JP5385755B2 - Lighting system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is an illumination in which lighting devices are arranged on the ceiling, floor, wall, etc. of the room, and a lighting device to be turned on when the room is illuminated with the lighting device or a dimming ratio in dimming lighting is set. It is about the system.

  In recent years, in indoor lighting using lighting devices, lighting devices have been placed in different places such as indoor ceilings, floors, walls, etc., and the light distribution is changed by changing the lighting device to be lit or changing the dimming ratio setting. In addition, it is desired to create various lighting scenes according to daily life by changing the color temperature by changing the lighting device to be turned on using lighting devices having different color temperatures, and changing the light distribution and color temperature. Became.

  In creating a lighting scene, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a lighting system is formed by a plurality of lighting devices 1 and a controller 70 that operates the lighting device 1, and the lighting device 1 is operated by the controller 70. The lighting device 1 is turned on, turned off, or dimmed. Here, as the lighting device 1, a ceiling light 1a, which is main lighting installed on the ceiling, a downlight 1b set on the ceiling, a footlamp 1c installed on the floor, and an illumination stand 1d placed on the floor And a wall lamp 1e installed on the wall.

  The controller 70 includes a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of operation input units 70 for setting the dimming ratio, and is installed and operated on the indoor wall. The controller 70 is connected to the ceiling light 1a and the downlight 1b through a line capable of transmitting a control signal instructing lighting control such as lighting, extinguishing, and dimming lighting. The controller 70 inputs a control signal using radio waves to the foot lamp 1c, the lighting stand 1d, and the wall lamp 1e.

  By the way, the lighting system shown in FIG. 1 uses a technology in which the lighting devices 1 are divided into a plurality of groups and the lighting devices 1 are collectively operated for each group to create a lighting scene. As an example of this technique, there is a technique in which a unique ID number is set for each lighting device 1 and the correspondence between each ID number and each operation input unit 71 provided in the controller 70 is registered in the controller 70. The controller 70 includes an ID number corresponding to the operated operation input unit 71 and outputs the control signal, and operates the lighting device 1 having the same ID number as the ID number included in the control signal.

  In the illumination system shown in FIG. 11, for four operation input units 71, an illumination group A consisting of a ceiling light 1a, an illumination group B consisting of a downlight 1b, an illumination group C consisting of a foot lamp 1c, and an illumination The illumination devices 1 are grouped into four illumination groups A to D including an illumination group D including a stand 1d and a wall lamp 1e.

  As another example of the technique of operating the lighting devices collectively for each group, each lighting device is provided with a channel change switch, each channel is set with the channel change switch, and each lighting device is grouped by channel. There is something to divide. The controller is provided with a channel selection switch. When the operation input unit is operated, a lighting device having the same channel as the channel selected by the channel selection switch is operated.

  As a technique for creating an illumination scene, in addition to the above-described technique for collectively operating the illumination apparatus for each group using an ID number or a channel, a remote control apparatus having a directional antenna (see, for example, Patent Document 1) There is a technique of operating the lighting devices one by one with the remote control device facing the lighting device.

JP 2003-347815 A

  By the way, in an illumination system using a technique for grouping illumination devices using ID numbers and channels, the illumination devices are collectively operated for each group. Therefore, the illumination devices are operated one by one using a remote control device. Rather than creating a lighting scene, the time and effort required to create a lighting scene can be reduced.

  However, in the lighting system grouped using ID numbers, it is difficult to understand the correspondence between each group and each operation input unit, whereas in the lighting system grouped using channels, the correspondence between each group and each channel. Is difficult to understand. In other words, in a lighting system using a technique for grouping, there is a risk that a lighting device other than the lighting device that is to be operated is erroneously operated. In order to prevent erroneous operation of lighting devices other than the target lighting device, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, group names (“main lighting”, “downlight”, “stand / wall”, “foot” ") Is troublesome because the user needs to take notes on the controller 70 or the like.

