent engine in FIG. 10, the external input/output destination need not always be treated as such, and only the dependency between the dependent engine and the depended-on engine need be known.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a modification of the processing configuration of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the processing configuration different from the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9 in that the sensor from which to acquire the external input information is changed. Specifically, the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 11 changes the air conditioning device 1 compatible with the infrared sensor 101 to the air conditioning device 1 compatible with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) (registered trademark) device 201 because of, for example, replacement of the air conditioning device, or use of the air conditioning device in a place away from home.

A preprocessing engine X′ 202 performs processing of acquiring external input information, i.e., beacon information from the BLE device 201 and outputting the number of persons in a room that is a space to be air conditioned by the air conditioning device 1, a position of a person in the room, a posture of a person in the room, a level of activity of a person in the room, and the like. The processing configuration storage unit 30

stores processing configuration information, i.e., the processing configuration including the preprocessing engine X′ 202 as illustrated in FIG. 11.

The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires the processing configuration information illustrated in FIG. 11 from the processing configuration storage unit 30. The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires or generates the engine 3 on the basis of the processing configuration information acquired so that, even when the model of the air conditioning device or a compatible external device is changed, a user can implement the same air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device as performed on the air conditioning device 1 used before the change.

Note that although only one of the sensor 8 of the air conditioning device 1 is changed in FIG. 11, a plurality of the sensors 8, the actuators 10, and external devices of the air conditioning device 1 may be added, changed, or removed.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are each a diagram illustrating an example of addition made to the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 12 is an example of the air conditioning device 1 of a model C that can obtain temperature and humidity after one hour from a weather forecast via the Internet or the like. FIG. 13 is an example of the air conditioning device 1 of a model D not equipped with the function of obtaining the temperature and humidity after one hour from a weather forecast.

FIGS. 12 and 13 each illustrate an example of a processing configuration different from the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9 in that an input to the abstract control engine is added, and the preprocessing engine is replaced with a preprocessing engine compatible with the added input. Specifically, a function of determining a current air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1 from forecast information on the temperature after one hour and the humidity after one hour is added to the abstract control engine 14.

In FIG. 12, a preprocessing engine Z 302 performs processing of acquiring external input information, i.e., a weather forecast from a communication unit 301 of the air conditioning device 1 of the model C, and outputting information on the temperature after one hour and information on the humidity after one hour.

In FIG. 13, a preprocessing engine Z′ 402 performs processing of acquiring, from a temperature-humidity sensor 401 of the air conditioning device 1 of the model D, external input information, i.e., information on the outside air temperature and information on the humidity, and outputting information on the temperature after one hour and information on the humidity after one hour.

The processing configuration storage unit 30 stores processing configuration information, i.e., the processing configuration including the preprocessing engine Z 302 and the preprocessing engine Z′ 402 as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13. Since one preprocessing engine 13 is added to the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9, the processing configuration information includes an abstract control engine (new version) 303 that is the abstract control engine 14 capable of processing input parameters output from the preprocessing engine Z 302 and the preprocessing engine Z′ 402, more specifically, the information on the temperature after one hour and the information on the humidity after one hour. As for the abstract control engine (new version) 303, “(new version)” indicates the abstract control engine 14 that is a new version of the abstract control engine 106 illustrated in FIG. 9.

In a case where the air conditioning device 1 of the model C is used, the engine acquisition unit 5 acquires the processing configuration information illustrated in FIG. 12 from the processing configuration storage unit 30, and acquires or generates the engine 3 on the basis of the processing configuration information.

In a case where the air conditioning device 1 of the model D is used, the engine acquisition unit 5 acquires the processing configuration information illustrated in FIG. 13 from the processing configuration storage unit 30, and acquires or generates the engine 3 on the basis of the processing configuration information.

With the above configuration, even when the functions that can be supported vary depending on the air conditioning device 1, a user can implement the same air conditioning control operation as usually performed on the air conditioning device 1 that is usually used by the user.

Note that although only one more of the preprocessing engine 13 is added in FIGS. 12 and 13, a plurality of the engines 3 may be added, changed, or removed.

Moreover, although only the addition of the preprocessing engine 13 is made in FIGS. 12 and 13, the engine 3 to be added, changed, or removed may be any one of the preprocessing engine 13, the abstract control engine 14, the postprocessing engine 15, or the engine 3 having another property, or a combination of a plurality of these engines 3.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment. In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 14, a processing optimization unit 31 that optimizes processing included in each engine 3 acquired by the engine acquisition unit 5 is added to the air conditioning control system 4, thereby increasing the processing speed of the air conditioning control of the air conditioning device 1 and the memory efficiency of a memory of the air conditioning device 1.

The processing optimization unit 31 optimizes the processing included in each engine 3 such that the optimized processing is tailored to the air conditioning device 1 used. For example, in a case where the engine 3 is stored in a script format, the optimization processing performed by the processing optimization unit 31 includes processing of deleting a script unnecessary for the air conditioning device 1 used. In a case where the engine is managed in a source code format, the optimization processing performed by the processing optimization unit 31 includes processing of building the source code and generating an object file optimized in terms of processing speed, memory usage, code size, and the like.

The device control unit 6 executes the air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1, using the processing included in the engine 3 and optimized by the processing optimization unit 31.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing configuration including a preference estimation unit as an engine in the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment. FIG. 15 illustrates an example of the processing configuration having the preference estimation unit 503 disposed within the air conditioning device 1 to perform preference estimation processing within the air conditioning device 1.

The first embodiment and the second embodiment include the preference estimation unit 503 that estimates the preference of a user regarding the air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1 using at least one of information input from the outside and internal data on the device control unit 6. As a result, the preference of a user regarding the control operation of the air conditioning device 1 can be estimated, and the control operation of the air conditioning device 1 reflecting the preference can be implemented.

