JP2000276912A - Automatic control method and device for lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control the illumination direction to an illumination target position in reference to the position coordinates of a moving body by automatically determining the position coordinates of the moving body in a specific object region with radio waves. SOLUTION: A transmission instruction signal is sent from a central control device 10, and measurement original signal pulses are sent from fixed units 20. A trigger instruction signal is sent to a controller 40 from the central control device 10, and a trigger signal is sent from the controller 40 to set a moving unit 30 to an operational state. The moving unit 30 detects the received signal strength levels of the measurement original signal pulses from the fixed units 20 in sequence, arithmetically processes the received signal strength levels according to the predetermined program, and sends the measurement data corresponding to detection results. The signal is sent to the central control device 10, and the position coordinates of the unit region where a moving body is located can be judged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically controlling a lighting device, and more particularly, to a moving device which moves freely or irregularly for the purpose of producing effects in a theater, a studio, a hall or the like. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically controlling an illumination device for automatically projecting illumination light to an illumination target position based on a current position of a body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in stage lighting of a theater, it is necessary to locally illuminate a specific position on the stage with a lighting device such as a spotlight in order to achieve a desired effect on the stage. is there. When the object to be illuminated on the stage is a human or other moving object, or when illuminating a specific position based on the position of such a moving object, the moving object is moved. Is required to change the lighting direction of the lighting device according to the following. In the related art, the control of the illumination direction of the illumination device is usually performed while the operator of the illumination device visually confirms the movement of the moving body.

[0003] However, in controlling the lighting direction of the lighting device by the operator, a high level of operating skill is required of the operator, and the desired lighting direction control is performed due to individual differences in the skill of the operator and fatigue of the operator. It is very difficult to reliably perform the operation for a long time. Moreover, in this type of lighting, a plurality of lighting devices are often used, and in that case, the same number of operators as the lighting devices are required.

[0004] On the other hand, on the stage of a theater or the like, when a specific performer reaches a specific place, the fact that the fact is used as a cue signal (motivation signal) to realize a specific lighting effect is extremely required. Therefore, if the position coordinates of the performer can be automatically detected, the detection signal can be used as a direct or indirect cue signal for controlling the lighting direction of the lighting device, which is very reasonable. It is also very convenient in practice.

Conventionally, as an automatic control device for such a lighting device, for example, a device which automatically detects the position of a moving body using ultrasonic waves and controls the lighting direction of the lighting device based on the result is obtained. Is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-215878. In this method, an ultrasonic transmitter is held by a moving body, a plurality of ultrasonic detectors are arranged at different positions in a target area, and ultrasonic waves emitted from the moving body are applied to individual ultrasonic detectors. By measuring the time difference between the arrival and the detection, distance information from the position of each ultrasonic detector to the moving body is obtained, and the position of the moving body is thereby detected.

However, in this method, since the capacity of the ultrasonic wave transmitter that can be held by the moving body is limited, it is not possible to obtain a large ultrasonic wave reach, and therefore, the arrangement density in the target area is high. There is a problem that it is necessary to install an ultrasonic detector, and eventually, it is necessary to install a large number of ultrasonic detectors, which is not practical.

[0007] On the other hand, a method of detecting the position of a moving object using radio waves is also known, such as a car navigation system and a ship position specifying system. These systems specify the position of a moving object with a wide area as a target area. For example, a system that detects the direction of a marker radio wave arriving from a wireless station at a specific position is known.

However, for example, indoor space in a building,
In an outdoor theater or a limited relatively narrow area, for example, an area where the longest distance is 1 km or less, radio waves are transmitted to detect the current position of a moving object that moves freely or irregularly within the area. Attempting to use it turned out to be a major obstacle due to the nature of the radio waves.

That is, in a short distance region where the distance from the radio wave transmission source is relatively small, the intensity of the received radio signal is
In essence, even if the function is a function of distance, it does not actually change according to distance or according to a certain law, but vibrates quite irregularly, In addition, no regularity is recognized in the mode of the vibration. In addition, in the short-distance region, the environmental conditions specific to the region have a great effect on the propagation of radio waves. For this reason, for example, in a system in which radio waves transmitted from a plurality of locations are received by one receiver, it is actually meaningful to measure the reception intensity level and detect the state of the attenuation, for example. Since no result can be obtained, a useful automatic control method of a lighting device using radio waves has not been proposed so far.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and as a result of various studies, as a result, a receiver which moves a radio wave emitted from a radio wave transmitter provided at a fixed position is used. The reception intensity level when receiving a signal has an area that vibrates irregularly depending on the distance from the radio wave transmitter, but the pattern (or profile) of the change in the reception intensity level due to a change in position in the vibration area is essentially. It has been found based on this finding that they have the same identity.

An object of the present invention is to automatically determine the position coordinates of a moving object in a specific target area by using radio waves, and thereby to set an illumination direction to a lighting target position based on the position coordinates of the moving object. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic control method of a lighting device capable of controlling the lighting device. Another object of the present invention is to
By using radio waves, the position coordinates of a moving object in a specific target area are automatically obtained, and thereby, the lighting direction can be controlled to a lighting target position based on the position coordinates of the moving object. An automatic control device is provided.

[0012]

According to the automatic control method for a lighting device of the present invention, the position coordinates of a moving object moving in a specific target area in the target area are measured, and the illumination is determined based on the obtained position coordinates. A method of automatically controlling the illumination direction of the device, each fixedly arranged at a different position to emit a plurality of fixing devices that emit a measurement original signal by radio waves in the target area, receive the measurement original signal, Calculate the received intensity level of the received measurement original signal, and move the movable unit that emits the result as a measurement data signal by radio waves to the moving object, and illuminate the illumination target position in the target area.
Providing a lighting device having a drive mechanism for changing the lighting direction,
A central control unit for receiving the measurement data signal from the movable unit and controlling the illumination direction of the lighting device is provided. In the central control unit, the reception intensity level of the movable unit obtained from the measurement data signal is determined in advance. Performing a calculation process for obtaining the position coordinates of the moving body in the target area by comparing the reference information containing the relationship between the distance and the reception intensity level with the arrangement position of the corresponding fixed device as the reference position, The illumination direction of the illumination device is controlled toward the illumination target position based on the position coordinates obtained by the arithmetic processing.

