JP2000215703A - Lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the drastic lowering of the visibility of a material to be lit even if one light source out of a plurality of light sources is gone off caused by burning out by providing respective light sources with such light distribution characteristics as irradiating the light towards the whole material to be lit. SOLUTION: Light irradiated from each discharge lamp is reflected by a reflective mirror 15 corresponding thereto to irradiate diagonally from the bottom to the top and irradiates toward the whole of a road sign plate 1. This constitution can generate no trouble light to the neighborhood quite different from the light lighting downward and dispense with a shielding plate installed on a shoulder, etc., thus reducing the road construction cost. The road sign plate 1 is lit its whole body by the respective discharge lamps so that, if one of the discharge lamps is gone off by burning out but all the residual lamps still light the whole road sign plate 1 respectively, the effect giving the visibility of a driver can be suppressed to the minimum, with only darkening the whole view slightly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illuminating device for illuminating a large object to be illuminated such as a road signboard or a large signboard with illumination light.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a road signboard is constructed as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the road sign 1
Is installed above the road by, for example, a support pillar 3 provided on a shoulder 2 a of the motorway 2. The road display board 1 displays various road guides, and in the illustrated case, destination guides at an intersection in front of the road, on a surface of a substantially vertical flat display board.

[0003] At the upper end of the road sign 1, an illuminating device 4 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the illumination device 4 includes a plurality of (three in the illustrated case) illumination lights 6 indicated by an instruction member 5 protruding forward from the upper end of the road display panel 1. It is composed of
As each illumination lamp 6, for example, a discharge lamp is used.
As shown in FIG. 1, the illumination light is emitted toward the surface of the road display panel 1, and as shown in FIG. Are configured to slightly overlap each other.

According to the illuminating device 4 having such a configuration, when each of the illuminating lights 6 is turned on, the illuminating light emitted from each of the illuminating lights 6 reaches the surface of the road sign 1, and the light of the road sign 1 is changed. Lighting is performed to make it easier to see the display shown on the road display panel 1. At this time, since the illumination range of each lighting lamp 6 is configured to cover the entire surface of the road display panel 1 as a whole, the display on the road display panel 1 is illuminated as a whole, so that every corner is illuminated. Until you can see better.

[0005]

However, in the illuminating device 4 having such a configuration, the illuminating range of each of the illuminating lamps 6 is independently shared with respect to the entire surface of the road sign 1 as described above. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, when one of the central illuminating lights 6 is extinguished due to disconnection or the like, the road sign 1 shared by the illuminating lights 6
The upper illumination range becomes dark, and the display of the range becomes unreadable.

In order to replace the lamps 6 which have failed due to disconnection or the like, the lamps 6 are removed one by one and a new lamp 6 is replaced.
The maintenance workability is not so good because it takes a considerable amount of time for replacement.

Further, the driving circuit of the above-mentioned lighting device 4 is configured as shown in FIG. 13, for example. FIG.
, The drive circuit 7 includes, for example, an AC / DC power supply circuit 7a for converting a commercial power supply to a direct current, and a plurality of discharge lamps 8 as illumination lamps based on the DC current from the AC / DC power supply circuit 7a. Lighting control circuit 7b for driving control
It is composed of Thereby, the lighting control circuit 7b
Is driven by a direct current, so that the discharge lamp 8 can emit a large amount of light using a so-called inverter. However, in the driving circuit 7 having such a configuration, for example, the power required for starting is as large as about 80 W at the time of starting with respect to the power of 35 W in the steady state.
The capacity of the power supply circuit 7a needs to be equal to or larger than the number of discharge lamps times the required power for starting, and the power supply circuit 7a becomes large in size and the cost increases.

In view of the above, the present invention significantly reduces the visibility of an illuminated object even if at least one of the plurality of light sources for illuminating a large illuminated object is turned off due to disconnection or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting device in which the lighting device is not used.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of light sources for irradiating light to a large object to be illuminated, and these light sources are made to emit light. And a driving circuit, wherein each light source has a light distribution characteristic for irradiating light toward the entirety of the object to be illuminated. Is done. In the first embodiment, each light source irradiates light toward the entire illuminated object.
For this reason, even if at least one of the plurality of light sources is turned off due to disconnection or the like, all the remaining light sources emit light toward the entire illuminated object. Part does not get dark. Therefore, even if at least one light source is turned off due to disconnection or the like, the entire illuminated object is only slightly darkened, and a part of the illuminated object is darkened, and the visibility is not reduced. Thus, relatively high visibility as a whole can be maintained.