  In addition, in an illumination system using a technique for grouping using ID numbers, registration work for registering the correspondence between each ID number and each operation input unit in the controller is required. For example, each of the lighting devices includes a transmission unit that transmits an ID number assigned to the lighting device to the controller and a transmission switch that causes the transmission unit to transmit the ID number. This is done by sending the ID number to. Since the physical operation such as operation of the transmission switch has to be performed for each lighting device, the above-described registration work takes time.

  On the other hand, in an illumination system using a technique for grouping using channels, a setting operation for setting a channel for each illumination device using a channel changeover switch is required. Since the physical operation such as operation of the channel switch must be performed for each lighting device, this setting work is troublesome.

  As described above, in a lighting system using a technique for creating a lighting scene by grouping lighting devices using ID numbers and channels and collectively operating each group, one lighting device is used using a remote control device. Although it is possible to reduce the time and effort required to create a lighting scene rather than to operate, there is a problem that the above-described registration work and setting work are troublesome and there is a possibility that a lighting device other than the operation target may be erroneously operated. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described reasons, and the object thereof is to reduce the time and effort required to create an illumination scene rather than to operate an illumination device one by one to create an illumination scene. It is an object of the present invention to provide an illumination system that does not require registration work and channel setting work, and that can reduce the risk of erroneously operating a lighting device other than the operation target.

  The invention described in claim 1 uses a plurality of illumination devices each having a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves, a remote control body provided with an operation input unit for performing operations, and a transmission antenna for radiating radio waves. A remote control device that controls lighting control of the lighting device, the remote control device includes a cover that is openably and closably attached to the remote control body, and the operation input unit is operated when the cover is in the open position. The operation contents of the lighting device are changed depending on whether the operation input unit is operated when in the closed position. The transmission antenna includes two antenna units having different radio wave reach ranges, and the cover is opened on the remote control device. Selection means is provided for selecting one of the two antenna portions when in the position and selecting the other when in the closed position to radiate radio waves to the selected antenna portion. To.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission antenna includes a main antenna and a sub-antenna having different radiation characteristics, and the selection unit includes the main antenna as the one antenna unit. The main antenna and the sub antenna are used together as the other antenna portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, one of the two antenna portions has directivity.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the selection unit selects one of the two antenna units according to the position of the cover (open position or closed position), and radiates radio waves to the selected antenna unit to thereby select the two antennas. Since the reach of radio waves is different from each other, open (or close) the cover to widen the reach of radio waves, turn on multiple lighting devices at once, and then close (or open) the cover As a result, it is possible to create an illumination scene by individually operating only lighting devices that need to be operated, such as lighting devices that want to be turned off by narrowing the reach of radio waves. As a result, lighting is performed by operating one lighting device at a time. Compared to creating a scene, you can reduce the time and effort required to create a lighting scene. You can also create a lighting scene without registering ID numbers or setting channels. It can be advantageously reduced risk of accidental operation of the lighting device other than lighting device elephant.

  In the configuration of claim 2, the selecting means uses the main antenna alone as one antenna part, and uses the main antenna and the sub antenna together as the other antenna part, and always uses the main antenna regardless of the position of the cover. Therefore, there is no need to provide the selection means with a configuration for selecting the main antenna, and there is an advantage that the configuration of the selection means can be simplified.

  In the configuration of claim 3, since one of the two antenna units has directivity and changes the reach of the radio wave depending on the directivity, the reach of the radio wave can be increased. There is an advantage that it can be operated.

