Replacement Air-Conditioning System and Information Processing Method

This is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2024/006670 filed on Feb. 22, 2024, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) to Patent Application No. 2023-026715, filed in Japan on Feb. 22, 2023 and 2023-124631, filed in Japan on Jul. 31, 2023, all of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application.

The present disclosure relates to a replacement air-conditioning system and an information processing method.

A replacement air-conditioning system has been known as one of air-conditioning systems. A replacement air-conditioning system reduces a contaminant concentration in a residential zone of an indoor space and favorably maintains an air environment of the indoor space by sequentially replacing air having a high contaminant concentration in the residential zone with fresh air having a low contaminant concentration.

For example, Japanese Patent No. 6414685 discloses an air-conditioning control system for a large-space building that detects a temperature at a preset temperature stratification height in a residential zone and controls the number of revolutions of a blowing fan based on a detection value.

However, the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 6414685 detects a temperature value of the preset temperature stratification height, and does not necessarily detect information suitable for grasping a state of stratification of a temperature or an air component.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a replacement air-conditioning system and the like capable of detecting information suitable for grasping a state of stratification of a temperature or an air component.

A replacement air-conditioning system according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is configured to be able to form stratification of a temperature or an air component in a room by supplying conditioned air to a lower side of the room and discharging indoor air from an upper side of the room. The replacement air-conditioning system includes a detection unit including at least one sensor. The detection unit is configured to detect temperatures of air components at a first height set above an assumed boundary height of the stratification in the room and a second height set below the assumed boundary height.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to the first aspect, in a replacement air-conditioning system according to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the first height is set in advance as a height above a head of a person in the room.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to the first aspect or the second aspect, a replacement air-conditioning system according to a third aspect of the present disclosure further includes a control unit including a CPU or GPU. The control unit derives information regarding a boundary height of the stratification in the room based on the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height detected by the detection unit.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to the third aspect, in a replacement air-conditioning system according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit determines whether a boundary of the stratification is present between the first height and the second height based on the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect, in a replacement air-conditioning system according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit determines that the boundary height of the stratification in the room is above the assumed boundary height set between the first height and the second height in a case in which a difference between the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height is smaller than a predetermined value and a change in blow-out air volume of the conditioned air supplied into the room is an increasing tendency, and determines that the boundary height of the stratification in the room is below the assumed boundary height set between the first height and the second height in a case in which the difference between the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height is smaller than the predetermined value and the change in the blow-out air volume of the conditioned air supplied into the room is a decreasing tendency.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to any one of the third aspect to the fifth aspect, in a replacement air-conditioning system according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, the detection unit detects a temperature or an air component at a third height that is set above the first height, the temperature or the air component at the third height includes a temperature or an air component in a discharge path of the indoor air, and the control unit derives the information regarding the boundary height of the stratification in the room based on the temperatures or the air components at the first height, the second height, and the third height.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, in a replacement air-conditioning system according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, an air volume or a temperature of the conditioned air to be supplied into the room is adjusted such that a boundary height of the stratification in the room approaches the assumed boundary height in accordance with information regarding the boundary height of the stratification acquired based on the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect, a replacement air-conditioning system according to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure further includes a display unit including a display screen or a display light. The display unit displays information indicating a boundary height of the stratification in accordance with information regarding the boundary height of the stratification acquired based on the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height.

In the replacement air-conditioning system according to any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, in a replacement air-conditioning system according to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, in a case in which it is determined that a boundary of the stratification is not present between the first height and the second height based on the temperatures or the air components at the first height and the second height, warning information is output.

An information processing method according to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure is executed by a computer, and includes acquiring temperatures or air components at a first height set above an assumed boundary height of stratification in a room and a second height set below the assumed boundary height, which are detected by a detection unit provided in a replacement air-conditioning system configured to be able to form the stratification of a temperature or an air component in the room by supplying conditioned air to a lower side in the room and discharging indoor air from an upper side in the room, and obtaining information regarding a boundary height of the stratification in the room based on the obtained temperatures or air components at the first height and the second height.

An information processing method according to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method executed by a computer, including acquiring temperatures or air components at a first height set above an assumed boundary height of stratification in a room and a second height set below the assumed boundary height, which are detected by a detection unit provided in a replacement air-conditioning system configured to be able to form the stratification of a temperature or an air component in the room by supplying conditioned air to a lower side in the room and discharging indoor air from an upper side in the room, and obtaining information regarding a boundary height of the stratification in the room based on the obtained temperatures or air components at the first height and the second height.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to detect information suitable for grasping a state of temperature stratification.