In the above method, the reference information corresponds to each fixed device, and the reference information for each fixed device is obtained by dividing the target area into a number of unit areas and continuously arranging them in one line. The above group of unit areas is called a unit area series,
For each unit area belonging to this unit area series, a plurality of unit areas obtained by performing the operation of measuring the reception intensity level of the measurement original signal by the fixing device and obtaining series reference information for different unit area series It can be a collection of series reference information about the series.

[0014] The series reference information is divided into a plurality of divided areas so that one divided area does not have a plurality of portions of the same intensity level.
In the central control unit, a division area including a location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level is selected as a control division area, and in this comparison division area, the position coordinates of the location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level are determined. It is preferable that the calculation processing to be performed is performed. In the series reference information, it is preferable that a curve representing an intensity level is subjected to linearization correction processing in units of the divided areas.

Further, in an automatic control method for an illuminating device in which a measurement operation for obtaining a position coordinate of a moving object in a target area is repeatedly performed, one series reference information includes:
Among multiple candidate sub-areas where the same intensity level exists, the sub-area including the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation or the sub-area closest to this is selected as the control sub-area. Is preferred.

Further, in the automatic control method of the lighting device in which the measurement operation for obtaining the position coordinates of the moving body in the target area is repeatedly performed, one series reference information includes:
Among a plurality of candidate sub-areas where the same intensity level exists, there is the same or the closest approximation to the magnitude relation of the intensity levels of the different fixing devices for the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation. Preferably, the sub-area is selected as a control sub-area.

An automatic control device for a lighting device according to the present invention measures the position coordinates of a moving object moving within a specific target area in the target area, and automatically controls the illumination direction based on the obtained position coordinates. An automatic control device of the lighting device, which emits a measurement original signal by radio waves in the target area, a plurality of fixing devices fixedly arranged at different positions, and receives and receives the measurement original signal. Calculate the received intensity level of the measured original signal, emit the result as a measurement data signal by radio, the movable unit held by the moving body, and illuminate the illumination target position in the target area, the illumination direction A lighting device having a drive mechanism for changing,
A central control unit for receiving a measurement data signal from the movable unit and controlling an illumination direction of the lighting device, wherein the central control unit previously obtains a reception intensity level in the movable unit obtained from the measurement data signal. By comparing with the reference information that describes the relationship between the distance and the intensity level with the arrangement position of the corresponding fixing device as the reference position, the calculation processing for obtaining the position coordinates of the moving object in the target area is performed. It is characterized by having an arithmetic processing unit for performing the operation and an illumination control unit for transmitting an illumination direction control command signal of the illumination device based on the position coordinates obtained by the arithmetic processing.

In the above apparatus, it is preferable that the original measurement signals from the respective fixing devices are radio waves having substantially the same frequency and output level. Further, it is preferable that the measurement original signal from each fixing device is a radio wave having a frequency of 150 MHz or less. Further, it is preferable that the measurement original signal from each fixing device is pulse-shaped, and one pulse waveform has a high-level portion having a high intensity level and a low-level portion having a low intensity level.

In the illumination direction control command signal, the position of the moving body, a position having a specific positional relationship with the position of the moving body, or a positional relationship with respect to the position of the moving body is predetermined. The lighting device may be controlled so that a position that changes with time is illuminated in this manner.

[0020]

According to the method and apparatus for automatically controlling a lighting device according to the present invention, an original signal for measurement by a radio wave emitted from a fixed device is received by a movable device held by a moving body, and the received intensity level at this time is set to a central value. The control device compares the movable unit from the fixed unit with the reference information, which is obtained in advance and includes the relationship between the distance and the intensity level with the position where the fixed unit is arranged as the reference position. Distance information can be obtained. This is because there is a region where the reception intensity level largely fluctuates, but the pattern (or profile) of the change of the reception intensity level with respect to the distance from the fixed device has essentially the same identity. This is because the location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level corresponds to the position where the movable unit exists.

As a result, distance information to the position of the movable unit can be obtained from the arrangement position of the fixed unit as a reference position. Therefore, arithmetic processing is performed by combining distance information from a plurality of fixed units provided at different positions. Thus, the position coordinates of the movable device, that is, the position coordinates of the moving body can be obtained. Therefore, using the position coordinates obtained in this way, it is possible to control the illumination direction of the lighting device toward the illumination target position based on the position coordinates. In addition, since the transmission and reception of various signals are performed by radio waves or electrical communication, the illumination direction of the illumination device based on the position of the moving object can be automatically controlled in real time.

By forming the reference information as an aggregate of series reference information relating to one fixing device, arithmetic processing for comparison becomes easy, and the intensity level is included in one series reference information. Even when there are a plurality of the same places, the area can be divided into a plurality of divided areas so that no two or more places of the same intensity level exist in one divided area. In addition, the position coordinates of the moving object can be measured with high precision, and the intended automatic control of the lighting direction of the lighting device can be reliably achieved.