It is a top view of this embodiment, (a) is a figure which shows the case where a several illuminating device is operated collectively, (b) is a figure which shows the case where a specific illuminating device is operated. It is a block diagram of an illuminating device same as the above. It is a block diagram of a remote control apparatus same as the above. It is a perspective view of a remote control apparatus same as the above, (a) is a figure of the state which closed the cover, (b) is a figure of the state which opened the cover. It is a perspective view of a board | substrate same as the above, (a) is a figure of the state which closed the cover, (b) is a figure of the state which opened the cover. It is a perspective view of the board | substrate which a main antenna same as the above shows. It is a perspective view of the board | substrate which a subantenna same as the above shows. It is a perspective view of a remote control apparatus same as the above. It is a perspective view of a cover and a substrate which show another form same as the above. It is a perspective view of the cover and a board | substrate which show another form same as the above. It is a top view which shows a prior art example. It is a front view of a controller same as the above.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the illumination system according to the present embodiment has a configuration including a plurality of illumination devices 1 and a remote control device 2 that operates the illumination devices 1 with radio waves.

  In the illustrated example, the lighting device 1 has a ceiling light 1a and a downlight 1b installed on the ceiling in the room, a foot lamp 1c installed on the floor, an illumination stand 1d standing on the floor, and a wall. A wall lamp 1e is used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each lighting device 1 includes a lamp 11 and a lighting control circuit 12 that performs lighting control such as lighting, extinguishing, or dimming lighting of the lamp 11.

  In addition, each lighting device 1 includes a receiving antenna 13 that receives radio waves from the remote control device 2, an RF power feeding unit 14 that is connected to the receiving antenna 13, and a signal that is input to the receiving antenna 13 through the RF power feeding unit 14. A high-frequency circuit 15 that demodulates (RF signal described later) and outputs a signal (control signal described later) and a control circuit 16 that receives a control signal from the high-frequency circuit 15 are provided.

  The control circuit 16 is provided with a control table 16a that stores a correspondence relationship between an input control signal and control contents of the lamp 11 such as lighting, extinguishing, and dimming lighting. The control circuit 16 operates the illumination control circuit 12 so as to control the lamp 11 with the control content according to the input control signal.

  In addition, the lighting device 1 is provided with a display unit 17 including a display lamp 17 a that emits light having a light color different from that of the lamp 11. In the illustrated example, a light emitting diode is used for the indicator lamp 17a. The indicator lamp 17a is controlled to be lit by the control circuit 16, and is lit or blinked when a control signal is input from the high frequency circuit 15. The indicator lamp 17a changes its lighting method such as lighting or blinking according to the control content of the lamp 11, for example. The display unit 17 can be used, for example, to display the presence / absence of reception of radio waves and the control content of the lamp 11 to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the remote control device 2 includes a plurality of (5 in FIG. 4) operation switches 21 that are operation input units operated by a user, and when the operation switch 21 is operated, A control circuit 22 that generates and outputs a control signal instructing lighting control, a high-frequency circuit 23 that modulates the control signal and generates and outputs an RF signal, and an RF power supply unit 24 connected to the output terminal of the high-frequency circuit 23 And a transmission antenna that is connected to the high-frequency circuit 23 via the RF power feeding unit 24 and transmits an RF signal. The generation of control signals by the control circuit 22 and the basic configuration of the transmission antenna will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the remote control device 2 includes a remote control body 31 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in one direction, and the remote control body 31 includes a control circuit 22 and a high-frequency circuit 23 (see FIG. 3). ), A substrate 35 on which various electronic components (not shown) are mounted is housed. The substrate 35 is fixed at a fixed position so that the thickness direction matches the thickness direction of the remote control main body 31.

  The above-described operation switch 21 is attached to the remote control body 31 so as to be exposed on the operation surface 31a side that is one surface in the thickness direction, and a cover formed in a plate shape that is substantially the same shape as the operation surface 31a of the remote control body 31. 32 is attached.

  One end of the cover 32 in the short direction is coupled to one end of the front wall of the remote control body 31 in the short direction via the hinge 33, and covers the operation surface 31a of the remote control body 31 when in the closed position.

  The cover 32 is provided with an exposure window 34 that exposes the operation switch 21 when the cover 32 is closed. That is, the operation switch 21 can be operated in both the closed state and the open state of the cover 32. Instead of the exposure window 34, an operation unit (for example, a push button) that can operate the operation switch 21 when the cover 32 is in the closed position can be provided on the cover 32.