The preference estimation unit 503 estimates the preference of a user regarding the air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1 using at least one of information input from outside the preference estimation unit 503, information input from each engine 3, and the internal data on the device control unit 6. The information input from outside the preference estimation unit 503 and the information input from each engine 3 are the information input from the outside.

Examples of the input to the preference estimation unit 503 include remote control operated details, control information on the air conditioning device, and external input information that can be acquired from outside the preference estimation unit 503. The remote control operated details, which are the information input from outside the preference estimation unit 503, include, for example, details operated by the remote control 104 regarding a set temperature, a set humidity, a wind direction, and a wind speed. The control information on the air conditioning device, which is the information input from the engine 3, includes, for example, time, a room temperature, operating time, and settings of the air conditioning device 1. The external input information, which can be acquired from the outside, includes, for example, a thermal image, an amount of activity, and a body temperature.

A preference analysis result, which is an analysis result output by the preference estimation unit 503, is a result of estimation by the preference estimation unit 503 and is information indicating the preference of a user regarding the control operation of the air conditioning device 1 such as preference for exposure to wind, preference for shielding from wind, sensitivity to heat, sensitivity to cold, and the like.

The processing by the preference estimation unit 503 includes, for example, processing of estimating, from a history of a user's remote control operation, the preference such as the preference for exposure to wind, the preference for shielding from wind, the sensitivity to heat, the sensitivity to cold, and a level of intention to save power. The processing by the preference estimation unit 503 also includes, for example, processing of estimating, from body temperature and limb temperature of a user, the sensitivity to heat or sensitivity to cold by using a thermal image. It is also effective to separately analyze the preference of a user regarding the control operation of the air conditioning device 1 in accordance with a posture of a user and an activity state of a user. The activity state of a user includes, for example, “standing” indicating that a user is standing, “sitting” indicating that a user is sitting, “working” indicating that a user is working, and “sleeping” indicating that a user is sleeping.

Specifically, in addition to the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9, the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 15 includes the preference estimation unit 503. The preference estimation unit 503 receives inputs that are the remote control operated details and information on a control history 502. The remote control operated details are acquired from the preprocessing engine Y 105. The information on the control history 502 accumulates the control information on the air conditioning device 1 output by an abstract control engine 501. The preference estimation unit 503 outputs the preference analysis result.

A communication unit 112 acquires the preference analysis result from the preference estimation unit 503 and communicates with an external system such as a cloud system and an application.

Note that although FIG. 15 illustrates the preference estimation unit 503 as one type of the engine 3, the preference estimation unit 503 may be implemented as an independent mechanism different from the engine 3. That is, the preference estimation unit 503 may be implemented by any method that involves providing the unit 503 with the processing of estimating the preference of a user regarding the control operation of the air conditioning device 1.

In the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 15, the engines 3 and the preference estimation unit 503 are placed within the air conditioning device 1, but the blocks of the engines 3 and the preference estimation unit 503 can be placed in any other manner than as illustrated in FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing configuration including the preference estimation unit as an engine in the air conditioning control system of the second embodiment. For example, as in FIG. 16, the preference estimation unit 503 may be disposed in the cloud system 11, and information necessary for the preference analysis may be passed from the air conditioning device 1 to the preference estimation unit 503 via the communication unit 112 of the air conditioning device 1 and a communication unit 601 of the cloud system 11.

In FIG. 16, the abstract control engine 501 outputs operating information including the remote control operated information acquired from the preprocessing engine Y 105 and the control information on the air conditioning device 1.

The operating information transmission engine 111 performs information generation processing of receiving the operating information output from the abstract control engine 501 and allowing the operating information to be transmitted to an external system such as the cloud system 11.

The communication unit 112 of the air conditioning device 1 communicates with the communication unit 601 of the cloud system 11, and transmits, to the cloud system 11, the operating information output from the operating information transmission engine 111.

The preference estimation unit 503 performs processing of receiving an input of the operating information acquired from the air conditioning device 1, estimating the preference of a user regarding the air conditioning control operation of the air conditioning device 1, and outputting the preference analysis result.

Note that although the preference estimation unit 503 in FIG. 16 receives the input of only the operating information acquired from the air conditioning device 1, but can receive inputs not limited to the operating information when the preference estimation unit 503 is disposed in a system outside the air conditioning device 1. When the preference estimation unit 503 is disposed in a system outside the air conditioning device 1, information that can be acquired by the system having the preference estimation unit 503 disposed therein or information stored in the system having the preference estimation unit 503 disposed therein may be one of the inputs to the preference estimation unit 503. The information that can be acquired by the system having the preference estimation unit 503 disposed therein includes, for example, the control information on the air conditioning device 1, a history of the operating information, and information on the preference of another user regarding the control operation of the air conditioning device 1.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing configuration of the air conditioning control system including an environmental characteristic estimation unit of the second embodiment. The first embodiment and the second embodiment include an environmental characteristic estimation unit 702. Using at least one of information input from the outside and the internal data on the device control unit 6, the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 estimates a characteristic of an environment to be air conditioned. As a result, the control operation of the air conditioning device 1 taking into consideration the environment to be air conditioned can be implemented.

Using at least one of information input from an external device outside the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702, information input from each engine 3, and the internal data on the device control unit 6, the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 estimates the characteristic of the environment to be air conditioned. The information input from the external device outside the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 and the information input from each engine 3 are the information input from the outside. The information input from the external device includes, for example, information such as a thermal image, room temperature and humidity, a wind speed, an atmospheric pressure, and room air quality. The internal data on the device control unit 6 includes, for example, information such as a time, a room temperature, an operating time, settings of the air conditioning device 1, a rotational speed of the fan 108, an orientation of the flap 109, and an orientation of the louver 110.