Since the measurement operation for obtaining the position coordinates of the moving object in the target area is usually performed repeatedly,
In one series reference information, of a plurality of candidate sub-areas having a location of the same intensity level, a sub-area including the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation or the sub-area closest thereto is compared. For comparison purposes, use the method that is selected as the sub-area or the sub-area that has the same or the closest relationship to the magnitude relationship of the reception intensity levels of the different fixed devices for the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation. By the method of selecting as a divided area, the position coordinates of the target location can be obtained very reliably and rationally, and as a result, the position coordinates of the moving object can be measured with high accuracy, and the expected Automatic control of the lighting direction of the lighting device can be achieved.

In the automatic control device for a lighting device according to the present invention, since the frequency and the output level of the radio wave relating to the original signal for measurement from each fixing device are substantially the same, the radio wave corresponding to the movable device Is narrowed, and as a result, the configuration of the movable unit can be simplified.

Further, when the original signal for measurement from the fixing device is a radio wave having a frequency of 150 MHz or less, there is practically no possibility of interference and the position coordinates can be measured with high accuracy. Become. Further, the original signal for measurement from each fixing device is pulse-shaped, and one pulse is
When there is a high level portion with a high intensity level and a low level portion with a low intensity level, it is possible to stably detect the reception intensity level even if there is a change in environmental conditions. As a result, it is possible to reliably achieve the intended automatic control of the lighting direction of the lighting device.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a case where an example of the automatic control device for a lighting device according to the present invention is applied to a theater. Area. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the main functional parts constituting the automatic control device for the lighting device of the present invention and the state of their connection. As shown in FIG. 1, in this apparatus, a target area 2 is defined on a stage, and a plurality of fixing devices are fixedly arranged at different positions along, for example, the periphery of the target area 2. . In the example of this figure, the target area 2 is a rectangular indoor area, and four fixers 20A, 20B, 20C and 20
D are arranged at each corner of the target area 2. The actual target area is, for example, a theater or a hall stage, a hall of a banquet hall, or another area where a moving object serving as a reference of a lighting target position to be illuminated moves, even if the entire stage, It may be a part.

The positions of the plurality of fixing devices 20A to 20D vary depending on the shape of the target area 2, the physical environment such as the presence of an object affecting the arrival of radio waves, and other conditions. It is preferable that the entire surface of the target area 2 is located at a position that is uniformly covered by radio waves. For example, the positions where the individual fixers face the central part of the target area 2 from different directions or the positions where the individual fixers are separated from each other by a large distance can be set as the arrangement positions of the fixers 20A to 20D. The specific location of the fixing devices 20A to 20D is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a temporary type as long as the fixing device is installed at a ceiling, a wall, a floor, a pillar, or any other appropriate fixing position of the stage. You can also.

Each of the fixing devices 20A to 20D has an antenna and is connected to the central control device 10. The fixing devices 20A to 20D have a function of generating a pulse-like original signal for measurement by radio waves in response to a transmission command signal from the central control device 10. Have. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a curve diagram showing the temporal situation of the pulse of the measurement original signal of each of these fixers 20A to 20D.
(D) shows the original measurement signal pulses a to d from the fixers 20A to 20D, respectively, and (e) shows the explanatory curves obtained by superimposing the curves (a) to (d) on a common time axis. FIG. Specifically, the transmission command signal from the central control device 10 is applied to the fixing devices 20A to 20D, and in this example, in this example, the measuring original signal pulses are sequentially output from the fixing devices 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D. a, b, c and d
Are emitted as a pulse group.

In the above, the measurement original signal pulses a to d
The time width t of each pulse is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 10 msec. Further, a pause period N is provided between the last measurement original signal pulse d of one pulse group and the first measurement original signal pulse a of the next pulse group.
And the time width of the pause period N is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 10 msec.

A movable unit 30 is carried or held by a moving body (not shown) moving in the target area 2.
The movable unit 30 has a radio wave receiving function, a radio wave transmitting function, and an arithmetic processing function. The movable unit 30 receives original measurement signals from the fixing units 20A to 20D, performs an arithmetic process on the reception intensity levels of the respective signals, and obtains the result. The measurement data to be transmitted are collectively transmitted as a measurement data signal by radio waves during the pause period N.

A controller 40 having a radio wave receiving function and a radio wave transmitting function for controlling the operation of the movable unit 30 is fixedly arranged in the target area 2. This controller 40
Is not particularly limited as long as the position can communicate with the movable unit 30 in the target area 2. For example, it can be set to the same position as any fixed unit. In this case, there is an advantage that the installation work is easy.

The controller 40 is connected to the central controller 10 and receives a trigger command signal from the controller 40 to generate a trigger signal by radio waves. The controller 40 receives a measurement data signal by radio waves from the movable unit 30 and 10.

Further, the lighting device 50 is installed at a fixed position facing the target area 2. The illuminating device 50 has a driving mechanism for changing the illuminating direction, and the illuminating direction is three-dimensionally variable.

As shown in FIG. 2, the central control unit 10
It has a drive control unit 12, an arithmetic processing unit 14, a reference information storage unit 16, and an illumination control unit 18. Drive control unit 1
2 has a function of controlling the operation of each of the fixing devices 20 and the controller 40. Specifically, each of the fixing devices 20 issues a transmission command signal so as to emit the original signal pulse for measurement in a predetermined order, and At the same time, a trigger command signal is issued to the controller 40. The frequency of sending the trigger command signal is, for example, 20 to 50 times per second.

The arithmetic processing unit 14 receives the measurement data signal transmitted from the controller 40 and refers to the measurement data signal with reference information stored in the reference information storage unit 16 as described later. And a function of executing an arithmetic process for calculating the position coordinates of the movable unit 30 in the target area 2 in accordance with a predetermined process. The illumination control unit 18 also controls the driving mechanism of the illumination device 50 based on the signal from the arithmetic processing unit 14 so that the illumination direction is directed to the illumination target position based on the position coordinates of the moving object. It has the function of sending out signals.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an example of the lighting device. As shown in this figure, an illuminating device 50 has a light source lamp 51 made of, for example, a xenon discharge lamp and a lens 52 and projects light in a specific direction.
And a first motor 5 for rotating the illuminator 53 around a horizontal rotation axis perpendicular to the optical axis L as indicated by an arrow x.
4 and a driving mechanism 56 having a second motor 55 that rotates around a vertical rotation axis perpendicular to the optical axis L as indicated by an arrow y.
The light projection direction, that is, the direction of the optical axis L is three-dimensionally changed.