  The opening / closing of the cover 32 is detected by the control circuit 22 by a detection switch (not shown) provided on the remote control main body 31. As the detection switch, for example, a push button switch is used. When the cover 32 is closed, an operation protrusion for pressing the detection switch is provided on the rear surface of the cover 32.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit 22 stores a correspondence relationship between ON / OFF of the detection switch, ON / OFF of the operation switch 21, and operation contents such as lighting, extinguishing, and dimming lighting of the lighting device 1. 22a is provided. When the operation switch 21 is operated, the control circuit 22 generates a control signal having an operation content corresponding to the type of the operated operation switch 21 and the on / off state of the detection switch. That is, the operation content of the lighting device 1 can be changed between when the cover 32 is opened and the operation switch 21 is operated, and when the cover 32 is closed and the operation switch 21 is operated. For example, the lighting device 1 can be turned on and off regardless of whether the cover 32 is closed or open, and the dimming ratio in the dimming lighting of the lighting device 1 can be set only when the cover 32 is opened. Set the correspondence.

  By the way, as described above, the RF signal generated by modulating the control signal is transmitted to the transmitting antenna via the RF power feeding unit 24. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the remote control device 2 includes a main antenna 41 and a sub antenna 42 as transmission antennas.

  As the main antenna 41, for example, a monopole antenna 41a or a Yagi antenna 41b shown in FIG. 6 is used. In the following description, the longitudinal direction of the remote control body 31 is described as the front-rear direction.

  When the monopole antenna 41 a is used as the main antenna 41, the main pole 41 is provided at the front end portion of the substrate 35 along the short direction of the operation surface 31 a of the remote control body 31. The monopole antenna usually has isotropic directivity in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. However, in this embodiment, the monopole antenna is provided at the front end portion of the substrate 35. The radiation intensity of the radio wave radiated to the rear of the remote control body 31 tends to be weak, and the radiation intensity of the radio wave radiated to the front tends to be strong. That is, the monopole antenna 41a has directivity such that the radio wave radiated in front of the remote control main body 31 has higher radiation intensity than the radio wave radiated in the other direction.

  When the Yagi antenna 41 b is used as the main antenna 41, the Yagi antenna 41 b is provided on the substrate 35 so as to radiate radio waves in front of the remote control body 31.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the main antenna 41 is an antenna having directivity such that the radio wave radiated in front of the remote control main body 31 has higher radiation intensity than the radio wave radiated in the other direction.

  On the other hand, a loop antenna 42a and a lot antenna 42b shown in FIG. The loop antenna 42 a is formed in a loop shape around the entire periphery of the edge portion of the substrate 35 by a conductor pattern, and has directivity so as to radiate radio waves in the thickness direction of the remote control main body 31. The lot antenna 42 b is provided separately from the substrate 35 so as to be along the short direction of the front surface of the remote control main body 31, and has directivity so as to radiate radio waves in the short direction of the operation surface 31 a of the remote control main body 31.

  The directivity of the antenna composed of the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 when radio waves are radiated from the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 will be described in detail.

  When the monopole antenna 41a is used for the main antenna 41 and the loop antenna 42a is used for the sub-antenna 42, if the radio wave is radiated from the monopole antenna 41a and the loop antenna 42a, the tendency of the loop antenna 42a (forward) The tendency that the radiation intensity of the radio wave radiated to the surface is increased) has been obtained. That is, when the monopole antenna 41a is used for the main antenna 41 and the loop antenna 42a is used for the sub antenna 42, the antenna composed of the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 becomes omnidirectional as a whole.

  When the Yagi antenna 41b is used for the main antenna 41 and the loop antenna 42a is used for the sub-antenna 42, the Yagi antenna 41b radiates radio waves in front of the remote control body 31, and the loop antenna 42a is connected to the remote control body 31 as described above. Since the radio wave is radiated in the thickness direction, the antenna composed of the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 becomes omnidirectional as a whole.

