JP7463893B2 - Lighting control systems and luminaires - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a lighting control system and a lighting fixture.

Patent Document 1 discloses a lighting operation switch that can control lighting by human will without manual operation. This lighting operation switch includes a voice input means for inputting voice, a voice recognition means for recognizing the input voice, and a control means. The control means turns on the lighting load 100% if the recognized voice corresponds to turning on the light, and turns off the lighting load if the recognized voice corresponds to turning off the light. The control means dims the lighting load to a first predetermined dimming level if the recognized voice corresponds to a first predetermined dimming level, and dims the lighting load to a second predetermined dimming level if the recognized voice corresponds to a second predetermined dimming level.

JP 2003-45679 A

The lighting operation switch shown in Patent Document 1 can recognize human voice and control the dimming of lighting fixtures. However, especially when the fluctuation in the light intensity of a lighting fixture is small, it may be difficult for the user to determine whether the lighting fixture has been dimmed.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a lighting control system and lighting fixture that can notify the user of changes in dimming status.

The lighting control system according to the present disclosure includes a lighting controller that transmits a control signal in response to a command based on a user's voice, brainwaves, or facial movement, and a first lighting device having a first light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion and changes a dimming state of the first light source unit in response to the control signal, and after changing the dimming state in response to the control signal, the first lighting device changes a shape of the light illuminating the irradiated portion from a first state to a second state that notifies the user of the change in the dimming state by the shape of the light, and returns the shape of the light to the first state after a predetermined specified time has elapsed .
A lighting control system according to the present disclosure includes a lighting controller that transmits a control signal in response to a command based on a user's voice, brainwaves, or facial movement, and a first lighting device that has a first light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion and changes a dimming state of the first light source unit in response to the control signal;
the first lighting device changes a shape of the light illuminating the irradiated portion from a first state to a second state that notifies a user of the change in the dimming state by the shape of the light in response to a display command from the lighting controller, and transmits a response signal after a predetermined specified time has elapsed, the lighting controller transmits the control signal to the first lighting device in response to the response signal, and the first lighting device returns the shape of the light to the first state in response to the control signal, thereby changing the dimming state of the first light source unit.
The lighting control system according to the present disclosure comprises a lighting controller that transmits a control signal in response to a command based on a user's voice, brainwaves or facial movement; a first lighting device having a first light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion and changing a dimming state of the first light source unit in response to the control signal; and a second lighting device having a second light source unit that changes the dimming state of the second light source unit in response to the control signal and does not notify a user of the change in the dimming state based on the shape of the light emitted by the second light source unit, wherein the first lighting device notifies a user of the change in the dimming state based on the shape of the light that illuminates the irradiated portion.

The lighting device according to the present disclosure comprises a light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion, a power source that turns on the light source unit, and a control unit that changes a dimming state of the light source unit in response to a control signal sent from a lighting controller in response to a command based on a user's voice, brainwaves or facial movements, and after changing the dimming state in response to the control signal, the control unit controls the shape of the light that illuminates the irradiated portion to change the shape of the light from a first state to a second state that notifies the user of the change in the dimming state based on the shape of the light, and returns the shape of the light to the first state after a predetermined specified time has elapsed .

The lighting control system and lighting fixture disclosed herein can notify the user of changes in dimming state based on the shape of the light.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a lighting control system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates the lighting control system when the light shape is in a second state. 1 is a diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a lighting control system according to a first embodiment. 2A to 2C are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a light source unit according to the first embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating a moving image displayed by a light source unit according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the lighting control system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a lighting control system according to a comparative example. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a lighting control system according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a lighting control system according to a third embodiment.

The lighting control system and lighting fixture according to each embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding components will be given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations may be omitted. In addition, in the following, when the term "connection" is used, it is assumed that electrical connection is also included.

Embodiment 1.
1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a lighting control system 100 according to embodiment 1. The lighting control system 100 includes a voice recognition unit 7 as an input device. The lighting control system 100 also includes a plurality of lighting fixtures 2, 4.

The lighting device 4 has a light source unit 41 that emits light 5 that illuminates the irradiated portion 6. The lighting device 4 is, for example, a spotlight. In FIG. 1, the shape of the light 5 emitted by the lighting device 4 is in a first state 6a. The first state 6a is a steady state. In the first state 6a, the shape of the light 5 is, for example, circular or elliptical.