The driving characteristic value of the driving mechanism 56 in the lighting device 50 is registered in the central control device 10. For example,
The reference stop positions of the first motor 54 and the second motor 55 are set as starting reference positions, respectively.
The coordinate position of the illumination target position in the spatial coordinate system is registered in the illumination control unit 18 of the central control device 10, and the second motor 55 is set at an arbitrary angle from the reference position while the first motor 54 remains in the reference position state. The coordinate position of the illumination target position by the illuminator 53 when stopped at the state position is registered in the illumination control unit 18 of the central control device 10. Specifically, a vector connecting the movable device 30 held by the moving body and the lighting device 50 is obtained with reference to two vectors connecting each of the two space coordinates and the space coordinates of the lighting device 50. The illumination direction of the illumination device 50 is controlled based on this vector.

In the above, the frequencies of the radio waves of the measurement original signal, the trigger signal and the measurement data signal from the fixing device 20 are not particularly limited, but the frequencies of the radio waves of the trigger signal and the measurement data signal are measured. It is preferable that the frequency can be clearly identified from the frequency of the radio wave of the original signal. In practice, the frequency of the radio wave of the original signal for measurement is usually 150M
Hz or less, for example, about 50 MHz or about 10 MHz. The frequencies of the radio waves of the trigger signal and the measurement data signal are, for example, 250 to 3
It can be 50 MHz. In addition, the central controller 1
0 and each of the fixing devices 20A to 20D, the controller 40, and the lighting device 50 may be connected in a state where data communication is possible with each other, and may be either a wired connection or a wireless connection. .

In the present invention, the reference information has a function similar to a calibration curve in a chemical analysis.
Specifically, it is obtained as follows. (1) Set plane coordinates in the target area 2. The type and content of the specific coordinates of the plane coordinates are completely arbitrary, but most simply, the plane coordinates on the normal X axis and Y axis may be used. One unit of coordinates may be set according to the target measurement position accuracy, and is not particularly limited. The actual size of the coordinate unit differs depending on the size of the area of the target region 2, but the distance of one coordinate unit in the X direction and the Y direction may be, for example, 30 to 500 cm.

(2) The movable unit 30 is moved in a specific direction with the arrangement position of one fixed unit 20 as a reference position, and the reception intensity level of the measurement original signal from the fixed unit 20 is set for each coordinate unit. Detected by the movable unit 30, the relationship between the reception intensity level and the distance from the reference position is obtained, and a graph is created, for example. The relationship between the reception intensity level and the distance is the reference information for the fixing device 20. Then, by performing the same operation as described above, the relationship between the reception intensity level and the distance for all the fixing devices 20 is obtained, so that the target reference information is obtained.

More specifically, for example, in the example of FIG. 1 in which the fixing devices 20A to 20D are arranged at the respective corners of the rectangular target area 2, as shown in FIG. The X-axis is set in the horizontal direction, the Y-axis is set in the vertical direction perpendicular to the X-axis, and the target area 2 is equally divided in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, each of which is a square unit area U.
Is set, and the position coordinates are set in each unit area U.
The position coordinates can be set, for example, as addresses (X, Y) when the whole is regarded as a matrix. In the example of FIG. 5, the target area 2 is divided into unit areas U of 5 rows and 6 columns, and the position coordinates of the unit areas U to which the fixing devices 20A to 20D belong are (1, 1), respectively. ),
(1, 6), (6, 6), and (6, 1).

Then, one of the fixing devices 20A to 20D
For example, only the fixing device 20A is operated and the other fixing devices are set in a non-operation state. In this state, all the unit areas U belonging to the first row extending in the X-axis direction, that is, the first column to the last column ( In all the unit areas U up to the sixth column in the example of FIG. 5, the reception intensity level at the central point G is detected, and the result is recorded in relation to the position coordinates. (Note that the recorded reception intensity level is simply referred to as “intensity level” in the reference information.)

By the above operation, the fixing units 20 for all the unit areas U belonging to the first row arranged in the X-axis direction are set.
Reference information related to A is obtained. Therefore, by performing the same operation for all rows, reference information on the fixing device 20A for the entire target area 2 can be obtained. Then, the same operation as described above is performed on all the other fixing devices, whereby reference information on all the fixing devices 20 is obtained.

The reference information obtained as described above is
The reference information is stored in the reference information storage unit 16 of the central control device 10, and this reference information is read out and referred to by the arithmetic processing unit 14 as necessary.

In the present invention, with the above configuration, the position coordinates of the moving object in the target area 2 are measured as follows, and as a result, the illumination direction of the illumination device 50 is controlled. First, a transmission command signal is issued from the central control device 10, whereby each of the fixing devices 20A to 20D outputs the original measurement signal pulses a to d in the state shown in FIG.
Is issued.

On the other hand, a trigger command signal is sent from the central control device 10 to the controller 40 simultaneously with the transmission command signal, and as shown in FIG. Is in the operating state, and the movable unit 30 detects the reception intensity level by each of the measurement original signal pulses a to d from each of the fixed units 20A to 20D. That is, in the movable unit 30,
The reception intensity levels of the measurement original signal pulses a to d from the four fixers 20A to 20D are detected in this order, and each of them is subjected to arithmetic processing according to a predetermined program.
Measurement data corresponding to the four detection results are collectively transmitted from the movable unit 30 as measurement data signals by radio waves. FIG. 6 is an explanatory graph showing a state of transmission and reception of each signal between the movable unit, the fixed unit, and the controller.