  When the monopole antenna 41a is used for the main antenna 41 and the lot antenna 42b is used for the sub-antenna 42, the monopole antenna 41a has a radiation intensity radiated in front of the remote control body 31 in the other direction as described above. The antenna having the directivity stronger than the radiation intensity of the radiated radio wave and the lot antenna 42b radiates the radio wave in the short direction of the operation surface 31a of the remote control main body 31. It becomes omnidirectional as a whole.

  When the Yagi antenna 41b is used as the main antenna 41 and the lot antenna 42b is used as the sub antenna 42, the Yagi antenna 41b radiates radio waves in front of the remote control body 31 and the lot antenna 42b is connected to the remote control body 31 as described above. Since radio waves are radiated in the short direction of the operation surface 31a, the directivity of the antenna composed of the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 becomes omnidirectional as a whole.

  As described above, the main antenna 41 has a directivity in which the radiant intensity of the radio wave radiated in front of the remote control body 31 is stronger than the radiant intensity of the radio wave radiated in the other direction. As a whole, the antenna made of is omnidirectional in any combination. Here, if the main antenna 41 is an antenna section and the antenna composed of the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 is another antenna section, the antenna section composed of the main antenna 41 has directivity, and the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna Since the antenna unit consisting of 42 is non-directional, the two antenna units have different radio wave reach ranges.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the main antenna 41 is connected to the RF power feeder 24, and radiates radio waves when the high-frequency circuit 23 outputs an RF signal. On the other hand, the sub-antenna 42 is provided so as not to be connected to the RF power feeding unit 24 and the main antenna 41.

  Here, the sub-antenna 42 (or a conductor pattern connected to the sub-antenna 42) and the RF feeder 24 (or a conductor pattern connected to the main antenna 41 and the RF feeder 24) are provided on the front wall of the remote control body 31. Is exposed to the front surface side, and the cover 32 is provided with an insertion protrusion 61 that enters the remote control body 31 through the exposure hole 31b when the cover 32 is closed and contacts the tip surface of the substrate 35. It is done.

  The insertion protrusion 61 includes a base portion 61a that protrudes from the rear surface of the cover 32, and an RF power feeding portion 61b that is provided on the distal end surface of the base portion 61a. The RF power feeding unit 61b is formed of, for example, a metal film attached to the distal end surface of the base 61a. That is, when the cover 32 is closed, the RF power feeding unit 61b short-circuits the RF power feeding unit 24 and the sub antenna 42, and radio waves are radiated from the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42. In other words, the insertion protrusion 61 selects the antenna portion including the main antenna 41 when the cover 32 is in the open position to radiate radio waves, and includes the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 when the cover 32 is in the closed position. It is a selection means for selecting an antenna unit and emitting radio waves.

  If the remote control device 2 is used with the cover 32 closed, radio waves are radiated from the main antenna 41 and the sub-antenna 42. As a result, radio waves are radiated in various directions as shown in FIG. (Refer to the arrows in the figure) A plurality of lighting devices 1 can be collectively operated. On the other hand, when the remote control device 2 is used with the cover 32 opened, radio waves are radiated from the directional main antenna 41, and as a result, the remote control device 2 faces in the direction (the remote control main body as shown in FIG. 1B). Radio waves (see arrows in the figure) are emitted in front of 31, and the lighting device 1 to which the remote control device 2 is directed can be operated.

  In creating an illumination scene with the illumination system of the present embodiment, for example, after the plurality of illumination devices 1 are turned on collectively by the remote control device 2, the illumination device 1 and the dimming ratio that are desired to be turned off are adjusted. The necessary lighting devices 1 are individually operated with the remote control device 2.

  In this embodiment, since an ID number and a channel are not used, registration work for registering the ID number in the remote control device 2 and setting work for setting a channel in each lighting device 1 are unnecessary.