The present disclosure will be specifically described with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof.

is a schematic diagram of a replacement air-conditioning systemof the present embodiment. The replacement air-conditioning systemof the present embodiment is a system that performs replacement air-conditioning by supplying fresh conditioned air into a roomsurrounded by a ceiling surface, a wall surface, and a floor surfaceand discharging indoor air having a high contaminant concentration in the room. The roomis an example of a target space for replacement air-conditioning by the replacement air-conditioning system. The target space is, for example, an indoor space of an office building, a house, a hospital, a restaurant, a live house, a school, a factory, or a warehouse. In the present embodiment, a case where the replacement air-conditioning systemis applied to the office building will be described as an example.

The replacement air-conditioning systemsupplies conditioned air into a room such that a clean zone (stratification zone) where cleanliness is to be secured becomes equal to or higher than a height of a residential zone. The residential zone is a space in which people often act in the room. The residential zone may be a space from the floor surfaceto the same height as a height of the head of a person in the room (a person staying in the room) or slightly above the height of the head. The height of the head of the person in the room varies depending on an assumed main posture of the person staying in the room, and is, for example, a height of the head in a case where the person is in a sitting position on a chair, a height of the head in a case where the person is in a standing position, or a height of the head in a case where the person is in a lying position on a floor or a sitting position on a floor. The height of the head of the person may be set in advance by a command to a control device to be described later. In the present embodiment, since the sitting position on the chair is mainly assumed as the posture of the person staying in the room in the office building, for example, the height of the head of the person is 1.2 m above the floor, and the residential zone may be 1.3 m or less from the floor surface. In a case where the posture of the person in the room is the standing position, for example, the height of the head of the person is 1.7 m above the floor, and the residential zone may be 1.8 m or less from the floor surface. In a case where the posture of the person in the room is the lying position on the floor or the sitting position on the floor, for example, the height of the head of the person is 0.9 m above the floor, and the residential zone may be 1.0 m or less from the floor surface.

The replacement air-conditioning systemincludes an air conditioner, blow-out ports, intake ports, detection devices, a display device, a control device, and the like.

The air conditionerincludes an outdoor unit (not illustrated) and an indoor unit. The air conditionerair-conditions the room such as heating and cooling of the room by a replacement air-conditioning method. The outdoor unit is, for example, a chiller, and includes a compressor, a heat-source-side heat exchanger, a utilization-side heat exchanger, and the like. The indoor unitincludes a casingand a cleaning and temperature adjusting unitor the like housed in the casing. The indoor unitand the outdoor unit are connected to each other by a water pipe to form a circulation circuit. The circulation circuit exchanges heat between water (circulating water) and a refrigerant to generate chilled water.

The indoor unitis provided indoors and is provided outdoors of the room(outside the wall surface). An outside air duct, a return air duct, and a supply air ductare connected to the casing, and an air circuit (not illustrated) is formed inside the casing. The outside air ducthas an inflow end opened to an outdoor space and an outflow end connected to an inlet of the air circuit of the casing. The return air ducthas an inflow end connected to an attic space and an outflow end connected to an inlet of the air circuit of the casing. The intake portsare directly connected to the attic space, and the attic space functions as a duct of the intake ports. The supply air ducthas an inflow end connected to an outlet of the air circuit of the casingand an outflow end connected to the blow-out ports. In this way, the indoor unitis directly connected to the intake portsvia the return air ductand the attic space, and is directly connected to the blow-out portsvia the supply air duct.

The cleaning and temperature adjusting unitcleans and temperature-adjusts outside air sent from the outside air ductand indoor air as indoor circulating air sent from the return air duct. The cleaning and temperature adjusting unitincludes a filter, a cooling coil, and a fan. The outside air and the indoor circulating air sent into the casingpass through the filterand the cooling coilin this order.

The filtercollects dust in the outside air and the indoor circulating air. The filterrealizes a cleaning function of the cleaning and temperature adjusting unit. The cooling coilis a heat exchanger and realizes a temperature adjustment function of the cleaning and temperature adjusting unit. The fanconveys, to the supply air duct, the air having passed through the filterand the cooling coil, that is, the conditioned air cleaned and temperature-adjusted.

The method for cleaning the air is not limited to the collection by the filterusing the filter, and any method may be used as long as contaminants in the air can be removed or inactivated. The contaminants include, for example, CO, viruses, and the like contained in human breath. The cleaning and temperature adjusting unitmay include, for example, an ultraviolet light emitting device to clean the air by ultraviolet irradiation. The cleaning and temperature adjusting unitmay include, for example, a discharge electrode and a counter electrode, and may clean air by streamer discharge. The cleaning and temperature adjusting unitmay include, for example, an electrostatic precipitator to clean air by electrostatic precipitation.