The measurement data signal based on the radio wave is received by the controller 40 and transmitted to the central control unit 10. The arithmetic processing unit 14 of the central control unit 10 stores the reference information stored in the reference information storage unit 16 in advance. Is contrasted with.
Then, in the reference information, the position coordinates of the unit area of the intensity level corresponding to the detected reception intensity level are determined, whereby the unit area where the moving object is located can be obtained as the position coordinates. Then, based on the position coordinates of the moving body obtained as described above, the direction of a lighting target position such as a preset designated position is calculated with reference to the position of the moving body, and the lighting A direction control command signal is sent out, whereby the lighting device 50
Is controlled to set the illumination direction of the illumination device 50 to the direction of the illumination target position.

The above operation is performed during the quiescent period N between the pulse groups of the measurement original signal shown in FIG. Therefore, in practice, the control of the illumination direction of the illumination device with respect to the illumination target position based on the position coordinates of the moving object is automatically performed in real time.

Thus, a certain one obtained as described above
Strictly speaking, the information on the two fixers 20 is
The distance information includes a factor relating to the distance to the movable unit 30 with the arrangement position of 0 as a reference position. Therefore, only a single distance information indicates a circle having a specific radius centered on the position of the fixed unit 20, for example. It is only possible to determine that the movable unit 30 exists on any of the circumferences, and it is not possible to specifically determine specific position coordinates.

However, when a plurality of fixing devices 20 are arranged at different positions and distance information can be obtained from them, a method of obtaining the intersection of circles intersecting each other by combining the plurality of distance information, for example, is used. Similarly, the position coordinates relating to the current position of the movable unit 30 can be obtained with high accuracy. For this reason, in the present invention, it is necessary that the number of the fixing devices 20 to be arranged in one target area is two or more, preferably three or more, more preferably four or more. More than that.

The reference information is obtained by dividing the entire surface of the target area 2 into specific unit areas, and obtaining the reception intensity level of the measurement original signal from each fixing device for each unit area. Therefore, the position coordinates of the moving body obtained by the above operation are based on the position coordinates set in the unit area.

To obtain the reference information, the target area 2
Is divided into unit areas each having a size corresponding to the target measurement accuracy, and a group of two or more unit areas (hereinafter referred to as a “unit area series”) that are continuously arranged in a line is set, and each unit is set. For each of the unit areas belonging to this area series, scan the reception intensity level of the original signal for measurement by a specific fixed device, and thereby obtain the series reference information. As a result, all the unit areas are included in any one of the unit area series. The collection of the series reference information is the reference information on the specific fixing device for the target area 2. In the above, it is important that the unit area series to be measured is large, that is, the number of series reference information is large in order to obtain highly accurate reference information. Therefore, normally, a certain unit area belongs to a plurality of unit area series at the same time.

One series reference information obtained as described above is not a mere set of reception intensity level information of each unit area belonging to the corresponding unit area series, but a continuous set of unit area continuous in a specific state. Because the information is information, the positional relationship between a certain unit area and unit areas that are continuous before and after the unit area is also an element of the information.

More specifically, for example, the target area 2 is divided into a matrix of unit areas arranged vertically and horizontally, and each row and each column is defined as a unit area series, and the movable unit is moved along the unit area series. Then, when the reception intensity level is scanned and measured for every unit area belonging to the row or column, series reference information is obtained. Then, if the series reference information for all the rows and columns is obtained, the reference information can be obtained as an aggregate thereof.

FIG. 7 is a curve showing series reference information (curve A) for the fixing device A and series reference information (curve B) for the fixing device B obtained for a certain unit area series in a certain target region. FIG. In this figure,
The horizontal axis is the position coordinate number, that is, the column number, and the vertical axis is the intensity level, which is a relative unit.

In this example, one row (this is referred to as an m-th row) in the case where the target area is divided into a matrix of 15 rows and 19 columns is defined as a unit area series. For a total of 19 unit areas belonging to the fixed unit A, by scanningly measuring the unit areas in the first row up to the 19th row in order from the unit areas in the first row and linking the measured values in the order of the unit areas continuously arranged. A graph (curve A) of the series reference information and a graph (curve B) of the series reference information of the fixing device B are obtained.

As is apparent from this figure, the reception intensity level actually obtained for a certain unit area series is such that the position of the unit area series is fixed with respect to the fixed position (reference position). Nevertheless, that is, the measurement positions of the 19 unit areas belonging to the m-th row and arranged in the X-axis direction are completely irregular despite having a specific regular distance relationship with the reference position. It has a vibrating profile.

However, when the moving object is present in any of the m-th rows, the reception intensity level of the original signal pulse for measurement by the fixed device A detected by the movable device is "200".
When this reception intensity level is compared with the series reference information of FIG. 7, in the series reference information, the place where the intensity level is “200” is only one point in the fifth column. It is detected that the movable unit exists at the position coordinates (m, 5). The actual control detection operation of detecting or measuring the position coordinates of the corresponding location by comparing the information of the reception intensity level with the reference information is performed by the arithmetic processing in the arithmetic processing unit 14 of the central control device 10 and the obtained position is determined. The coordinates (m, 5) are output as a measurement signal. At this time, if it is confirmed at the same time that the reception intensity level of the original signal pulse for measurement by the fixed device B is "about 510", it is more certain that the movable device exists in the fifth row, and the measurement accuracy is high. It will be.