The characteristic of the environment to be air conditioned is information regarding a space to be air conditioned, the information being output from the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702. The characteristic of the environment to be air conditioned includes, for example, a Q value indicating a heat loss coefficient, a UA value indicating an average U-value of the envelope, and information on a position of furniture or a heat source. The characteristic of the environment to be air conditioned may be hereinafter referred to as an “environmental characteristic”.

The processing by the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 includes, for example, processing of estimating the Q value on the basis of an input heat amount and a temporal change in the room temperature, and processing of detecting, from a thermal image, a place where heat comes in and out easily such as a window. The processing by the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 also includes, for example, processing of determining a state of arrival of wind discharged from the air conditioning device 1 into a space to be air conditioned, on the basis of a discharge temperature, a wind direction, and a wind speed of conditioned air that is discharged from the air conditioning device 1 into the space to be air conditioned, past thermal image information, and current thermal image information, and estimating the arrangement of an obstacle such as furniture in the space to be air conditioned, and processing of estimating positions of a wall, a ceiling, and a floor in the space to be air conditioned.

Specifically, in addition to the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 7, the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 17 includes the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702. The environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 receives an external input and a control history 502, and outputs the environmental characteristic. The external input is the thermal image acquired from the infrared sensor 101. The control history 502 accumulates the control information of the air conditioning device output by an abstract control engine 701.

In addition to the processing performed by the abstract control engine 106 illustrated in FIG. 9, the abstract control engine 701 in FIG. 17 performs processing of receiving an input of the environmental characteristic acquired from the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 and outputting pieces of information that do not depend on the model of the air conditioning device 1, such as the wind direction, wind speed, operating information, and control information.

Note that although FIG. 17 illustrates the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 as one type of the engine 3, the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 may be implemented as an independent mechanism different from the engine 3. That is, the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 may be implemented by any method that involves providing the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 with the processing of estimating the environmental characteristic of the target of air conditioning.

In the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 17, the engines 3 and the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 are placed within the air conditioning device 1, but the blocks of the engines 3 and the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 can be placed in any other manner than as illustrated in FIG. 17. For example, as with the preference estimation unit 503 in FIG. 16, the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 may be disposed in the cloud system 11, and information necessary for analyzing the characteristic of the environment to be air conditioned may be passed to the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 via the communication unit 112 of the air conditioning device 1 and the communication unit 601 of the cloud system 11.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment will describe an example of implementing air conditioning control that is more preferable for a user by appropriately selecting the engine 3 to be used.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of the third embodiment. The air conditioning control system 4 includes the communication unit 29, a user identification unit 33, a user information management unit 34, and a used engine determination unit 32 in addition to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 of the first embodiment.

The communication unit 29 communicates with an external system via a network (not illustrated) such as the Internet that is a global information communication network. The external system is, for example, a smartphone That is, a user accesses the air conditioning control system 4, using an external device.

The user identification unit 33 identifies a user who accesses the air conditioning control system 4 from the external system.

The user information management unit 34 manages information that connects a user with the engine 3 usually used by the user or with the preference of the user. The engine 3 usually used by the user and the preference of the user will be hereinafter collectively referred to as “preference information”. Note that the information may include either the engine 3 usually used by the user or the preference of the user. The engine 3 usually used by the user is the engine 3 used in the air conditioning device 1 that is usually used by the user.

The used engine determination unit 32 specifies a used engine from the information included in the user information management unit 34. The used engine is an engine that is to be used.

In FIG. 18, the communication unit 29, the engine acquisition unit 5, the engine storage unit 2, the used engine determination unit 32, the user identification unit 33, and the user information management unit 34 are placed on the cloud system 11, but these blocks can be placed in any other manner than as illustrated in FIG. 18. That is, the communication unit 29, the engine acquisition unit 5, the engine storage unit 2, the used engine determination unit 32, the user identification unit 33, and the user information management unit 34 may be placed within the air conditioning device 1.

Next, an operation of the air conditioning control system 4 of the third embodiment will be described. The operation is roughly divided into three stages: “user registration”; “preference information registration”; and “engine acquisition”.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing in the user registration by the air conditioning control system of the third embodiment. In the user registration stage, the communication unit 29 receives a request for the user registration. That is, a user accesses the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 through an application or the like of the smartphone 35, and makes the request for the user registration (step S310).

Next, when the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 requests the user identification unit 33 to do the user registration, the user identification unit 33 issues user identification information that is information uniquely identifying the user (step S320). The information uniquely identifying the user may be automatically issued by the user identification unit 33. Alternatively, the information uniquely identifying the user may be issued by the user identification unit 33 after the user inputs, to the user identification unit 33, information indicating that the user has acknowledged the information uniquely identifying the user so that a double check is made by the user identification unit 33 and by the user.

Subsequently, the user identification unit 33 generates preference information (step S330). Initial preference information may be absent, may be a piece of information determined as a default in the air conditioning control system 4, or may be automatically determined from information at the time of the user registration. The user identification unit 33 registers, in the user information management unit 34, the user identification information uniquely identifying the user and the preference information in association with each other (step S340). In addition, although not essential, information for authenticating the user such as a password may also be registered in the user information management unit 34 in order to control access to the air conditioning control system 4.

Note that the external device for the user to access the air conditioning control system 4 may be a device such as a personal computer, a dedicated terminal, or a remote control instead of the smartphone 35. The user registration may be performed by other methods such as a method using a World Wide Web (Web) browser and a method using a command. Moreover, a communication path of the user can be any path. For example, in a case where the user information management unit 34 is placed on the cloud system 11, the smartphone 35 may directly communicate with the cloud system 11, or the smartphone 35 may communicate with the communication unit 7 of the air conditioning device 1 so that the communication unit 7 of the air conditioning device 1 communicates with the communication unit 29 of the cloud system 11.

