SMART EDGE DEVICE FOR CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM AND RELATED CONTROL METHOD

Abstract

A smart edge device for a central air conditioning system, includes an image capturing device, for capturing an image of a space; and a processing device, coupled to the image capturing device and the central air conditioning system, configured to perform an image recognition process for the image of the space captured by the image capturing device; determine a people distribution status of the space according to an image recognition result of the image recognition process; and generate an adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust an air volume of the central air conditioning system.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a smart edge device for central air conditioning system and a related control method, and more particularly, to a smart edge device for central air conditioning system and a related control method for energy saving.

2. Description of the Prior Art

ESG is a trend for sustainable managing the enterprise, wherein “E” stands for environment, “S” stands for social, and “G” stands for governance. In this situation, reducing the energy consumption is an important challenge for the enterprise. The power consumption of the central air conditioning system of the office buildings accounts the majority of the power consumption. However, the upgrade of the central air conditioning system is time-consuming and with a substantial cost.

Therefore, how to improve the power consumption of the conventional central air conditioning system with low cost and without modifying the structure of the conventional central air conditioning system is an important issue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention provides a smart edge device for central air conditioning system and a related control method to reduce the power consumption of the air conditioning system with lower cost.

An embodiment of the present invention discloses a smart edge device for a central air conditioning system, comprises an image capturing device, for capturing an image of a space; and a processing device, coupled to the image capturing device and the central air conditioning system, configured to perform an image recognition process for the image of the space captured by the image capturing device; determine a people distribution status of the space according to an image recognition result of the image recognition process; and generate an adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust an air volume of the central air conditioning system.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a control method for a smart edge device, for a central air conditioning system, comprises capturing, by an image capturing device of the smart edge device, an image of a space; performing, by a processing device of the smart edge device, an image recognition process for the image of the space captured by the image capturing device; determining, by the processing device, a people distribution status of the space according to an image recognition result of the image recognition process; and generating, by the processing device, an adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust an air volume of the central air conditioning system.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a smart edge device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another smart edge device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a smart edge device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The smart edge device 10 includes an image capturing device 102 and a processing device 104. The smart edge device 10 may be utilized for a central air conditioning system. The image capturing device 102 is utilized for taking an image of a space, e.g. a surveillance camera or a camera. The processing device 104 is coupled to the image capturing device 102 and the central air conditioning system, e.g., a processor, a device, a server or a work station with a processor, for performing an image recognition process for the image in the space took by the image capturing device 102, and determining a people distribution status of the space according to an image recognition result of the image recognition process. In addition, the processor generates an adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust an air volume of the central air conditioning system.

In detail, the smart edge device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine a number of people and the people distribution in the space by the image capturing device 102 based on the objection recognition of the image, e.g. the people distribution of an office space, a commercial space, and then the smart edge device 10 may automatically adjust the air volume of air outlets according to the number of people and the people distribution in the space. Notably, the smart edge device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may not be the identical device with the central air conditioning system, and the smart edge device 10 may be installed on any central air conditioning system. In addition, the image capturing device 102 takes the images with a fixed position.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a smart edge device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The smart edge device 20 includes the image capturing device 102, the processing device 104 and a storage device 106. Different to the smart edge device 10, the processing device 104 of the smart edge device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a logic unit 1042 and a signal transmission device 1044. The logic unit 1042 is embedded with an object recognition algorithm for analyzing the people distribution status of the space to determine the adjusting signal of the central air conditioning system. More specifically, when the smart edge device 20 is located in an office, the processing device 104 may determine the people distribution status of the space according to an office layout map of the space and the image captured by the image capturing device 102. The signal transmission device 1044 is coupled to the logic unit 1042 for transmitting the adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system and at least a terminal device, e.g., a user.

The object recognition algorithm embedded in the logic unit 1042 of the processing device 104 may be implemented by a CNN model of a deep learning for the objection recognition of a target scene. For example, R-CNN, Fast-RCNN and Faster-RCNN of two-stage mode models, and YOLO, SSD, RetinaNet and EfficientDet of one-stage mode models.

In the example of FIG. 2, the image capturing device 102 captures the image of the office, and transmits the captured image to the storage device 106. Then, the logic unit 1042 of the processing device 104 performs the object recognition for the image in the storage device 106 and transmits the image recognition result to the signal transmission device 1044.

In this embodiment, the logic unit 1042 may analyze the people distribution status of the space based on the embedded object recognition algorithm to determine the adjusting signal of the central air conditioning system, e.g., the adjusting signal to adjust the air volume of the central air conditioning system, to turn on/off the central air conditioning system. The signal transmission device 1044 may transmit the adjusting signal to a fan or a movable fan of the central air conditioning system to adjust the air volume or temperature. In an embodiment, since the signal transmission device 1044 is connected to at least a terminal device, when no person is in the office, the logic unit 1042 may determine the adjusting signal to turn off the central air conditioning system according to the object recognition result. And then, the signal transmission device 1044 transmits the adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system and the terminal device of the user.