As described above, by comparing the reception intensity level of the original measurement signal for the specific fixed device obtained in the movable unit with the reference information for the specific fixed device, which is obtained in advance, Distance information of the movable unit to the specific fixed unit is obtained. Then, as described above, by processing the distance information of the two or more fixed devices arranged at different positions in combination, the position where the movable device actually exists, that is, the position coordinates of the moving body is specifically determined. And specifically.

In a certain series of reference information, if there is only one location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level as described above, it is clear that the location is the target location from which the position coordinates should be obtained. Usually, a plurality of locations of the same intensity level exist in one series reference information. For example, in the curve A according to the fixing device A in FIG. 7, the location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level “330” exists in two places of the fourth column and the seventh column. In such a case, it is difficult to determine which location is the target location only from the information on the reception intensity level.

Therefore, in the present invention, when two or more locations of the same intensity level exist in one obtained series reference information, the area of the unit area series related to the series reference information is divided into a plurality of areas. So that no one divided area includes two or more locations of the same intensity level. That is, in the curve of the series reference information, an area in which the intensity level increases or decreases in one direction is defined as one divided area. Therefore, the position of the upwardly convex or downwardly convex vertex in the curve of the series reference information (or the position where the sign of the first derivative changes) may be divided as a dividing line.

For example, in the example of FIG. 7, the curve A has a fifth column, a ninth column,
The positions of the 0th column, the 11th column, the 12th column, the 14th column, and the 17th column are the positions of the dividing lines. On the other hand, regarding the curve B, the positions of the eighth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, fourteenth, and fifteenth columns are set as the positions of the dividing lines.

In one of the division areas of the series reference information, there is only one location having the same intensity level, and there are no more than two locations. By comparing with the series reference information in the area, the target location can be reliably determined.

In the above case, there are a plurality of division areas each including only one location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level, and any of these division areas has the possibility that the target location exists. Since it is an area, it is necessary to select one of them as a control divided area. The following method can be used to select the division for comparison.

(1) Method of Considering Position Coordinates by Previous Measurement Operation The position coordinate measurement operation according to the present invention is actually performed at a rate of, for example, 20 to 50 times per second according to the frequency of sending a trigger signal. Repeated. Therefore, when there are a plurality of candidate divided areas in one measurement operation, the position coordinates detected in the previous measurement operation belong to all candidate divided areas in consideration of the previous measurement result. Subdivision,
Alternatively, the closest divided area is selected as a control divided area. This is because the actual movement of the moving object is analogous due to continuous position changes, and it takes only a few milliseconds from the time of the last measurement operation to the time of this measurement operation. This is because it is impossible to move to the position coordinates greatly separated from the previous position coordinates, and therefore, the above-mentioned divided area is a control divided area with almost no exception.

(2) Method of Considering the Relationship between Reception Intensity Levels by Different Fixtures in Previous Measurement Operation For the same reason as described in the above (1), in the previous measurement operation, the position coordinates detected at the detected position coordinates are used. The magnitude relationship between the intensity level of the fixing device A and the intensity level of the fixing device B, and the magnitude of the difference between the intensity levels are obtained as information. Therefore, using these pieces of information between intensity levels, a divided area having the same or closest intensity level relationship or a divided area having the same or closest intensity level difference state is selected as a control divided area. . Alternatively, it is also possible to further select the control division area in consideration of the fact that the tendency when the difference between the intensity levels changes is the same or similar.

In the present invention, appropriate correction processing can be added to the reference information acquired in advance so as to be suitable for the actual comparison processing. One example of a correction process that is practically the most effective is a linearization correction process in which a change in the intensity level is regarded as a linear change for each divided area in the series reference information. Specifically, the curve A in FIG. 7 can be corrected by replacing a curve for each divided area, for example, a curve from the first column to the fifth column with one straight line segment. A straight line segment S directly connecting the coordinates in the first column and the coordinates in the fifth column is obtained.

According to such linearization correction processing, the line representing the intensity level in the divided area is not a curve but a very simple y = ax + b that is established in common in all the unit areas related to the divided area. Since it can be expressed by a logical expression based on a simple linear expression, the logical expression for the arithmetic processing in the arithmetic processing unit of the central control unit becomes very simple, and therefore, the processing program becomes simple, and The detection processing time can be greatly reduced, which is extremely advantageous.

In the present invention, the radio wave of the original signal pulse for measurement preferably has substantially the same frequency and output level for each fixing device, and thus has substantially the same frequency and output level. In such a case, the range of radio waves to be received and processed by the movable unit is narrow in terms of frequency and output level, so that the performance of the movable unit may be simple, and after all, the configuration is simple. It can be. In addition, the radio wave related to the original signal for measurement preferably has a frequency of 150 MHz or less. In this case, there is practically no risk of reflection or interference, so that position coordinates can be measured with high accuracy. ,as a result,
Control of the illumination direction of the intended illumination device can be achieved with high accuracy.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the pulse waveform of the measurement original signal from each fixing device has a high level portion HL having a high intensity level and a low level portion LL having a low intensity level.
In the case of having, the stable detection can be performed by detecting the difference between the two. That is, for example, according to a simple rectangular pulse, if the power supply voltage of the movable unit 30 is reduced or the determination circuit is deteriorated,
That directly results in an error in the reception intensity level.
However, if the difference in the intensity level between the high-level portion HL and the low-level portion LL is received as the reception intensity level, a stable reception result is always obtained, and as a result, the desired automatic control of the lighting device is stabilized. Can be done.

Illumination by the illumination device 50 is, specifically,
The present invention can be executed in various modes using the moving body as a reference of the position. The simplest form of illumination is to directly illuminate the moving object. In this case, the direction of the lighting device 50 is
Control is performed in the direction of the calculated coordinate position of the moving object.