A lighting device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to the first aspect, wherein each light source includes a reflecting mirror attached so as to give a predetermined light distribution characteristic. The reflecting mirror is configured so as to be integrated as a whole and detachable from the case. In the second embodiment, desired light distribution characteristics can be obtained by attaching various commercially available light sources to the reflecting mirror, and when at least one of the light sources is broken due to disconnection or the like, the reflecting mirror and the entire light source are removed. By integrally removing the lighting device from the case, the replacement work can be performed in a short time, and the maintenance workability of the lighting device can be improved.

The lighting device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the driving circuit turns on each light source sequentially when all the light sources are turned on. Is controlled. In the third aspect, the lighting timing of each light source is slightly shifted from each other, so that the driving circuit is equal to the number of the light sources × the required power for starting, compared to the conventional case where all the light sources are turned on at the same time. It is not necessary to have the above capacity. Therefore, the driving circuit can be configured small and at low cost.

A lighting device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein each light source irradiates light obliquely from below to above. Has been established. In the fourth aspect, since the lighting device is disposed below the illuminated object, for example, even when the illuminated object is a road signboard, the illuminating device itself is disposed at a low position such as a road shoulder. Can be done. Therefore, the maintenance work of the lighting device can be performed not on a high place but on the ground, and the workability is improved. Furthermore, in the case of conventional illumination from above, the leaked light may cause annoyance to nearby lands and the like, and there are cases where it is necessary to take measures such as attaching a light shielding plate to a road shoulder, When each light source irradiates light obliquely from below to above, it does not bother neighbors, and it is possible to reduce road construction costs.

A lighting device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to any of the first to fourth aspects, wherein each light source is a discharge lamp of 20 to 50 W, respectively. In the fifth aspect, by using a discharge lamp having a long life, the replacement cycle of the light source can be lengthened,
Replacement maintenance work can be reduced. In addition, since the discharge lamp can obtain a large amount of light with low power consumption, the running cost can be reduced.

A lighting device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein each light source is a halogen bulb. In the sixth aspect, by using a halogen bulb having a long life, the replacement cycle of the light source can be lengthened, and replacement maintenance work can be reduced.

The lighting device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the lighting device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the object to be illuminated is a road display board, a large signboard, various display boards,
It is a building or a natural landscape. In the seventh aspect, as an illuminated object to be illuminated by the illumination device, not only a road sign, but also a large signboard, for example, displayed in a building or a store,
Various signboards in the station premises and shopping streets, or the whole view of buildings, entrances, walls and monuments, as well as standing trees, flowers, stonework, waterfalls, and canyons in sightseeing spots, etc., are illuminated. Regarding the above, even if at least one of the plurality of light sources is turned off due to disconnection or the like, a part of the light source does not become dark, and the overall visibility can be maintained high.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. still,
Since the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, various technically preferred limitations are added.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of a lighting apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a lighting device 1
0 is a support pillar provided on the shoulder 2a of the motorway 2, for example.
3 is for illuminating the road sign 1 supported above the road. The road display board 1 displays various road guides, and in the illustrated case, destination guides at an intersection in front of the road, on a surface of a substantially vertical flat display board. Here, the lighting device 10 is disposed at a position lower than the road display board 1 in front of the road display board 1, in the illustrated case, on the road shoulder 2 a, and illuminates obliquely from below to above. By irradiating the road sign 1 with light, the road sign 1 is illuminated. At this time, the installation location of the lighting device 10 is selected in a position where the traveling of the vehicle is not hindered on the road shoulder and the illumination light is not blocked by the trees and the like.

The lighting device 10 is configured as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 2 and 3, the lighting device 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped case 11 having an open rear surface,
A cover 12 for closing the rear surface of the case 11;
It is composed of a reflecting mirror section 13 housed therein and a drive circuit 14 (see FIG. 4). The case 11 includes a lens portion 11a integrally attached to a front surface thereof.

In FIG. 2, there are a plurality of the reflecting mirror portions 13, three in FIG. 2 (see FIG. 7), and in FIG. 3, eight in two rows and four columns (see FIG. 8). ) Are disposed and integrated with each other. For example, each of the reflecting mirrors 15 is integrally formed as a whole, or the individually formed reflecting mirrors 15 are integrally formed by screwing or the like. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the reflecting mirror portion 13 is provided inside the case 11 with the lens portion 11 on the front surface thereof.
It is attached to the back of the a by a screw 16.