The lighting fixture 2 has a light source unit 21 that emits light 3. The lighting fixture 2 is, for example, a base light that illuminates the lighting space 1.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the lighting control system 100 when the shape of the light 5 is in the second state 6b. In the lighting control system 100, the dimming state of the lighting devices 2 and 4 is controlled by the speech of the user 8 via the voice recognition unit 7.

The lighting fixture 4 notifies the user 8 of the change in the dimming state by the shape of the light 5 illuminating the irradiated portion 6. In response to a signal from the lighting controller 10 (described below), the lighting fixture 4 changes the shape of the light 5 from a first state 6a to a second state 6b that notifies the user of the change in the dimming state. The shape of the light 5 in the second state 6b is, for example, an arrow. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the downward arrow notifies the user 8 that control has been performed to reduce the dimming rate.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the circuit configuration of a lighting control system 100 according to embodiment 1. For convenience, only one each of lighting fixtures 2 and 4 is shown in Figure 3. The lighting control system 100 includes a lighting controller 10. A voice recognition unit 7 is connected to the lighting controller 10 via a communication line 11. The voice recognition unit 7 transmits commands to the lighting controller 10 in response to speech from a user 8. The lighting controller 10 transmits control signals to the lighting fixtures 2 and 4 in response to commands from the voice recognition unit 7.

The lighting controller 10 is connected to the lighting fixtures 2 and 4 via a communication line 11. The lighting controller 10 is connected to the power source 43 of the lighting fixture 4 and the power source 22 of the lighting fixture 2 via the communication line 11.

The lighting fixture 2 includes a light source unit 21 and a power source 22 that turns on the light source unit 21. In addition, the lighting fixture 2 includes a control unit that changes the dimming state of the light source unit 21 in response to a control signal from the lighting controller 10. The lighting fixture 2 receives the control signal, for example, via the power source 22. The operation of the power source 22 in response to the control signal performs dimming control or color adjustment control of the light source unit 21. Furthermore, the lighting fixture 2 does not notify of changes in the dimming state due to the shape of the light 3 emitted by the light source unit 21.

The lighting device 4 includes a light source unit 41, a power source 43 that turns on the light source unit 41, and a control unit 42. The control unit 42 controls the power source 43 in response to a control signal from the lighting controller 10 to change the dimming state of the light source unit 41. The control unit 42 receives the control signal, for example, via the power source 43. The control unit 42 controls the dimming or color adjustment of the light source unit 41. The control unit 42 includes, for example, a microcomputer.

In addition, the control unit 42 controls the lighting state of each LED package in the light source unit 41. The light 5 of the lighting device 4, whose lighting state has been controlled, is irradiated onto, for example, a wall surface. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the shape of the light 5 is circular like normal illumination light in a steady state, but can change to an arrow shape.

The communication line 11 may be wireless or a network line such as the Internet. In addition, the voice recognition unit 7, the lighting controller 10, and the lighting fixtures 2 and 4 may be connected via a server on a network (not shown). The number of lighting fixtures 2 and 4 provided in the lighting control system 100 of this embodiment is not limited. The lighting in the lighting space 1 may be composed of only lighting fixtures 4 or only lighting fixtures 2. When the lighting in the lighting space 1 is composed of only lighting fixtures 2, the shape of the light 3 emitted by lighting fixture 2, which is the base light, may change to notify the user of a change in the dimming state.

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the light source unit 41 according to the first embodiment. The light source unit 41 has a light source substrate 44 and a plurality of light sources 45 provided on the light source substrate 44. The light sources 45 are LED packages. The control unit 42 sets each of the plurality of light sources 45 to a lit or extinguished state to form the shape of the light 5. As a method for controlling each of the plurality of light sources 45, for example, address control using a row decoder and a column decoder can be adopted. In Figure 4, of the plurality of light sources 45, light source 45a is in a lit state, and light source 45b is in an extinguished state.

