US-20260126695-A1 - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DRIVING ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICE

US20260126695A1US 20260126695 A1US20260126695 A1US 20260126695A1US-20260126695-A1

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus for driving an electrochromic device comprises: a memory; and a processor is configured to obtain operating environment information including at least one of solar altitude, variable azimuth angle, and temperature according to an operating environment of an electrochromic device operating so that transmittance for a specific wavelength is adjusted through color change when electricity is applied, to generate a control signal corresponding to a capacitance to be applied to the electrochromic device on a basis of the operating environment information, to apply the capacitance corresponding to the control signal to the electrochromic device to drive the electrochromic device so that the transmittance is adjusted, and to generate the control signal by reflecting climate characteristics obtained by analyzing the operating environment information.

Inventors

Seung Bae Oh
Yong Sang LA

Assignees

SKC CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20230502
Priority Date: 20220502

Claims (17)

1 . An apparatus for driving an electrochromic device comprising: a memory in which an electrochromic device driving program is stored; and a processor configured to load the electrochromic device driving program from the memory, and to execute the electrochromic device driving program, wherein the processor is configured to obtain operating environment information including at least one of solar altitude, variable azimuth angle, and temperature according to an operating environment of the electrochromic device that operates so that transmittance for a specific wavelength is adjusted through color change when electricity is applied, to generate a control signal corresponding to a capacitance to be applied to the electrochromic device on a basis of the operating environment information, to apply the capacitance corresponding to the control signal to the electrochromic device to drive the electrochromic device so that the transmittance is adjusted, and to generate the control signal by reflecting climate characteristics obtained by analyzing the operating environment information.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal so that visible light transmittance of the electrochromic device reaches a preset transmittance or less within a predetermined period of time according to an altitude comparison result of comparing the solar altitude to a preset threshold altitude.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal further on the basis of installation environment information including at least one of fixed azimuth angle and latitude of the electrochromic device.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal according to an azimuth angle comparison result of comparing the variable azimuth angle or the fixed azimuth angle to a preset threshold azimuth angles and the altitude comparison result.
5 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal according to a difference between the latitude of the electrochromic device and the solar altitude.
6 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal according to a difference between the latitude of the electrochromic device, the solar altitude and the temperature.
7 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal according to the latitude of the electrochromic device, the altitude comparison result, and the temperature.
8 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the control signal according to an azimuth angle comparison result of comparing the variable azimuth angle or the fixed azimuth angle to a preset threshold azimuth angle, a position of the electrochromic device, the temperature, and a date and time.
9 . A method for driving an electrochromic device, performed by an apparatus for driving an electrochromic device that operates so that transmittance for a specific wavelength is adjusted through color change when electricity is applied, the method comprising: obtaining operating environment information including at least one of solar altitude, variable azimuth angle, and temperature according to an operating environment of the electrochromic device; determining a capacitance to be applied to the electrochromic device on a basis of the obtained operating environment information; and applying the determined capacitance to the electrochromic device to drive the electrochromic device so that the transmittance is adjusted, wherein the determining the capacitance, climate characteristics obtained by analyzing the operating environment information are reflected.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein applying the determined capacitance, the electrochromic device is driven so that visible light transmittance of the electrochromic device reaches a preset transmittance or less within a predetermined period of time according to an altitude comparison result of comparing the solar altitude to a preset threshold altitude.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the determining the capacitance, the capacitance is determined further on the basis of installation environment information including at least one of fixed azimuth angle and latitude of the electrochromic device.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining the capacitance, the capacitance is determined according to an azimuth angle comparison result of comparing the variable azimuth angle or the fixed azimuth angle to a preset threshold azimuth angles and the altitude comparison result.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining the capacitance, the capacitance is determined according to a difference between the latitude of the electrochromic device and the solar altitude.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining the capacitance, the capacitance is determined according to a difference between the latitude of the electrochromic device, the solar altitude and the temperature.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining the capacitance, the capacitance is determined according to the latitude of the electrochromic device, the altitude comparison result, and the temperature.
