Patent ID: 8162845
Filing Date: 2012-04-24
Classification: F24F,Y02B

Abstract:
1. An environment control device, comprising: a processor; a biological information acquiring section for acquiring time-series data of biological information on a plurality of living bodies applied with a stimulation; a parameter extracting section for analyzing, using the processor, the time-series data acquired by the biological information acquiring section to extract a parameter which is changed with a lapse of time; a living body status estimating section for estimating a status of each of the living bodies to the stimulation, based on the parameter extracted by the parameter extracting section; an integration processing section for integrating estimation results on the living bodies estimated by the living body status estimating section into a single estimation result; and a stimulation controlling section for controlling contents of the stimulation to be applied to the living bodies, based on the estimation result integrated by the integration processing section, wherein the stimulation includes a thermal stimulation, wherein the living body status estimating section is operative to estimate whether a thermal sensation of the living body to the thermal stimulation corresponds to a first status indicating that the thermal sensation is shifted from a cold condition to a neutral condition, a second status indicating that the thermal sensation is shifted from a hot condition to the neutral condition, a third status indicating that the thermal sensation is shifted from the neutral condition to the hot condition, or a fourth status indicating that the thermal sensation is shifted from the neutral condition to the cold condition, based on the parameter extracted by the parameter extracting section, with respect to the each of the living bodies, wherein the parameter extracting section is operative to extract a first parameter whose value is increased, as the thermal sensation is shifted from the cold condition to the neutral condition, and then to the hot condition, and a second parameter which has a minimal value when the thermal sensation corresponds to the neutral condition, whose value is increased, as the thermal sensation is shifted from the neutral condition to the cold condition, and whose value is increased, as the thermal sensation is shifted from the neutral condition to the hot condition, wherein the first parameter is a pulse wave height maximum value, wherein the second parameter is a maximum Lyapunov index, and wherein the living body status estimating section is operative to calculate a change with time in the pulse wave height maximum value extracted by the parameter extracting section, and a change with time in the maximum Lyapunov index extracted by the parameter extracting section, estimate that the thermal sensation of the living body corresponds to the first status if the pulse wave height maximum value is increased and the maximum Lyapunov index is decreased, estimate that the thermal sensation of the living body corresponds to the second status if the pulse wave height maximum value is decreased and the maximum Lyapunov index is decreased, estimate that the thermal sensation of the living body corresponds to the third status if the pulse wave height maximum value is increased and the maximum Lyapunov index is increased, and estimate that the thermal sensation of the living body corresponds to the fourth status if the pulse wave height maximum value is decreased and the maximum Lyapunov index is increased.