A convex lens 47 is provided in the light emission direction of the light source 45. The light 5 is shaped by the convex lens 47 and projected onto the irradiated portion 6. In FIG. 4, an arrow of the second state 6b is projected.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a video displayed by the light source unit 41 according to the first embodiment. The lighting device 4 may change the shape of the light 5 to display a video on the irradiated portion 6. The control unit 42 switches each of the multiple light sources 45 between a turned-on state and a turned-off state to change the shape of the light 5 like an animation. This causes the video to be projected onto the irradiated portion 6. Note that a still image may also be projected onto the irradiated portion 6 by the light source unit 41.

Figure 6 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the lighting control system 100 according to the first embodiment. In step S101, the user 8 issues a spoken command to the voice recognition unit 7. The spoken command may be, for example, "Dim the light by 10%."

In step S102, the voice recognition unit 7 recognizes the spoken command and transmits the recognized spoken command to the lighting controller 10.

In step S103, the lighting controller 10 transmits the speech command as a control signal to the lighting fixtures 2 and 4.

In step S104, the lighting device 4 receives a control signal from the lighting controller 10 and dims the light source unit 41 in accordance with the control signal. That is, the light 5 emitted by the light source unit 41 is dimmed by 10%. Furthermore, the lighting device 4 displays a video on the irradiated portion 6. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a video of a downward arrow moving downward is displayed as the second state 6b of the shape of the light 5. After changing the dimming state in response to the control signal, the lighting device 4 changes the shape of the light 5 to the second state 6b.

In step S105, the lighting fixture 2 receives the control signal from the lighting controller 10 and controls the dimming of the light source unit 21 in accordance with the control signal. In other words, the lighting fixture 2 reduces the light 3 emitted by the light source unit 21 by 10%.

In step S106, the lighting device 4 displays the video for a specified time. This specified time is stored in the control unit 42 built into the lighting device 4. Here, the video of the downward arrow continues for, for example, three seconds.

In step S107, the lighting device 4 displays the video for a specified time and then returns the shape of the light 5 to the first state 6a. In the first state 6a, all light sources 45 are turned on. However, the output of the light sources 45 is reduced by 10% compared to before the control signal was received. In this way, the lighting device 4 changes the shape of the light 5 from the first state 6a to the second state 6b, and returns the shape of the light 5 to the first state 6a after a predetermined specified time has elapsed.

Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a lighting control system 101 according to a comparative example. In the lighting control system 101 according to the comparative example, the lighting devices 2 and 4 are controlled by a remote control 12, rather than a voice recognition unit 7. The remote control 12 is a unit that is physically operated by the user. When controlling the remote control 12, the user presses a switch on the remote control 12. This allows the user to feel as if they have transmitted a command to the lighting control system 100.

In contrast, when controlling lighting fixtures with the voice recognition unit 7, no physical action such as pressing a remote control switch or wall switch is performed. In other words, the finger does not push back against the switch after operation, and the switch does not become pressed. For this reason, it may be difficult for the user to determine whether the lighting fixture has been dimmed correctly based only on the change in brightness of the lighting fixture. When controlling lighting fixtures with a unit that recognizes human brain waves, or a unit that recognizes human facial expressions, facial movements, or eye movements, the same problems as when controlling lighting fixtures with the voice recognition unit 7 may occur.

In this embodiment, the control unit 42 of the lighting device 4 controls the shape of the light 5 that illuminates the irradiated portion 6 and notifies the user of changes in the dimming state. For example, in the case of controlling the dimming rate, the lighting device 4 changes the dimming rate of the light source unit 41 in response to the control signal, and notifies the user of the change in the dimming rate by the shape of the light 5, such as an arrow.

This allows feedback to be given to the user 8 that the command has been accepted from the voice recognition unit 7. Therefore, the user can recognize that the command has been reliably transmitted to the lighting control system 100.

It is also possible to have the voice recognition unit 7 emit a feedback voice to notify the user that the command has been accepted. In this embodiment, the user is further notified by light 5 from the lighting fixture 4. This allows the user to recognize that the voice recognition unit 7 has correctly passed the command to the lighting control system 100.

In the present embodiment, an example has been shown in which the change in dimming rate is indicated by an arrow. However, the lighting device 4 may also indicate the change in dimming rate by numbers, letters, etc. The shape of the light 5 may be triangular or wavy. In this case, the lighting device 4 indicates the change in dimming rate by, for example, the direction of the apex of a triangle or the direction of the waves. The lighting device 4 may also notify the user of the change in the emitted color by the shape of the light 5. In this way, any shape that can notify the user of a change in the dimming state can be adopted as the shape of the light 5.