Next, an operation in registering the preference information will be described with reference to FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing of the preference information registration in the third embodiment. The preference information can be registered at any timing. For example, the preference information can be registered by a method of allowing a user to register the preference information, operating an application on the smartphone 35 at any timing when the user likes the current control of the air conditioning device 1. Alternatively, the preference information can be registered by a method of allowing the air conditioning device 1 automatically to register the preference information on a regular basis. Alternatively, the preference information can be registered by a method of registering the preference information, determining that control of the air conditioning device 1 in operation is comfortable when a person in the room does not operate the air conditioning device 1 for a certain period of time.

In registering the preference information, first, the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 receives a request for the preference information registration (step S410). That is, the smartphone 35 receives the preference information from the air conditioning device 1. Then, the smartphone 35 transmits both the preference information and the user identification information to the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 and makes the request for registration of the preference information. In a case where the request for registration of the preference information requires authenticating the registration of the preference information, using a password or the like, the smartphone 35 also transmits, to the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4, authentication information for authenticating the registration of the preference information.

Next, the user identification unit 33 identifies and authenticates the user (step S420). That is, upon receiving the user identification information and the authentication information via the communication unit 29, the user identification unit 33 checks to see if the corresponding user exists and authenticates the user, using information stored in the user information management unit 34. Note that the authentication of the user need only be performed when necessary. The information stored in the user information management unit 34 is information that connects the preference information with user information uniquely identifying the user.

Next, the user identification unit 33 determines whether or not the identification and authentication of the user have succeeded (step S430). If the identification and authentication of the user have succeeded (Yes in step S430), the user identification unit 33 updates the preference information on the corresponding user in the information stored in the user information management unit 34, the information connecting the preference information with the user information uniquely identifying the user (step S440). If at least one of the identification or the authentication of the user has failed (No in step S430), the user identification unit 33 returns an error message to the smartphone 35 (step S450) and ends the series of processing.

The preference information herein corresponds to information on the engine 3 used in the air conditioning device 1, the result of processing of the preference estimation unit 503 described in the second embodiment, and feedback information on the user's preference for control of the air conditioning device 1. That feedback information on the user's preference will be described in a fourth embodiment. Moreover, as described in the second embodiment, in a case where the preference estimation processing by the preference estimation unit 503 is executed in the cloud system 11, the information used for the preference estimation is connected with the user identification information in advance in transmission of the information used for the preference estimation to the cloud system 11. Then, when making the request for the registration of the preference information, the smartphone transmits only the identification information of the user without transmitting the preference information, and the preference information connected with the corresponding user is obtained on the cloud system 11.

Moreover, the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 20 has described the procedure for the smartphone 35 to receive the preference information from the air conditioning device 1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, any method of allowing the communication unit 29 of the cloud system 11 to acquire the authentication information and the preference information on the user may be used. For example, the smartphone 35 requests the air conditioning device 1 to register the preference information. A method of allowing the communication unit 7 of the air conditioning device 1 to receive the user identification information from the smartphone 35 and access the communication unit 29 of the cloud system 11 can be employed. Then, the communication unit 7 transmits the user identification information and the preference information to the communication unit 29, and makes the request for the registration of the preference information.

Alternatively, the smartphone 35 acquires only information necessary for accessing the air conditioning device 1, and transmits the acquired information to the communication unit 29 of the cloud system 11 together with the user identification information. Then, the communication unit 29 may access the air conditioning device 1, using the information necessary for accessing the air conditioning device 1 and acquire the preference information from the air conditioning device 1. The communication unit 29 acquires the user identification information and the preference information, which determines that the request for the registration of the preference information is made.

Finally, an operation in acquiring the engine 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 21. FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing in acquiring the engine 3 in the third embodiment. The acquisition of the engine 3 may be performed at any timing, but is mainly performed when the air conditioning device 1 starts. First, the communication unit 29 receives a request for the acquisition of the engine 3 (step S510). That is, the smartphone 35 accesses the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4, transmits the user identification information to the communication unit 29, and request the communication unit 29 to acquire the engine 3. In a case where the request for the acquisition of the engine 3 requires authenticating the request for the acquisition of the engine 3, using a password or the like, the smartphone 35 also transmits, to the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4, authentication information for authenticating the request for the acquisition of the engine 3.

Next, the user identification unit 33 identifies and authenticates a user (step S520). That is, upon receiving the user identification information and the authentication information via the communication unit 29, the user identification unit 33 checks to see if the corresponding user exists and authenticates the user, using information stored in the user information management unit 34. Note that the authentication of the user need only be performed when necessary. The information stored in the user information management unit 34 is information that connects the preference information with the user identification information uniquely identifying the user.

Next, the user identification unit 33 determines whether or not the identification and authentication of the user have succeeded (step S530). If the identification and authentication of the user have succeeded (Yes in step S530), the used engine determination unit 32 acquires the preference information on the corresponding user from the information in the user information management unit 34, the information connecting the preference information with the user identification information uniquely identifying the user (step S540).

If at least one of the identification or the authentication of the user has failed (No in step S530), the user identification unit 33 determines whether or not an error has occurred (step S570). The determination of whether or not an error has occurred in step S570 is set in advance in the user identification unit 33.

If determining that an error has occurred (Yes in step S570), the user identification unit 33 returns an error message to the smartphone 35 (step S590) and ends the series of processing.

If the user identification unit 33 determines that an error has not occurred (No in step S570), the used engine determination unit 32 acquires a predetermined piece of the preference information set as a default in the air conditioning control system 4 (step S580). For example, the used engine determination unit 32 acquires a predetermined piece of the preference information input from outside the air conditioning device 1 and stored. The predetermined piece of the preference information is stored in, for example but not limited to, the used engine determination unit 32.