  Further, since the lighting device 1 to which the remote control device 2 is directed is the lighting device 1 to be operated, the lighting devices 1 are grouped using the ID number and channel, and the lighting devices 1 are collectively operated for each group. Compared with the illumination system, it is possible to reduce the possibility of operating the illumination device 1 other than the illumination device 1 to be operated by mistake.

  Furthermore, since a plurality of lighting devices 1 can be operated in a lump, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required to create a lighting scene as compared with a technique for creating a lighting scene by operating each lighting device 1 one by one. .

  Furthermore, since the antenna having directivity is used as the main antenna 41, the reach distance of the radio wave at the main antenna 41 can be increased, and as a result, the lighting device 1 can be operated from the remote control device 2 from a further distance.

  In the configuration example described above, the example in which the sub antenna 42 is provided in the remote control main body 31 has been described. However, the sub antenna 42 may be provided in the cover 32 as shown in FIG. The sub-antenna 42 is formed by a conductor pattern on the rear surface of the cover 32 and is electrically connected to the RF power feeding unit 61 b provided on the insertion protrusion 61.

  In the above configuration example, the RF power feeding unit 24 and the sub antenna 42 are short-circuited when the cover 32 is closed. However, the main antenna 41 and the sub-antenna 42 are short-circuited when the cover 32 is opened. It can also be set as the structure to do. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, an opening 35a is formed in the substrate 35 between the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42, and instead of the operation protrusion 61, the operation protrusion inserted into the opening 35a when the cover 32 is closed. 61 ′ protrudes from the rear surface of the cover 32, and when the cover 32 is in the closed position, a contact body 51 that contacts the front end surface of the operation protrusion 61 ′ and the contact body 51 are urged toward the operation surface 31a. A spring 52 is provided on the remote control body 31. The contact body 51 is formed in a shape that closes the opening 35a and can short-circuit the main antenna 41 and the sub-antenna 42 when the opening 35a is closed. When the cover 32 is opened, the contact body 51 moves to the operation surface 31 a side by the elastic force of the spring 52 and closes the opening 35 a of the substrate 35, and the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 are short-circuited by the contact body 51. Is done.

  Furthermore, in the above-described configuration example, the example in which one of the antenna unit including the main antenna 41 and the antenna unit including the main antenna 41 and the sub antenna 42 is selected by the selection unit has been described. These antennas can be used, and one of the main antenna 41 and the sub-antenna 42 can be selected by the selecting means to change the radio wave reachable range.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the radio wave arrival range is changed by the difference in directivity between the two antenna units has been described. However, the radio wave arrival range is set by the difference in radio wave emission intensity radiated from each of the two antenna units. It can also be changed. The nearby lighting device 1 is operated by radiating radio waves with low radiation intensity, and the near lighting device 1 and the far lighting device 1 are collectively operated by radiating radio waves with strong radiation intensity.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Illuminating device 2 Remote control device 13 Reception antenna 31 Remote control main body 31b Exposed hole 32 Cover 41 Main antenna 42 Sub antenna 61 Insertion protrusion (selection means)

Claims (3)

  Operate lighting control of the lighting device using radio waves with a plurality of lighting devices each equipped with a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves, a remote control body provided with an operation input unit for performing operations, and a transmission antenna for emitting radio waves The remote control device includes a cover that is attached to the remote control body so as to be openable and closable, and the operation input unit is operated when the cover is in the open position and the operation input when the cover is in the closed position. The operation content of the lighting device is changed depending on whether the unit is operated, the transmission antenna includes two antenna units having different radio wave reach ranges, and the remote control device includes two antenna units when the cover is in the open position. An illumination system comprising: a selection means for selecting one of the antennas and radiating radio waves to the selected antenna unit when the other is selected and in the closed position.   The transmission antenna includes a main antenna and a sub-antenna having different radiation characteristics, and the selection unit uses a main antenna alone as the one antenna unit, and a main antenna and a sub-antenna as the other antenna unit. The illumination system according to claim 1, wherein the illumination system is used together. The illumination system according to claim 1, wherein one of the two antenna units has directivity.

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