The indoor unitmay include a passage of an outside air system and a passage of an indoor circulating air system, and may be configured to separately clean and temperature-adjust the outside air and the indoor circulating air. In this case, the filteris not necessarily provided in the passage of the outside air system. The outside air and the indoor circulating air having passed through the indoor unitmay be mixed, flow through the supply air duct, and be blown out from each of the blow-out ports. Alternatively, the supply air ductand the blow-out portsmay be provided to correspond to the passage of the outside air system and the passage of the indoor circulating air system, and each of the outside air and the indoor circulating air may be blown out from each blow-out portwithout being mixed.

A plurality of blow-out portsare provided in the ceiling surface. In the example illustrated in, the replacement air-conditioning systemincludes three blow-out ports. The blow-out portsblow out the conditioned air conveyed from the indoor unitvia the supply air ducttoward the room. The number of blow-out portsmay be two or less or four or more.

The blow-out portincludes a housinghaving an air supply port (not illustrated), and a blow-out tubeformed in a lower wall of the housing. The blow-out tubeis opened toward the floor surface. A lower end edge of the blow-out tubeis positioned on a plane orthogonal to an axis of the blow-out tube. The blow-out portis positioned such that the axis of the blow-out tubeis in a vertical direction. The conditioned air flowing through the supply air ductin a horizontal direction flows into the housingfrom the air supply port, bends a flow path, and is blown out from the blow-out tube. The blow-out portlinearly blows out the conditioned air in a downward direction from the ceiling surfacetoward the floor surface. Specifically, the blow-out portblows out the conditioned air downward in the vertical direction. An axial direction of the blow-out tubeand a blow-out direction of the blow-out portare not limited to the vertical direction, and it is sufficient that the axial direction and the blow-out direction are substantially vertical directions, directions orthogonal to the floor surface, or directions substantially orthogonal to the floor surface. A shape of an opening in the blow-out portis not limited to a circular shape and may be, for example, an elliptical shape, a polygonal shape, or the like.

The blow-out portmay include an openable and closable lid body and may be configured to be able to control an open state of the blow-out tube. For example, the blow-out tubemay be switchable between an open state and a closed state, or an opening degree of the blow-out tubein the open state may be adjustable.

The blow-out portis preferably installed in a region of the ceiling surfaceother than a region above the person in the room. The region of the person in the room may be a region specified based on a layout of the room, a use mode, and the like, and a region in which the person staying in the room likely to stay for a relatively long period of time. The installation position of the blow-out portmay be determined in consideration of, for example, positions of the wall surface, an appliance in the room, the intake ports, and other blow-out portsin a case where the plurality of blow-out portsare provided.

A plurality of intake portsare also provided in the ceiling surface. In the example illustrated in, the replacement air-conditioning systemincludes two intake ports. The intake portstakes in indoor air containing contaminants. The number of intake portsmay be one or three or more.

The blow-out portsand the intake portsis not necessarily provided in the ceiling surface, as long as they are installed on an upper side of the room. The blow-out portsand the intake portsmay be installed, for example, in the supply air ductand the return air ductinstalled in the room. The replacement air-conditioning systemmay include a discharge port (not illustrated) to discharge a part of the indoor air taken in from the intake portsto the outside of the room.

The detection deviceis a sensor that detects an indoor air temperature. The detection devicecorresponds to a detection unit. For example, a temperature sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, or the like can be used as the detection device. The detection devicedetects an air temperature at predetermined or appropriate time intervals and outputs data indicating the detected temperature to the control device.

The detection devicedetects a first temperature indicating an air temperature at a first height in the room and a second temperature indicating an air temperature at a second height below the first height in the vertical direction. In the example illustrated in, the detection deviceincludes a first detection devicedisposed at a detection place of the first temperature at the first height, and a second detection devicedisposed at a detection place of the second temperature at the second height. The first detection devicedetects, as the first temperature, an air temperature around an installation position of the first detection device. The second detection devicedetects, as the second temperature, an air temperature around an installation position of the second detection device.

As will be described in detail later, the control devicedetermines whether a boundary of temperature stratification is present between the first height and the second height based on the first temperature and the second temperature detected by the detection device. The first height and the second height are set as positions sandwiching an assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification in the room. The assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification means a height of a boundary surface of the temperature stratification assumed in the room. The first height is set above the assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification, and the second height is set below the assumed boundary height of the assumed temperature stratification. The first height may be set above the head of the person in the room. Any one of the first height and the second height may be set as the same height as the assumed boundary height.

The assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification, the first height, and the second height differ depending on the assumed posture of the person or a height of the head of the person corresponding to the posture. The first height and the second height are set in advance by a user, for example, prior to determining whether the boundary of the temperature stratification is present.