On the basis of the preference information acquired, the used engine determination unit 32 determines the engine 3 to be used by the user (step S550). For example, in a case where the preference information is directly connected with the engine 3 in the information that connects the user with the engine 3 usually used by the user or with the preference of the user in the user information management unit 34, the used engine determination unit 32 specifies and determines the corresponding engine 3 as the used engine. In a case where the preference information is not directly connected with the engine 3 in the information that connects the user with the engine 3 usually used by the user or with the preference of the user in the user information management unit 34, the used engine determination unit 32 executes calculation to thereby specify, for example, a newer one of the engine 3 highly matching the preference of the user, and determine the specified engine 3 as the used engine. The used engine determination unit 32 determines one or more of the used engines to be used by the user. A result of processing of the preference estimation unit 503, which is the preference information, is a result of analysis by the preference estimation unit 503. Therefore, in a case where the preference information is the result of processing of the preference estimation unit 503, for example, the used engine determination unit 32 specifies the engine 3 to be used, in accordance with the preference of the user that is the result of analysis.

The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires, from the engine storage unit 2, or generates the engine 3 specified by the used engine determination unit 32, and transmits the engine 3 to the smartphone 35 via the communication unit 29 (step S560). When transmitting the engine 3 to the smartphone 35, the engine acquisition unit 5 may simultaneously transmit the information on the processing configuration described in the second embodiment.

The smartphone 35 transmits the received engine 3 to the device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1. The device control unit 6 controls the air conditioning device 1 on the basis of the received engine 3. The smartphone 35 also transmits the received processing configuration to the device control unit 6 of the air conditioning device 1 as needed. The device control unit 6 controls the air conditioning device 1 on the basis of the engine 3 and the received processing configuration.

Also, as with the registration of the preference information, instead of the smartphone 35 passing the engine 3 to the air conditioning device 1, a method of allowing the air conditioning device 1 to receive the user identification information from the smartphone 35, access the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4, using the user identification information, and acquire the engine 3 from the engine acquisition unit 5 can be employed. As just described, another method may be used to perform the identification and authentication of the user as well as the acquisition of the engine 3 and the processing configuration.

With the air conditioning control system 4 configured as described above, the user can store his/her preferred control of the air conditioning device 1 in his/her smartphone 35 and transfer the stored control of the air conditioning device 1 from the smartphone 35 to another air conditioning device, thereby easily utilizing, in the other air conditioning device, the control of the air conditioning device 1 stored in the smartphone 35.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration that utilizes the preference information in the third embodiment. For example, in the case of the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 22, a preference information utilization engine 802 used instead of the abstract control engine 106 illustrated in FIG. 9 does not require information such as a set temperature, a set humidity, a wind direction, a wind speed, or the like transmitted from the remote control, but autonomously determines target temperature and humidity, the wind direction, the wind speed, and the like, taking into consideration the preference information, from a room temperature and information obtained by analyzing a thermal image. In the case of the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 22, as compared to the case of the processing configuration illustrated in FIG. 9, the replacement of the abstract control engine 106 by the preference information utilization engine 802 results in an effect that the information input from the remote control 104 to a preprocessing engine Y′ 801 is unnecessary and that the preprocessing engine Y′ 801 need not output the wind direction and the wind speed expressed in physical quantities.

Also, the third embodiment can obtain a further effect by enabling designation of a use start time of the air conditioning device 1. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the configuration of the air conditioning control system in the third embodiment. The configuration of the air conditioning control system 4 illustrated in FIG. 23 is obtained by adding, to the configuration of the air conditioning control system 4 illustrated in FIG. 18, a use start time reception unit 36 that can set a time to start the use of the air conditioning device 1.

A user transmits reservation information via the Internet etc. to the use start time reception unit 36 of the air conditioning control system 4 in advance. The reservation information includes the user identification information on the user, the air conditioning device 1 to be used, and a scheduled use start time of the air conditioning device 1. The use start time reception unit 36 refers to the reservation information having the nearest scheduled use start time among reservations for the air conditioning device 1 having the use start time reception unit 36 installed therein.

Subsequently, the use start time reception unit 36 acquires the engine 3 necessary from the engine acquisition unit 5 on the basis of the user identification information included in the reservation information, and transmits the engine 3 to the device control unit 6. The engine acquisition unit 5 receives, from the use start time reception unit 36, the user identification information included in the reservation information, and performs any of the processings described above on the basis of the user identification information to thereby acquire or generate one or more of the engines 3. The engine acquisition unit transmits the acquired or generated engine 3 to the use start time reception unit 36.

In addition, the use start time reception unit 36 instructs the device control unit 6 to achieve an air conditioned environment that suits the preference of the user at the scheduled use start time. For example, the use start time reception unit 36 calculates a start time of air conditioning control from a difference between a target temperature included in the reservation information and a current room temperature as well as from the scheduled use start time, and performs setting on the device control unit 6.

Such a configuration can prevent discomfort caused by insufficient air conditioning or excessive air conditioning when the user starts using the air conditioning device 1. Moreover, inputting the scheduled use start time to the use start time reception unit 36 in advance can reduce a heat loss caused by air conditioning performed at a timing that is too early or an energy loss caused by an increase in an air conditioning load due to rapid cooling or heating immediately after the start of use of the air conditioning device, whereby power consumption of the air conditioning device 1 can be reduced.

Moreover, in a case where a scheduled time of entry of a user into a room or identification information on an air conditioning device to be used is obtained from an external system outside the air conditioning control system 4, the communication unit 7 or the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 may obtain necessary information in cooperation with the external system without requesting the user to transmit relevant information. For example, in the case of the external system, e.g., reservation system for a hotel, a restaurant, or the like, it is possible to employ a method of referring to reservation information on a corresponding user stored on the reservation system and obtains the scheduled time of entry or the information on the air conditioning device to be used. In this case, the information on the air conditioning device to be used is connected with information of a reserved room.

Note that although the third embodiment has described the example of identifying the user and selecting the engine 3 on the basis of the preference information on the user, the method of determining the engine 3 to be used is not limited thereto. For example, as described later in a fifth embodiment, a method of selecting the engine 3 to be used in accordance with a characteristic of an environment to be air conditioned may be employed.