Each of the reflecting mirrors 15 is formed of a substantially parabolic surface or a substantially elliptical surface, a reflecting surface including a free-form surface based on the parabolic surface or the elliptical surface, or a reflecting surface combining these. A discharge lamp 17 as a light source is provided near the focal position. As each discharge lamp 17, for example, a discharge lamp of about 20 to 50W is used. Thus, the life of the discharge lamp 17 is about 6000.
Since it is more than an hour, the exchange cycle is expected to be about one and a half years. Here, the irradiation pattern of the light reflected by the corresponding reflecting mirror 15 from each of the discharge lamps 17 is not the same, and the light reflected from each of the reflecting mirrors 15 irradiates the entire road sign 1. The light distribution is designed on the reflecting surface (or the lens portion 11a) of each reflecting mirror 15 so as to have optical characteristics.

The drive circuit 14 is housed in the case 11 or installed outside, and is configured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the driving circuit 14
Is, for example, an AC / DC power supply circuit 20 that converts a commercial power supply into a direct current, and a lighting device that drives and controls a plurality of discharge lamps 17 as illumination lamps based on the direct current from the AC / DC power supply circuit 20. 21 and a switch control circuit 22 for controlling switches SW1, SW2,..., SWN for turning on / off the power supply from the AC / DC power supply circuit 20 to each lighting device 21.

The AC / DC power supply circuit 20 converts AC to DC, and uses, for example, a switching regulator. Each of the lighting devices 21 is connected to one of the discharge lamps 17, and applies a predetermined DC voltage to each of the discharge lamps 17 so that the discharge lamps 1 are turned on.
7 is turned on. The lighting device 21
For example, a lighting device used for a headlamp of an automobile may be used as it is, so that a plurality of discharge lamps 17 can be lighted in a short time. Each of the switches SW1 to SWN is connected in series to a connection line between the AC / DC power supply circuit 20 and each lighting device 21, and turns on / off power supply from the AC / DC power supply circuit 20 to each lighting device 21. Thus, a mechanical relay switch, a semiconductor switching element, or the like can be used.

When the switch control circuit 22 is turned on,
The switches SW1 to SWN are sequentially turned on, that is, as shown in FIG. 5, each switch SW1 to SWN has an appropriate time difference, that is, the time from when one switch is turned on until the power supply output reaches a steady state (for example, (About 10 to 30 seconds)
Control is performed so as to turn on sequentially with a longer time difference.

The lighting device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above.
Accordingly, each discharge lamp 17 is turned on. Thereby, the illumination light emitted from each discharge lamp 17 is reflected by the corresponding reflecting mirror 15 and emitted obliquely from below to above as shown in FIG. Irradiated. Thus, unlike the conventional illumination light directed downward, no annoying light is generated in the vicinity, so that there is no need to install a light-shielding plate on a road shoulder or the like, and road construction costs can be reduced.

Further, since the entire road display board 1 is illuminated by the respective discharge lamps 17, even if at least one of the discharge lamps 17 is turned off due to disconnection or the like,
Since all the remaining discharge lamps 17 respectively illuminate the entire road display board 1, a part of the road display board 1 does not become dark, but only slightly dark as a whole.
The influence on the visibility of the driver can be minimized, and the visibility of the road sign 1 can be substantially maintained.

Here, when at least one of the discharge lamps 17 breaks down due to disconnection or the like, or at the time of periodic replacement,
The following replacement work is performed. That is, the lighting device 1
At the site where 0 is installed, the cover 12 of the lighting device 10 is removed from the case 11, and the entire internal reflecting mirror 13 is replaced with a new reflecting mirror 13. Therefore,
The replacement operation can be easily performed in a short time. Further, since the lighting device 10 is installed at a position lower than the road shoulder 2a, lane regulation is not required as compared with the case where the conventional lighting device is installed above the lane, and the lighting device 10 is installed in a high place. Work becomes unnecessary, safety is improved, and occurrence of traffic congestion can be suppressed.