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining the capacitance, the capacitance is determined according to an azimuth angle comparison result of comparing the variable azimuth angle or the fixed azimuth angle to a preset threshold azimuth angle, a position of the electrochromic device, the temperature, and a date and time.
17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, comprises an instruction for causing the processor to perform a method comprising: obtaining operating environment information including at least one of solar altitude, variable azimuth angle, and temperature according to an operating environment of an electrochromic device; determining a capacitance to be applied to the electrochromic device on a basis of the obtained operating environment information; and applying the determined capacitance to the electrochromic device to drive the electrochromic device so that the transmittance is adjusted, and wherein the determining the capacitance, climate characteristics obtained by analyzing the operating environment information are reflected.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments relate to an apparatus and method for driving an electrochromic device that exhibits a light transmission variable function based on an electrochromic principle. This work was supported by Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) (Project unique No.: 1415181538; Project No.: 20192010107400; R&D project: Development of energy demand management core technology; Research Project Title: Development of energy self-sufficient smart window technology; and Project period: 2022 Jan. 1˜2022 Sep. 30). BACKGROUND With the recent increase in concerns for environmental protection, there has been a corresponding increase in interest in technologies that improve energy efficiency. For example, research and development on technologies such as a smart window and energy harvesting are being actively carried out. The smart window refers to an active control technology that enhances energy efficiency by adjusting the transmittance of light from the outside, and can provide a comfortable environment to users. It is a foundation technology that can be commonly applied to various industries. The smart windows include an electrochromic device that undergoes an electrochemical oxidation or a reduction reaction with an applied power source, leading to changes in the intrinsic color of an electrochromic active material or an optical property, such as light transmittance. When a film including this electrochromic device is applied to a window of an architectural structure, the amount of energy introduced into indoor areas may be adjusted by controlling the transmittance of a specific wavelength of solar rays through color change when electricity is applied. The electrochromic device or film including the same according to the related art exhibited a nearly uniform characteristic of the chromic rate of the electrochromic device because a predetermined amount of electricity is supplied to the electrochromic device during the color change operation. There has been a problem where the uniform chromic rate of the electrochromic device has not satisfied diverse needs of consumer under various operating environments. SUMMARY According to an embodiment, there is provided an apparatus and method for driving an electrochromic device that is capable of allowing transmittance of the electrochromic device to be adjusted by varying capacitance applied to the electrochromic device according to solar altitude, azimuth angle, temperature, or the like that depends on an operating environment of the electrochromic device. However, the problem to be solved by the present disclosure is not limited to that mentioned above, and other problems to be solved that are not mentioned may be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the following description. There is provided an apparatus for driving an electrochromic device, according to a first aspect, the apparatus including information acquisition unit configured to obtain operating environment information including at least one of solar altitude, variable azimuth angle, and temperature according to an operating environment of the electrochromic device that operates so that transmittance for a specific wavelength is adjusted through color change when electricity is applied, a control unit configured to generate a control signal corresponding to a capacitance to be applied to the electrochromic device on a basis of the operating environment information obtained by the information acquisition unit, and a driving unit configured to apply the capacitance corresponding to the control signal to the electrochromic device to drive the electrochromic device so that the transmittance is adjusted, and the control unit further configured to generate the control signal by reflecting climate characteristics obtained by analyzing the operating environment information. There is provided a method of driving an electrochromic device, according to a second aspect, performed by an apparatus for driving an electrochromic device that operates so that transmittance for a specific wavelength is adjusted through color change when electricity is applied, the method including obtaining operating environment information including at least one of solar altitude, variable azimuth angle, and temperature according to an operating environment of the electrochromic device, determining a capacitance to be applied to the electrochromic device on the basis of the obtained operating environment information, and applying the determined capacitance to the electrochromic device to drive the electrochromic device so that the transmittance is adjusted, and climate characteristics obtained by analyzing the operating environment information are reflected when the capacitance is determined. There is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a compu