Moreover, in a case where the engine 3 to be used does not depend on an individual user, the user identification unit 33 and the user information management unit 34 are unnecessary because user identification is not necessary.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, a fourth embodiment will describe an example of a comfortable air conditioned environment provided for a user when preference information of the user is not given in advance.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of the fourth embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the air conditioning control system 4 includes a user interface unit 37, the communication unit 29, and the used engine determination unit 32. The user interface unit 37 displays a question to a user regarding air conditioning control and receives a user's answer to the question regarding air conditioning control. The communication unit 7 and the communication unit 29 allow the air conditioning control system 4 to communicate with an external system via the Internet etc. The used engine determination unit 32 specifies the engine 3 to be used. The user interface unit 37 allows the user to check the content of a guidance regarding air conditioning control or the question regarding air conditioning control, and to input the answer to the question regarding air conditioning control or an evaluation of an air conditioned environment.

Although the user interface unit 37 is placed on the smartphone 35 in FIG. 24, the user interface unit 37 can be placed in any manner. The user interface unit 37 may be placed on, for example, either a personal computer or the remote control of the air conditioning device 1, or may be a user interface using a configuration other than visual information such as sound.

Next, an operation of the air conditioning control system 4 of the fourth embodiment will be described. A user requests the user interface unit 37 to start user's preferred air conditioning control at such timing as when starting to use the air conditioning device 1. The user interface unit 37 acquires model identification information identifying the model of the air conditioning device 1, and transmits, to the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4, a request for starting the air conditioning control preferred by the user. The model identification information is stored in, for example, a storage unit provided in the cloud system 11 or a storage unit provided in the air conditioning device 1.

Subsequently, upon receiving, from the communication unit 29, the request for starting the user's preferred air conditioning control and the model identification information, the used engine determination unit 32 transmits, to the user interface unit 37 via the communication unit 29, one or more questions regarding the preference of the user, which are prepared beforehand in accordance with the model of the air conditioning device 1 indicated in the model identification information. The content of the question corresponds to the content that is controllable on the corresponding air conditioning device 1 such as “Are you sensitive to heat or cold?”, “Do you prefer not to be exposed to the wind?”, or “Do you want to lower the wind noise?”.

The user inputs an answer to the question to the user interface unit 37. The user interface unit 37 transmits the answer to the question input by the user, to the used engine determination unit 32 via the communication unit 29. The used engine determination unit 32 having received the answer to the question specifies the engine 3 that is appropriate in accordance with the answer. The used engine determination unit 32 transmits information of the specified engine 3 to the engine acquisition unit 5.

The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires one or more of the engines 3 from the engine storage unit 2 on the basis of the information on the engine 3 received from the used engine determination unit 32, or generates one or more of the engines 3 on the basis of the information on the engine 3 received from the used engine determination unit 32, thereby passing the engines 3 to the device control unit 6. The device control unit 6 controls the air conditioning device 1, using the engine 3 passed from the engine acquisition unit 5.

With such a configuration of the air conditioning control system 4, the user can enjoy the air conditioning control close to user's preference just by answering some questions output from the user interface unit 37 without figuring out items available for setting by operating the remote control 9. As a result, the burden of setting the air conditioning device 1 on the user can be reduced.

A further effect can be obtained by the user interface unit 37 receiving information on an evaluation of the air conditioned environment during the operation of the air conditioning device 1. When the user feels that a current air conditioned environment is uncomfortable, the user inputs a reason for feeling uncomfortable through the user interface unit 37. The reason for feeling uncomfortable includes, for example, being “hot”, “cold”, “damp”, “windy”, and “noisy”. As with the question described above, options for the reason for feeling uncomfortable need to be prepared beforehand in accordance with the model.

The user interface unit 37 acquires, from the air conditioning device 1, information on the currently used engine 3, information on settings of current air conditioning control, and information on a current air conditioned environment, and transmits the acquired information to the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 together with the reason for feeling uncomfortable that is the information on the evaluation of the air conditioned environment. Note that the user interface unit 37 may acquire, from the air conditioning device 1, the information on the currently used engine 3 and one of the information on the settings of the current air conditioning control and the information on the current air conditioned environment, and transmit the acquired information to the communication unit 29 of the air conditioning control system 4 together with the information on the evaluation of the air conditioned environment.

Upon receiving, from the communication unit 29, the information transmitted by the user interface unit 37, the used engine determination unit 32 specifies, on the basis of the received information, the engine 3 to be changed among the currently used engines 3. That is, the used engine determination unit 32 specifies the engine 3 to be changed among the currently used engines 3, and reselects the engine 3 that is an appropriate engine to change from the engines 3 currently used. In addition, the used engine determination unit 32 specifies a processing configuration as necessary. The used engine determination unit 32 transmits, to the engine acquisition unit 5, information on the engine 3 specified as the engine 3 to be changed. The used engine determination unit 32 also transmits a processing configuration to the engine acquisition unit 5 as necessary.

The engine acquisition unit 5 acquires one or more of the engines 3 from the engine storage unit 2 on the basis of the information on the engine 3 received from the used engine determination unit 32, or generates one or more of the engines 3 on the basis of the information on the engine 3 received from the used engine determination unit 32, thereby passing the engines 3 to the device control unit 6. The device control unit 6 controls the air conditioning device 1, using the engine 3 passed from the engine acquisition unit 5.

With such a configuration of the air conditioning control system 4, as the user continues to input evaluations on the operation of the air conditioning device 1, the air conditioning device 1 can perform air conditioning control closer to the preference of the user so that the comfort of the user can be improved.