When two or more lighting devices 50 are used, control is performed by including a unique identification signal corresponding to each lighting device in the lighting direction control command signal from the lighting control unit 18. Lighting device 50 to be selected, and then for this selected lighting device 50,
It is possible to control the illumination direction. In this case, illumination at a plurality of positions can be performed based on one moving body.

Further, it is possible to illuminate a position having a specific positional relationship with respect to the moving body. For example, when the detected coordinate position of the moving object is (x, y), the coordinate position (X ′, Y ′) defined by a specific expression of X ′ = x + α, Y ′ = y + β Can be illuminated, whereby a position having a fixed positional relationship with the moving object is illuminated. Then, by using a plurality of lighting devices to control each of them to illuminate a separate position, it is possible to perform extremely diverse lighting, and to achieve a complex and interesting effect. As described above, when illuminating a position having a specific fixed positional relationship with respect to the moving body, the illuminating position naturally moves together with the moving body. Further, the illumination can be executed in a manner in which the positional relationship changes with time, using the moving object as a reference for the position. In this case, the movement of the lighting position by each of the plurality of lighting devices is simultaneously switched, the lighting position is gradually moved,
Alternatively, it can be executed in any mode such as a mode in which it moves stepwise.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the movable unit is of a portable type. That is, the movable unit is provided with a band or other holding unit or a pin or a clip for fixing the movable unit to a part of the costume so as to be convenient for holding by the moving body. Is preferred. Further, it is preferable to use a small battery as a driving power source.

The target area to which the method of the present invention is applied is not particularly limited, and the entire area where the moving body can move can be set as the target area. , Indoor spaces such as theater stages, rooftops,
An outdoor space such as an outdoor theater or a limited relatively small area can be set as the target area. However, it may be practically difficult to obtain reference information if a very large area is to be measured. From such a viewpoint, in the present invention, for example, a region whose longest distance is several tens of meters or less is set as the target region. The illuminable area does not always coincide with the target area.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, various changes can be made in the present invention. For example, it is also possible to measure the position coordinates of a plurality of moving objects in parallel and illuminate an illumination target position based on the position coordinates with a single lighting device or a plurality of lighting devices. . In this case, it is necessary to be able to individually control the movable units held by each of the plurality of moving objects. For this purpose, for example, the frequency of the measurement original signal received by each movable unit is different. Means, a means for giving a time difference to the original signal for measurement received by each movable unit, and others can be used.If there is no particular problem, a central control unit, a fixed unit and a controller can be commonly used. it can. In the above description, the “pulse” is not particularly limited in its waveform, and may be any pulse that can be processed as a pulse signal. Therefore, a so-called triangular wave, sawtooth wave, trapezoidal wave, a composite wave of these waveform components, or another waveform may be used instead of a rectangular wave pulse or a pulse consisting of only a rectangular wave component.

[0077]

According to the method and the apparatus for automatically controlling a lighting device according to the present invention, an original signal for measurement by radio waves emitted from a fixing device is received by a movable device held by a moving body, and the reception intensity level at this time is determined. In the central control device, the fixed device of the movable device is compared with reference information previously obtained, which contains the relationship between the distance and the intensity level with the position where the fixed device is located as the reference position. Distance information can be obtained, and as a result, distance information to the position of the movable unit can be obtained from the arrangement position of the fixed unit as a reference position, so that the distance by a plurality of fixed units provided at different positions can be obtained. The position coordinates of the movable unit, that is, the position coordinates of the moving body can be obtained by performing the arithmetic processing by combining the information, and the position coordinates obtained in this manner are used to obtain the position coordinates. It is possible to control the illumination direction of the illumination device toward the illumination target position relative to the coordinates. In addition, since the transmission and reception of various signals are performed by radio waves or electrical communication, the illumination direction of the illumination device based on the position of the moving object can be automatically controlled in real time.

By forming the reference information as an aggregate of series reference information relating to one fixing device, arithmetic processing for comparison becomes easy, and the intensity level is included in one series reference information. Even when there are a plurality of the same places, the area can be divided into a plurality of divided areas so that no two or more places of the same intensity level exist in one divided area. In addition, the position coordinates of the moving object can be measured with high precision, and the intended automatic control of the lighting direction of the lighting device can be reliably achieved.

Since the measurement operation for obtaining the position coordinates of the moving object in the target area is usually performed repeatedly,
In one series reference information, of a plurality of candidate sub-areas having a location of the same intensity level, a sub-area including the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation or the sub-area closest thereto is compared. For comparison purposes, use the method that is selected as the sub-area or the sub-area that has the same or the closest relationship to the magnitude relationship of the reception intensity levels of the different fixed devices for the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation. By the method of selecting as a divided area, the position coordinates of the target location can be obtained very reliably and rationally, and as a result, the position coordinates of the moving object can be measured with high accuracy, and the expected Automatic control of the lighting direction of the lighting device can be achieved.

In the automatic control device for the lighting device according to the present invention, since the frequency and output level of the radio wave relating to the original signal for measurement from each fixing device are substantially the same, Is narrowed, and as a result, the configuration of the movable unit can be simplified.

When the original signal for measurement from the fixing device is a radio wave having a frequency of 150 MHz or less, there is practically no risk of reflection or interference, and the position coordinates can be measured with high accuracy. It becomes possible. Furthermore, if the original signal for measurement from each fixer is pulse-shaped and one pulse has a high-level portion with a high intensity level and a low-level portion with a low intensity level, the change in environmental conditions will Even if there is, it is possible to stably detect the reception intensity level. As a result, it is possible to reliably achieve the intended automatic control of the lighting direction of the lighting device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a case where an example of a configuration of an automatic control device for a lighting device of the present invention is applied to a theater.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing main functional parts constituting an automatic control device of the lighting device of the present invention, and schematically showing a state of connection of the main functional parts.