The specified time for which the shape of the light 5 is maintained in the second state 6b may be stored in the lighting controller 10. In this case, for example, the lighting controller 10 may count the specified time, and after the specified time has elapsed, send a command to the lighting device 4 to return the shape of the light 5 to the first state 6a.

In this embodiment, an example has been shown in which the lighting fixtures 2, 4 are controlled by the voice recognition unit 7. However, the lighting controller 10 may transmit control signals to the lighting fixtures 2, 4 in response to commands based on the user's voice, brainwaves, or facial movements. In other words, the voice recognition unit 7 may be an brainwave recognition unit or a facial recognition unit. Furthermore, facial movements include facial expressions, emotions, and eye movements.

In this embodiment, the light source 45 is an LED. However, the light source 45 may be a light source other than an LED. For example, the lighting device 4 may be a light source such as an organic electroluminescence (EL) light source. The same applies to the light source provided in the lighting device 2.

These modifications can be applied as appropriate to the lighting control systems and lighting fixtures according to the following embodiments. Note that the lighting control systems and lighting fixtures according to the following embodiments have many things in common with embodiment 1, so the following description will focus on the differences from embodiment 1.

Embodiment 2.
8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the lighting control system 100 according to the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the timing of the dimming control is different from that in the first embodiment. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In step S201, the user 8 issues a spoken command to the voice recognition unit 7. The spoken command may be, for example, "Dim the light by 10%."

In step S202, the voice recognition unit 7 recognizes the spoken command and transmits the recognized spoken command to the lighting controller 10.

In step S203, the lighting controller 10 transmits the speech command as a control signal to lighting fixture 2 and lighting fixture 4.

In step S204, the lighting device 4 receives a control signal from the lighting controller 10 and controls the dimming of the light source unit 41 in accordance with the control signal. The lighting device 4 also displays a video on the irradiated portion 6. At this time, the control unit 42 projects the video while gradually changing the dimming state. While displaying the video, the control unit 42 continuously changes the dimming state to a target value according to the control signal over a specified time stored by the control unit 42. For example, the control unit 42 dims the light 5 by 10% over three seconds while displaying a video of a downward arrow.

In step S205, the lighting fixture 2 receives a control signal from the lighting controller 10 and controls the dimming of the light source unit 21 in accordance with the control signal. In other words, the lighting fixture 2 reduces the light 3 emitted by the light source unit 21 by 10%.

In step S206, the lighting device 4 displays the video for a specified time and then returns the shape of the light 5 to the first state 6a. In the first state 6a, all light sources 45 are turned on. However, the output of the light sources 45 is reduced by 10% compared to before the control signal was received.

In this manner, the lighting device 4 of this embodiment changes the shape of the light 5 to the second state 6b in response to the control signal, and gradually changes the dimming state over a specified time. Stepwise dimming control is also called fade control. In this embodiment, the specified time for setting the shape of the light 5 to the second state 6b becomes the fade time in fade control.

Embodiment 3.
9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of lighting control system 100 according to embodiment 3. In this embodiment, the timing of dimming control is different from that in embodiment 1. The other configurations are the same as those in embodiment 1.

In step S301, the user 8 issues a spoken command to the voice recognition unit 7. The spoken command may be, for example, "Dim the light by 10%."

In step S302, the voice recognition unit 7 recognizes the spoken command and transmits the recognized spoken command to the lighting controller 10.

In step S303, the lighting controller 10 transmits a display command to the lighting device 4. The display command is, for example, a command to display a down arrow.

In step S304, the lighting device 4 changes the shape of the light 5 from the first state 6a to the second state 6b in response to the display command from the lighting controller 10. That is, the lighting device 4 displays a video on the irradiated portion 6 in accordance with the display command. The lighting device 4 maintains the light 5 at the dimming rate before the speech command and displays a video of a downward arrow.

In step S305, the lighting fixture 4 continues to display the video for a specified time stored in the control unit 42. After the specified time has elapsed, the lighting fixture 4 transmits a response signal to the lighting controller 10. The response signal is a signal that notifies the lighting controller 10 of the expiration of the video projection time.

In step S306, the lighting controller 10 transmits the spoken command from the voice recognition unit 7 as a control signal to the lighting fixtures 2 and 4 in response to the response signal.