Moreover, the information on the evaluation of the air conditioned environment by the user can be included as the processing configuration described in the second embodiment. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a processing configuration when preference information is input via a smartphone in the fourth embodiment. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 25, a preprocessing engine Z 902 converts input information from a smartphone 901 and inputs the converted information to a preference estimation unit 903, so that the preference estimation unit 903 can estimate the preference of the user for the air conditioning control or the air conditioned environment, as a preference analysis result.

The communication unit 112 acquires the preference analysis result from the preference estimation unit 903 and transmits the preference analysis result to the engine acquisition unit 5. The engine acquisition unit reacquires or regenerates and updates the engine 3 on the basis of the preference analysis result from the preference estimation unit 903, whereby the comfort of the user can be improved.

Moreover, although not illustrated in FIG. 25, the information on the evaluation of the air conditioned environment by the user or a preference analysis result are input to the abstract control engine 501 or the postprocessing engine 107 to thereby perform the air conditioning control reflecting the evaluation of the air conditioned environment by the user.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, a fifth embodiment will describe an example in which characteristic information on a spatial environment having the air conditioning device 1 installed therein is utilized to thereby perform appropriate air conditioning control in accordance with conditions such as a shape of a room or placement of an obstacle in a room. That is, the fifth embodiment will describe a case where the engine 3 that allows a room characteristic to be factored into air conditioning control of the air conditioning device 1 can be selected as an engine to be used, the room characteristic being stored in the engine storage unit 2 and representing a characteristic of a room having the air conditioning device 1 placed therein. The room characteristic is information that can identify a spatial environment around the air conditioning device 1 or information indicating a feature of a spatial environment that is an environment of a space having the air conditioning device 1 placed therein. An example of the room characteristic is the shape of the room itself. Another example of the room characteristic is physical information such as placement of furniture or a home appliance such as a television or placement of an obstacle in the room. In the fifth embodiment, air conditioning control of the air conditioning device 1 can be performed in accordance with these pieces of characteristic information on the spatial environment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the air conditioning control system of the fifth embodiment. The used engine determination unit 32 specifies an appropriate engine 3 in accordance with an environmental characteristic designated. Specifically, the used engine determination unit 32 specifies the used engine, which is the engine to be used, by using at least one of the room characteristic being the information that can identify the spatial environment around the air conditioning device 1 or the information indicating the feature of the spatial environment that is the environment of the space having the air conditioning device 1 placed therein. That is, the engine information used by the used engine determination unit 32 can be said to be at least one of the information that can identify the spatial environment around the air conditioning device 1 or the information indicating the feature of the spatial environment. The engine information herein is information which the used engine determination unit 32 uses for specifying the engine to be used. A method of extracting the environmental characteristic for each air conditioning device includes, for example, a method of estimating the environmental characteristic by the air conditioning device 1 or the cloud system 11, using information from the infrared sensor, as described in the second embodiment.

The device control unit 6 acquires the engine 3 specified by the used engine determination unit 32 via the engine acquisition unit 5, and uses the engine 3 for the air conditioning control.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a processing configuration of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the processing configuration of the fifth embodiment. In a case where the environmental characteristic is expressed by a parameter such as a feature value, as illustrated in FIG. 27, an environmental characteristic 1002 can be included as a kind of engine in the processing configuration and used as an input to an engine that implements the control algorithm. In FIG. 27, such an engine corresponds to an environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1003. Also, a preference information utilization engine 1001 in FIG. 27 has a function similar to that of the preference information utilization engine 802 in FIG. 22 and, for example, transmits information such as a target temperature of a specific area to the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1003. Likewise, the preference information utilization engine 1001 in FIG. 28 has a function similar to that of the preference information utilization engine 802 in FIG. 22 and, for example, transmits information such as a target temperature of a specific area to an environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1104.

In this case, the environmental characteristic 1002 need only be changed depending on the environment, without having to change the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1003. Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 28, building information modeling (BIM) information can be acquired from a communication unit 1101, and a feature value 1103 of an environment to be air conditioned can be calculated by a spatial information analysis engine 1102 and used as an input to the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1104. In FIG. 28, the feature value 1103 of the environment to be air conditioned is illustrated as a spatial feature value 1103. It is also possible to employ means of manually inputting information necessary for calculating spatial information or the spatial feature value, such as the size, shape, or wall material of the room, from a remote control or an application of a smartphone.

Specific examples of processing by the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1003 and the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1104 include, for example, processing of adjusting the wind direction and/or the wind speed, taking into consideration how the wind reaches depending on the shape of a space, the installation position of an obstacle such as furniture, and the installation position of the air conditioning device itself as in the processing configuration illustrated in FIGS. 27 and 28. Another example of that processing is processing of determining a target temperature of a specific area by predicting a future temperature from the position of a window or the Q value indicating thermal insulation performance.

Such a configuration can obtain effects such as energy saving achieved by optimization of wind blowing to an area difficult for wind to reach, and prevention of discomfort caused by a future temperature change. In particular, it is relatively difficult for a user to perform appropriate setting in a space such as a hotel and a restaurant in accordance with the spatial environment as the user stays only temporarily in the space although the space provides a specified environment under which the air conditioning device is used. The use of the above configuration enables the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1003 and the environmental characteristic information utilization engine 1104 to provide appropriate control even if the user does not know a characteristic of the spatial environment. As a result, it becomes possible to provide a comfortable air conditioned environment for the user.

Moreover, in combination with the environmental characteristic estimation unit 702 described in the second embodiment, a spatial environmental characteristic can be learned and reflected in control for an air conditioning device that is newly installed. As a result, a continued use of the air conditioning device can expect progress toward energy saving and highly comfortable control that meet the spatial environmental characteristic.