FIG. 3 is a curve diagram showing a temporal state of a pulse of a measurement original signal of each of the fixing devices 20A to 20D.
(D) shows the original measurement signal pulses a to d from the fixers 20A to 20D, respectively, and (e) shows the explanatory curves obtained by superimposing the curves (a) to (d) on a common time axis. FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a lighting device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of acquiring reference information according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory graph showing a state of transmission and reception of each signal between a movable unit, a fixed unit, and a controller.

FIG. 7 is a curve diagram showing series reference information (curve A) relating to the fixing device A and series reference information (curve B) relating to the fixing device B obtained for a certain unit region series in a certain target region. .

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of the pulse waveform of the measurement original signal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Theater 2 Target area 20, 20A-20D Fixing device 10 Central control device ad-Original signal pulse for measurement 30 Movable device N Pause period 40 Controller 12 Drive control unit 14 Operation processing unit 16 Reference information storage unit 18 Lighting control unit U Unit area G Central part HL High level part LL Low level part 50 Illumination device 51 Light source lamp 52 Lens 53 Illuminator L Optical axis 54 First motor 55 Second motor 56 Drive mechanism

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Ito 2-26-3 Kitamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Iseco Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akihisa Sakata 1-4505 Soubudai, Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture Wakabayashi Building Emile Electronics Co., Ltd. F-term inside the development building (reference)

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A method of measuring position coordinates of a moving object moving in a specific target area in the target area, and automatically controlling an illumination direction of a lighting device based on the obtained position coordinates. In each of the target areas, a plurality of fixing devices that emit a measurement original signal by radio waves are fixedly arranged at different positions, receive the measurement original signal, and calculate a reception intensity level of the received measurement original signal, A movable unit that emits the result as a measurement data signal by radio waves is held by the moving body, and an illumination device having a drive mechanism that changes an illumination direction, which illuminates an illumination target position in the target area, is provided. A central control device for receiving the measurement data signal and controlling the illumination direction of the lighting device; The level is determined in advance, and the position of the moving body in the target area is compared with reference information that includes the relationship between the distance and the reception intensity level with the arrangement position of the corresponding fixing device as the reference position. An automatic control method for a lighting device, comprising: performing a calculation process for obtaining coordinates; and controlling a lighting direction of the lighting device toward an illumination target position based on the position coordinates obtained by the calculation process. 2. The reference information corresponds to each fixing device, and the reference information on each fixing device is obtained by dividing a target region into a number of unit regions and continuously arranging two or more units in one row. A group of regions is defined as a unit region series, and for each unit region belonging to this unit region series, the operation of measuring the reception intensity level of the measurement original signal by the fixing device and obtaining series reference information is performed for different unit region series. The automatic control method for a lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the method is an aggregate of series reference information on a plurality of unit area series obtained by the above. 3. The series reference information is divided into a plurality of divided sections so that the area does not have a plurality of portions of the same intensity level in one divided section. A divided area including a location of the corresponding intensity level is selected as a control divided area, and in this comparative divided area, a calculation process for calculating the position coordinates of the location of the intensity level corresponding to the reception intensity level is performed. The automatic control method for a lighting device according to claim 2. 4. The automatic control method for a lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the series reference information is obtained by subjecting a curve representing an intensity level to linearization correction processing in units of the divided area. 5. The automatic control method for a lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the measurement operation for obtaining the position coordinates of the moving object in the target area is repeatedly performed. Among a plurality of candidate sub-areas having a level location, the sub-area including the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation or the sub-area closest to this is selected as the control sub-area. Automatic control method of lighting equipment. 6. A measurement operation for obtaining a position coordinate of a moving body in a target area is repeatedly performed.
In the automatic control method of the lighting device according to any one of the above, in one series reference information, among a plurality of candidate divided areas in which a location of the same intensity level exists, the position coordinates obtained by the previous measurement operation are determined. A method of automatically controlling a lighting device, wherein a division having the same or the closest relation to the magnitude relation of the intensity levels of the different fixing devices is selected as a reference division. 7. An automatic control device of a lighting device in which a position coordinate of a moving object moving in a specific target region in the target region is measured, and a lighting direction is automatically controlled based on the obtained position coordinates. A plurality of fixing devices, each of which is fixedly arranged at a different position and emits an original signal for measurement by radio waves in the target area, and a reception intensity of the original signal for measurement which is received and received by the original signal for measurement. Calculates the level, emits the result as a measurement data signal by radio wave, a movable unit held by the moving body, illuminates an illumination target position in the target area, and a lighting device having a driving mechanism for changing an illumination direction. A central control unit for receiving the measurement data signal from the movable unit and controlling the illumination direction of the lighting device; Is compared with reference information previously obtained, which contains the relationship between the distance and the intensity level with the arrangement position of the corresponding fixing device as the reference position, thereby obtaining the target area of the mobile object. And a lighting control unit for sending a lighting direction control command signal of the lighting device based on the position coordinates obtained by the calculation process. Automatic control device. 8. The automatic control device for an illumination device according to claim 7, wherein the measurement original signal from each fixing device is based on radio waves having substantially the same frequency and output level. 9. The automatic control device for an illuminating device according to claim 7, wherein the measurement original signal from each fixing device is a radio wave having a frequency of 150 MHz or less. 10. An original signal for measurement from each fixing device is pulse-shaped, and one pulse waveform has a high-level portion having a high intensity level and a low-level portion having a low intensity level. An automatic control device for a lighting device according to claim 7. 11. The illumination direction control command signal may have a position of the moving body, a position in a specific positional relationship with the position of the moving body, or a positional relationship with the position of the moving body as a reference. The automatic control device for a lighting device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the lighting device is controlled so that a time-varying position is illuminated in such a manner.