In step S307, when the lighting device 4 receives a control signal from the lighting controller 10, it stops projecting the video and returns the shape of the light 5 to the first state 6a. The lighting device 2 also controls the dimming of the light source unit 41 in response to the control signal. In the first state 6a, all light sources 45 are turned on. Furthermore, the output of the light source 45 is reduced by 10% compared to before the control signal was received.

In step S308, the lighting device 2 receives the control signal from the lighting controller 10 and controls the dimming of the light source unit 21 in accordance with the control signal. In other words, the lighting device 2 reduces the light 3 emitted by the light source unit 21 by 10%.

In this way, the lighting device 4 may change the dimming state after a specified time has elapsed since changing the shape of the light 5 to the second state 6b.

In addition, in this embodiment, the lighting controller 10 transmits a control signal in response to a response signal from the lighting device 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this. After transmitting a display command, the lighting controller 10 may count a specified time and transmit a control signal after the specified time has elapsed.

The technical features described in each embodiment may be used in any suitable combination.

1 Lighting space, 2 Lighting fixture, 3 Light, 4 Lighting fixture, 5 Light, 6 Irradiated part, 6a First state, 6b Second state, 7 Voice recognition unit, 8 User, 10 Lighting controller, 11 Communication line, 12 Remote control, 21 Light source part, 22 Power supply, 41 Light source part, 42 Control part, 43 Power supply, 44 Light source board, 45 Light source, 45a Light source, 45b Light source, 47 Convex lens, 100, 101 Lighting control system

Claims (8)

a lighting controller that transmits control signals in response to commands based on a user's voice, brainwaves, or facial movements;
a first lighting device having a first light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion, and changing a dimming state of the first light source unit in response to the control signal;
Equipped with
The first lighting fixture is
a lighting control system characterized in that after changing the dimming state in response to the control signal, a shape of the light illuminating the irradiated part is changed from a first state to a second state in which the shape of the light notifies a user of the change in the dimming state, and the shape of the light is returned to the first state after a predetermined specified time has elapsed . The lighting control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first lighting device changes the dimming rate of the first light source unit in response to the control signal and notifies a user of the change in the dimming rate based on the shape of the light. The lighting control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shape of the light is an arrow, a triangle or a wave. The lighting control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first lighting device changes the shape of the light to display a moving image on the irradiated area. The first light source unit has a plurality of light sources,
The lighting control system according to claim 1 , wherein the first lighting device sets each of the plurality of light sources to a turned-on state or a turned-off state to form the light shape . a lighting controller that transmits control signals in response to commands based on a user's voice, brainwaves, or facial movements;
a first lighting device having a first light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion, and changing a dimming state of the first light source unit in response to the control signal;
Equipped with
the first lighting device changes a shape of the light illuminating the irradiated portion from a first state to a second state in response to a display command from the lighting controller, the second state notifying a user of a change in the dimming state by the shape of the light , and transmits a response signal after a predetermined specified time has elapsed;
The lighting controller transmits the control signal to the first lighting device in response to the response signal;
A lighting control system characterized in that the first lighting fixture returns the shape of the light to the first state in response to the control signal, and changes the dimming state of the first light source unit . a lighting controller that transmits control signals in response to commands based on a user's voice, brainwaves, or facial movements;
a first lighting device having a first light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion, and changing a dimming state of the first light source unit in response to the control signal;
a second lighting device including a second light source unit, changing a dimming state of the second light source unit in response to the control signal, and not notifying the user of the change in the dimming state due to a shape of light emitted by the second light source unit;
Equipped with
A lighting control system , characterized in that the first lighting device notifies a user of a change in the dimming state by the shape of the light that illuminates the irradiated part . A light source unit that emits light to illuminate an irradiated portion;
A power source for turning on the light source unit;
a control unit that changes a dimming state of the light source unit in response to a control signal transmitted from a lighting controller in response to a command based on a user's voice, brainwave, or facial movement;
Equipped with
The control unit changes the dimming state in response to the control signal, then controls the shape of the light illuminating the irradiated portion to change the shape of the light from a first state to a second state that notifies a user of the change in the dimming state by the shape of the light, and returns the shape of the light to the first state after a predetermined specified time has elapsed .

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