In addition, the reflecting mirror portion 13 collected by the above-mentioned replacement work is replaced with the failed discharge lamp 17 or, in the case of periodic replacement, all the discharge lamps 17 are removed and discarded, and the inside of the case 11 is removed. Exhaust gas, dust and the like that enter the interior of the case 11 while being sealed are reflected by the reflecting mirror 15.
On the reflective surface of the product, and the glittering process by aluminum deposition or the like will not be able to exhibit the desired performance.When replacing, exhaust gas and dust attached to the surface will be removed, or rework such as aluminum deposition Is carried out, and a new discharge lamp 17 is attached and reproduced as a new replacement part. Thereby, the reflecting mirror 13 itself is reused,
Costs are reduced and environmental protection measures are taken.

Further, at the time of lighting, the drive circuit 14 controls the switches SW1 to SWN to be sequentially turned on with a time difference under the control of the switch control circuit 22, so that the power supply output at this time is as shown in FIG. (The number of discharge lamps 17 already turned on-
1) x steady output + only the required starting power α at the time of starting one discharge lamp 17 is required. Therefore, the required power capacity of the drive circuit 14 can be significantly reduced as compared with the related art, and the drive circuit 14 can be configured small in size and at low cost.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of the reflecting mirrors 14 and the number of the discharge lamps 17 of the reflecting mirror portion 13 are three or eight is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A reflecting mirror 14 may be provided. Also,
In the above-described embodiment, the discharge lamp 17 is used as a light source, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is apparent that another light source, for example, a halogen bulb may be used. Also in this case, since the lamp has a long life like the discharge lamp 17, the replacement cycle is relatively long and maintenance is easy.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the illumination device 10 is to illuminate, that is, the object to be illuminated, that is, the road display board, has been described. If so, other objects to be illuminated, for example, large signboards displayed in buildings and shops, various signboards in station premises and shopping streets, etc., or whole views of buildings, entrances, walls and monuments, and tourist destinations Standing tree,
It is clear that the present invention can be applied to a case where a flower, a stone group, a waterfall, a gorge or the like is illuminated. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the switch control circuit 22 sequentially turns on the switches SW1 to SWN. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Is also good. In addition, switch SW
By monitoring the output of each lighting device 21 at the same time as turning on the switches 1 to SWN, the abnormality of the discharge lamp 17 is detected,
A warning may be issued.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, each light source irradiates light toward the entire illuminated object. Therefore, even if at least one of the plurality of light sources is turned off due to disconnection or the like, all the remaining light sources emit light toward the entire illuminated object. Part does not get dark.
Therefore, even if at least one light source is turned off due to disconnection or the like, the entire illuminated object is only slightly darkened, and a part of the illuminated object is darkened, and the visibility is not reduced. Thus, relatively high visibility as a whole can be maintained. Thus, according to the present invention,
An illumination device can be provided in which even if at least one light source among a plurality of light sources for illuminating a large illuminated object is turned off due to disconnection or the like, the visibility of the illuminated object is not significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a lighting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the lighting device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a lighting device different from the lighting device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a drive circuit used in the lighting devices of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing an operation of a switch control circuit in the drive circuit of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an illumination state of the illumination device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an arrangement of reflecting mirrors in the lighting device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a front view showing an arrangement of reflecting mirrors in the lighting device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional illumination device for a road display board.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a lighting state of the lighting device of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the lighting device of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a front view showing a state when the central light source is not lit in the lighting device of FIG. 9;

13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a drive circuit in the lighting device in FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Road display board 2 Motor road 2a Road shoulder 3 Support pillar 10 Illumination device 11 Case 11a Lens part 12 Cover 13 Reflection mirror part 14 Drive circuit 15 Reflection mirror 16 Screw 17 Discharge lamp 20 AC / DC power supply circuit 21 Lighting device 22 Switch control circuit SW1 to SWN switches

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A lighting device, comprising: a plurality of light sources for irradiating a large illuminated object with light; and a driving circuit for causing the light sources to emit light. An illuminating device having a light distribution characteristic of irradiating light toward an entire illuminated object. 2. Each light source is provided with a reflecting mirror attached so as to give a predetermined light distribution characteristic, and each reflecting mirror is integrally formed as a whole and detachable from a case. The lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the driving circuit is controlled so as to sequentially light each light source when all the light sources are turned on. 4. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein each of the light sources is arranged so as to irradiate light obliquely from below to above. 5. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein each of the light sources is a discharge lamp of 20 to 50 W. 6. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein each light source is a halogen bulb. 7. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the illuminated object is a road display board. 8. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the object to be illuminated is a large signboard. 9. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the object to be illuminated is any of various display boards. 10. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the illuminated object is a building. 11. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the illuminated object is a natural scene.