Apparatus management system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11028525-B2
Application number	US-201816490077-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 19, 2018
Priority date	Mar 31, 2017
Publication date	Jun 8, 2021
Grant date	Jun 8, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus management system is provided which includes a bathroom heating and drying apparatus configured to control an air environment in a bathroom space; and a control terminal connected to the bathroom heating and drying apparatus to transmit and receive information to and from the bathroom heating and drying apparatus. The control terminal includes: condition acquisition unit configured to acquire operation information related to a control condition of the bathroom heating and drying apparatus; control condition determination unit configured to determine the control condition of the bathroom heating and drying apparatus, based on the operation information acquired by the condition acquisition unit; and an operating unit configured to operate the bathroom heating and drying apparatus under the control condition determined by the control condition determination unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus management system, comprising:
a bathroom heating and drying apparatus configured to control an air environment in a bathroom space;
an input unit configured to receive an input of a time of arrival, the time of arrival being a time required for a person to arrive at a building including the bathroom space; and
a control terminal connected to the bathroom heating and drying apparatus to transmit and receive information to and from the bathroom heating and drying apparatus,
the control terminal including:
a condition acquisition unit connected to the input unit and configured to acquire operation information, including the time of arrival, related to a control condition of the bathroom heating and drying apparatus;
a control condition determination unit configured to determine the control condition of the bathroom heating and drying apparatus, based on the operation information including the time of arrival acquired by the condition acquisition unit; and
an operating unit configured to operate the bathroom heating and drying apparatus under the control condition determined by the control condition determination unit.

2. The apparatus management system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a humidity sensing unit configured to sense humidity information on the bathroom space; and
a person presence information acquisition unit configured to acquire person presence information indicating whether or not a person is present in the building including the bathroom space,
wherein the condition acquisition unit is configured
to acquire the person presence information via the person presence information acquisition unit, and,
to, when the person presence information acquired by the person presence information acquisition unit indicates that no one is in the building, acquire the time of arrival inputted into the input unit and the humidity information sensed by the humidity sensing unit,

wherein the control condition determination unit is configured
to determine the control condition of the bathroom heating and drying apparatus, based on the time of arrival and the humidity information that have been acquired by the condition acquisition unit.

3. The apparatus management system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the control condition determination unit is configured
to compare the time of arrival with a predetermined time threshold,
to compare an indoor humidity indicated by the humidity information with a predetermined humidity threshold, and,
to, when the time of arrival is shorter than the predetermined time threshold and the indoor humidity is higher than the predetermined humidity threshold, determine the control condition to raise a temperature of air blown from the bathroom heating and drying apparatus into the bathroom space.

4. The apparatus management system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the control condition determination unit is configured
to compare the time of arrival with a predetermined time threshold,
to compare an indoor humidity indicated by the humidity information with a predetermined humidity threshold, and,
to, when the time of arrival is shorter than the predetermined time threshold and the indoor humidity is higher than the predetermined humidity threshold, determine the control condition to increase a volume of air blown from the bathroom heating and drying apparatus into the bathroom space.

5. The apparatus management system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the bathroom heating and drying apparatus includes:
an exhaust fan configured to produce an exhaust air current that flows from the bathroom space to an outdoor space;
a circulation fan configured to produce a circulating air current that circulates through the bathroom space; and
an exhaust shutter configured to open and close a conveying path for conveying air from the bathroom space to the outdoor space, and

wherein the control condition determination unit is configured to, when the time of arrival is longer than the predetermined time threshold and the indoor humidity is lower than the predetermined humidity threshold, put the exhaust shutter into an open state and stop the exhaust fan and the circulation fan.

6. The apparatus management system according to claim 3 , further comprising a smell measuring unit configured to measure a smell in the bathroom space,
wherein the condition acquisition unit is configured to acquire information on the smell measured by the smell measuring unit, and
wherein the control condition determination unit is configured to, when the indoor humidity is lower than the predetermined humidity threshold and a smell value indicated by the information on the smell is equal to or larger than a predetermined smell threshold, determine the control condition to increase a volume of exhaust air in the bathroom space from the bathroom heating and drying apparatus to an outside of the bathroom space.

7. The apparatus management system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control terminal further includes:
a present position information acquisition unit configured to acquire information on a present position of a mobile communication device more than once at different time points from the mobile communication device;
a positional information storage unit configured to store positional information on the control terminal; and
an expected-time-of-arrival calculation unit configured to calculate a distance between the control terminal and the mobile communication device, based on the present position information acquired by the present position information acquisition unit and the positional information stored on the control terminal, to calculate a movement speed of the mobile communication device, based on a plurality of items of the information of the present position, and to calculate an expected time of arrival of the mobile communication device at a position of the control terminal, based on the distance and the movement speed,

wherein the input unit is configured to regard the expected time of arrival calculated by the expected-time-of-arrival calculation unit as a time of arrival of a person at the building.

8. The apparatus management system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the person presence information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the person presence information as a security system for detecting an intruder into the building.

9. The apparatus management system according to claim 4 ,
wherein the bathroom heating and drying apparatus includes:
an exhaust fan configured to produce an exhaust air current that flows from the bathroom space to an outdoor space;
a circulation fan configured to produce a circulating air current that circulates through the bathroom space; and
an exhaust shutter configured to open and close a conveying path for conveying air from the bathroom space to the outdoor space, and

wherein the control condition determination unit is configured to, when the time of arrival is longer than the predetermined time threshold and the indoor humidity is lower than the predetermined humidity threshold, put the exhaust shutter into an open state and stop the exhaust fan and the circulation fan.

10. The apparatus management system according to claim 4 , further comprising a smell measuring unit configured to measure a smell in the bathroom space,
wherein the condition acquisition unit is configured to acquire information on the smell measured by the smell measuring unit, and
wherein the control condition determination unit is configured to, when the indoor humidity is lower than the predetermined humidity threshold and a smell value indicated by the information on the smell is equal to or larger tha

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Okumura Meitoku
• Kachi Masamichi
• Nakajima Tsuraki
• Konishi Ayumi

Classifications

• F26B21/33

  Humidity · CPC title

• F24D15/00 Primary

  Other domestic- or space-heating systems · CPC title

• D06F2105/16

  Air properties · CPC title

• D06F58/10

  Drying cabinets or drying chambers having heating or ventilating means · CPC title

• D06F34/05

  for wireless communication between components, e.g. for remote monitoring or control · CPC title