In an embodiment, the logic unit 1042 and the signal transmission device 1044 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be independently installed on the server or a work station of an office building of the conventional central air conditioning system. The image capturing device 102 may be independently installed on the moveable fan of the central air conditioning system or ceiling of the office. Therefore, the images captured by the image capturing device 102 may be transmitted to the logic unit 1042. After the logic unit 1042 performs the object recognition for the image, the adjusting signal is determined. And then the signal transmission device 1044 transmits the adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system to adjust the fan.

Other than for the central air conditioning system, the smart edge devices 10, 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be utilized in other fields with specific target environments, e.g., a commercial space, a library, and a space with distinguishable target objects from environment. For example, the office area and the crews in the office may be specifically defined. In this situation, when a crew is in the office, the air direction of the fan of the central air conditioning system may be adjusted towards the crew, and the fans are turned off when no one in the office.

In addition, the smart edge devices 10, 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may add, modify a label interface of a target area via an application program or a web page of the terminal device to modify applicable space and range of the smart edge devices 10, 20.

On the other hand, during the object recognition for the image of the logic unit 1042 of the smart edge devices 10, 20, the logic unit 1042 may determine to turn off the fan or the central air conditioning system and notify the terminal device via the signal transmission device 1044, when no one is recognized in the image for a period of time, e.g., 5 minutes, according to the images stored in the storage device 106 to achieve the goal of energy saving.

Therefore, the smart edge devices 10, 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may utilized in the conventional central air conditioning system or other similar electrical appliances, e.g., dehumidifier, heater, to achieve the effect of intelligence and energy saving.

The operation method of the smart edge devices 10, 20 may be concluded as a control method 30 for the smart edge devices 10, 20 of the central air conditioning system. Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram of the control method 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control method 30 includes the following steps:

• • Step 302: Start;
  • Step 304: Capture, by the image capturing device 102 the smart edge devices 10, 20, the image of the space;
  • Step 306: Perform, by the processing device 104 of the smart edge devices 10, 20, the image recognition process for the image of the space captured by the image capturing device 102;
  • Step 308: Determine, by the processing device 104, the people distribution status of the space according to the image recognition result of the image recognition process;
  • Step 310: Generate, by the processing device 104, the adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust the air volume of the central air conditioning system;
  • Step 312: End.

Notably, those skilled in the art may make proper modifications, and are not limited thereto and can be modified according to different user's requirements or system settings, which are all within the scope of the present invention.

In summary, the present invention provides a smart edge device for central air conditioning system and a related control method, which implements the automation of adjusting the air volume of the central air conditioning system to achieve the energy saving via the object recognition.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A smart edge device for a central air conditioning system, comprising:

an image capturing device, for capturing an image of a space; and

a processing device, coupled to the image capturing device and the central air conditioning system, configured to perform an image recognition process for the image of the space captured by the image capturing device; determine a people distribution status of the space according to an image recognition result of the image recognition process; and

generate an adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust an air volume of the central air conditioning system.

2. The smart edge device of claim 1, wherein the processing device includes:

a logic unit, embedded with an object recognition algorithm, for analyzing the people distribution status of the space to determine the adjusting signal of the central air conditioning system;

a signal transmission device, coupled to the logic unit, for transmitting the adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system and at least a terminal device; and

a storage device, coupled to the logic unit for storing data.

3. The smart edge device of claim 1, wherein the processing device determines the people distribution status of the space according to an office layout map of the space and the image captured by the image capturing device.

4. The smart edge device of claim 1, wherein the image capturing device takes the image with a fixed position in the space.

5. The smart edge device of claim 1, wherein the adjusting signal is to turn on/off the central air conditioning system and to adjust an air volume or an air direction of a movable fan of the central air conditioning system.

6. A control method for a smart edge device, for a central air conditioning system, comprising:

capturing, by an image capturing device of the smart edge device, an image of a space;

performing, by a processing device of the smart edge device, an image recognition process for the image of the space captured by the image capturing device;

determining, by the processing device, a people distribution status of the space according to an image recognition result of the image recognition process; and

generating, by the processing device, an adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system according to the people distribution status of the space to adjust an air volume of the central air conditioning system.

7. The control method of claim 6, further comprising:

analyzing, by a logic unit of the processing device, the people distribution status of the space to determine the adjusting signal of the central air conditioning system; and

transmitting, by a signal transmission device of the processing device, the adjusting signal to the central air conditioning system and at least a terminal device;

wherein a storage device of the processing device is configured to store data.

8. The control method of claim 6, wherein the processing device determines the people distribution status of the space according to an office layout map of the space and the image captured by the image capturing device.

9. The control method of claim 6, wherein the image capturing device takes the image with a fixed position in the space.

10. The control method of claim 6, wherein the adjusting signal is to turn on/off the central air conditioning system and to adjust an air volume or an air direction of a movable fan of the central air conditioning system.