In a case where the posture of the person staying in the room is the sitting position on the chair, for example, the assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification is 1.5 m, the first height is 1.5 m to 1.9 m above the floor, and the second height is 1.0 m to 1.4 m above the floor. In a case where the person staying in the room is at the sitting position on the chair, the first height is preferably 1.6 m above the floor, and the second height is preferably 1.2 m above the floor.

Alternatively, in a case where the person staying in the room is at the sitting position on the chair, for example, the assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification as a lower limit is 1.3 m, the first height is 1.3 m to 1.5 m above the floor, and the second height is 0.6 m to 1.2 m above the floor. In a case where the person staying in the room is at the sitting position on the chair, the first height is preferably 1.4 m above the floor, and the second height is preferably 1.0 m above the floor.

In a case where the posture of the person staying in the room is the standing position, for example, the assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification is 1.9 m, the first height is 1.9 m to 2.2 m above the floor, and the second height is 1.5 m to 1.8 m above the floor. In a case where the person staying in the room is at the standing position, the first height is preferably 2.0 m above the floor, and the second height is preferably 1.6 m above the floor.

In a case where the posture of the person staying in the room is the lying position on the floor or the sitting position on the floor, for example, the assumed boundary height of the temperature stratification is 1.1 m, the first height is 1.1 m to 1.6 m above the floor, and the second height is 0.6 m to 1.0 m above the floor. In a case where the person staying in the room is in the lying position on the floor or the sitting position on the floor, the first height is preferably 1.2 m above the floor, and the second height is preferably 0.7 m above the floor.

The detection devicealso preferably detects an air temperature outside a passage region through which an airflow caused by the conditioned air from the blow-out portspasses from the blow-out portsto the floor surface. Specifically, it is preferable that the detection devicedetects a temperature of a space outside a space directly below a lower end surface of the blow-out porttoward the floor surfacein the residential zone in the room. The lower end surface of the blow-out portmeans a surface surrounded by an outer frame of a lower end of the blow-out port(in the present embodiment, a lower end edge of the blow-out tube). The space directly below the lower end surface of the blow-out porttoward the floor surfacecorresponds to a three dimensional region from the lower end surface of the blow-out portto the floor surfaceincluding a range overlapping the lower end surface as viewed in the vertical direction. Thus, the air temperature can be suitably detected without being affected by a temperature change generated in the passage region of the conditioned air.

The detection devicemay be installed at an appropriate position as long as the detection device can detect the air temperature at the detection place. For example, in a case where the infrared sensor is used as the detection device, the infrared sensor may be installed at the first height or the second height and at a position (for example, the wall surfaceor the like) different from the detection place of the air temperature in the horizontal direction. The infrared sensor detects the air temperature of the detection place set at a position apart from the installation position of the detection device. A plurality of detection devicesmay or may not be installed as the detection device. For example, the first temperature and the second temperature may be detected by one infrared camera capable of imaging a wide range in the room.

The display devicenotifies the user of information on an air environment in the room, in particular on a boundary surface height of the temperature stratification. The display devicecorresponds to a display unit. The display device (unit)includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal panel (LCD display screen) or an organic electro luminescence (EL) display (EL display screen), an LED lamp (display light), or the like. The display devicemay be replaced with an output device to notify the user by other means such as sound. The display devicedisplays various kinds of information to be notified to the user in accordance with an instruction from the control deviceto be described later.

The control deviceis a computer and controls each device of the replacement air-conditioning system. The control devicecontrols an operation of the air conditionerand adjusts a blow-out air volume and a blow-out temperature of the conditioned air from the blow-out ports.

is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the control device. The control deviceincludes a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, an input and output unit, and the like.

The control unitincludes an arithmetic processing device such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The control unitexecutes various programs stored in the ROM or the storage unitby using a built-in memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), a clock, a counter, and the like, and controls an operation of each of the hardware units described above. The storage unitincludes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk, an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The storage unitstores various computer programs and data to be referred to by the control unit. The communication unitincludes a communication device that realizes communication via a communication network.

The input and output unitincludes an input and output device for connecting an external device. The air conditioner, the blow-out ports, the detection devices, the display device, and the like are connected to the input and output unitin a wired or wireless manner. The control unitoutputs a control signal to the air conditioner, the blow-out ports, and the display devicevia the input and output unit, and receives detection values output from the detection devicesvia the input and output unit.

In the replacement air-conditioning systemhaving the above configuration, outside air, which is fresh air introduced from an outside of a building, and indoor air containing contaminants taken in from the room via the intake portsare conveyed to the air conditioner. The outside air and the indoor air conveyed to the air conditionerare cleaned by the filter, and sent out, as conditioned air cooled or heated to a predetermined temperature by the cooling coil, at a predetermined air volume by the fan.