The air conditioning control system 4 according to the first to fifth embodiments described above is implemented by a computer system such as a personal computer or a general-purpose computer. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration in a case where functions of the air conditioning control system 4 according to the first to fifth embodiments are implemented by the computer system. The functions of the air conditioning control system 4 are implemented as processing circuitry having the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 29. In a case where the functions of the air conditioning control system 4 are implemented by a computer including the processing circuitry illustrated in FIG. 29, the functions of the air conditioning control system 4 are implemented by a processor 1201 executing an air conditioning control system program stored in a memory 1202. Alternatively, a plurality of processors and a plurality of memories may cooperatively implement the functions of the air conditioning control system 4. Yet alternatively, some of the functions of the air conditioning control system 4 may be implemented as an electronic circuit, and the other functions may be implemented using the processor 1201 and the memory 1202.

The configurations illustrated in the above embodiments merely illustrate an example so that another known technique can be combined, the embodiments can be combined together, or the configurations can be partially omitted and/or modified without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An air conditioning control system comprising:

engine acquisition circuitry to acquire or generate one or more engines including at least one of a control logic for controlling an air conditioning device or a setting parameter for controlling the air conditioning device; and

device control circuitry to control the air conditioning device, using the engine acquired or generated by the engine acquisition circuitry, wherein

the device control circuitry performs control, using one or more of each of the engines that are:

an abstract control engine that is a control algorithm and a parameter of the air conditioning device, the control algorithm and the parameter do not depending on external input/output to/from the device control circuitry;

a preprocessing engine that is an engine to perform processing of generating, from information input from outside the device control circuitry, information suitable for input to the abstract control engine; and

a postprocessing engine that is an engine to perform processing generating, from output of the abstract control engine, information suitable for output to the outside of the device control circuitry, transmitting the information suitable for the output to the outside of the device control circuitry, or outputting the information suitable for the output to the outside of the device control circuitry.

2. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, wherein

at least one of the abstract control engine, the preprocessing engine, and the postprocessing engine includes processing of performing calculation on one or more pieces of input information given and generating information having a meaning different from that of the input information.

3. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising

processing configuration storage circuitry to store a processing configuration that is: information uniquely specifying the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines to be used to control the air conditioning device; and information indicating an order of execution of processing of a plurality of the abstract control engines, the preprocessing engines, and the postprocessing engines or dependency among the plurality of the abstract control engines, the preprocessing engines, and the postprocessing engines, wherein

the engine acquisition circuitry acquires the processing configuration from the processing configuration storage circuitry, and acquires or generates the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines specified by the acquired processing configuration, and

the device control circuitry acquires the processing configuration from the processing configuration storage circuitry, and controls the air conditioning device on the basis of the information on the acquired processing configuration.

4. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising

processing optimization circuitry to optimize processing included in each of the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines acquired by the engine acquisition circuitry, wherein

the device control circuitry performs control, using the processing that is included in each of the abstract control engine, the preprocessing engine, and postprocessing engine and optimized by the processing optimization circuitry.

5. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising

preference estimation circuitry to estimate preference of a user regarding a control operation of the air conditioning device by using at least one of input information and internal data on the device control circuitry.

6. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising

environmental characteristic estimation circuitry to estimate a characteristic of an environment to be air conditioned by the air conditioning device by using at least one of input information and internal data on the device control circuitry.

7. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising

used engine determination circuitry to specify one or more of the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines to be used, on the basis of an analysis result that is information analyzed using input information or internal data on the device control circuitry, wherein

the engine acquisition circuitry acquires or generates the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines specified by the used engine determination circuitry.0

8. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising:

communication circuitry to communicate with an external system outside the air conditioning device;

user identification circuitry to identify a user who accesses the air conditioning control system from the outside; and

user information management circuitry to manage information that connects a user with the engine to be used by the user.

9. The air conditioning control system according to claim 7, comprising:

communication circuitry to communicate with an external system outside the air conditioning device;

user identification circuitry to identify a user who accesses the air conditioning control system from outside the air conditioning device; and

user information management circuitry to manage information that connects a user with preference of the user, wherein

the used engine determination circuitry specifies the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines to be used in accordance with the preference of the user that is the analysis result.

10. The air conditioning control system according to claim 8, comprising

use start time information reception circuitry to receive information regarding a scheduled use start time of the air conditioning device, wherein

the device control circuitry performs control to achieve an air conditioned environment that suits preference of a user at the scheduled use start time received by the use start time information reception circuitry.

11. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising:

user interface circuitry to display a question regarding air conditioning control to a user and receive a user's answer to the question; and

used engine determination circuitry to specify one or more of the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines to be used, in accordance with the user's answer, and transmit information on the specified abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines to the engine acquisition circuitry.

12. The air conditioning control system according to claim 1, comprising:

user interface circuitry to receive information on an evaluation of an air conditioned environment; and

used engine determination circuitry to specify the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines to be changed, from information on currently used abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines, information on a setting of current air conditioning control or information on a current air conditioned environment, and the evaluation of the air conditioned environment.

13. The air conditioning control system according to claim 11, wherein

the information on the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines used by the used engine determination circuitry is at least one of information that specifies a spatial environment around the air conditioning device or information indicating a feature of the spatial environment.

14. A non-transitory storage medium to store an air conditioning control system program that causes a computer to execute:

storing one or more engines including at least one of a control logic for controlling an air conditioning device or a setting parameter for controlling the air conditioning device; and

controlling the air conditioning device, using the engine, wherein

controlling the air conditioning device includes one or more of each of:

performing abstract control processing using a control algorithm and a parameter of the air conditioning device, the control algorithm and the parameter not depending on input from and output to an outside;

performing preprocessing of generating, from information input from the outside, information suitable for input to the abstract control processing; and

performing postprocessing of generating, from the output, information suitable for output to the outside, transmitting the information suitable for output to the outside, or outputting the information suitable for output to the outside.

15. The air conditioning control system according to claim 12, wherein

the information on the abstract control, preprocessing, and postprocessing engines used by the used engine determination circuitry is at least one of information that specifies a spatial environment around the air conditioning device or information indicating a feature of the spatial environment.