JP2001126879A - Illumination control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination control apparatus that can rationally and collectively control illumination loads which require various control such as an incandescent lamp or a fluorescent lamp, by employing a electric current signal wire having a simple construction. SOLUTION: The apparatus comprises a PWM dimmer 1 generating PWM signals whose pulse width is variable according to the operation of a fader 2, and a converter 3 receiving the PWM signal and converting and outputting it into a phase control voltage whose angle of ignition is variable in accordance with the pulse width and an inverter fluorescent lamp 5 whose light is controlled in accordance with the PWM signals and an incandescent lamp which is phase controlled by the phase control voltage by the same system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting control device for controlling the brightness of various kinds of lighting such as incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are a plurality of methods of dimming control for changing the brightness of illumination. Dimming control of an incandescent lamp is directly controlled by a phase control using a semiconductor (thyristor or triac). The scheme is now common. On the other hand, in a fluorescent lamp, in addition to the above phase control method, a weak electric signal of PWM (pulse width modulation) is given to an electronic ballast,
A method of changing the lamp current in accordance with the on-duty of the PWM signal to adjust the light is generally used, and is used for dimming a fluorescent lamp by an inverter circuit for power saving. Therefore, appropriate dimmers must be selected according to the type of lighting load to be dimmed (further, the type of ballast built into the fixture for fluorescent lamps). Various troubles occur, for example, there is no light control, or even if light control is possible, the light controllable range is significantly narrower than the inherent ability of the device.

[0003] In order to handle the different types of lighting loads in a single operation system, some existing products include a phase control type dimmer for incandescent lamps as shown in FIG. The output voltage is used as a signal to convert the signal into a PWM signal.
There is a system for dimming simultaneously with a PWM signal. In the figure, an operating device 10 is a dimmer for generating a phase control voltage for an incandescent lamp, and is manufactured by our company Hyperlicon NQ28041.
TK or the like is used. Further, the PWM converter 30 converts the phase control voltage into a PWM signal, and uses a hyper booster NQL44000 of our company or the like.

[0004]

In the method of converting a phase control voltage into a PWM signal as in the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, although it is possible to dimming lighting loads of different control methods at once, the phase control of a 100 V system is performed. Since the voltage is also used as the power output and used as a control signal, a high-voltage electric wire, although a signal line is provided between the operation device (phase control type dimmer) 10 and the PWM converter 30, For example, it is necessary to connect a plurality of sets of thick and difficult-to-process power lines such as VVF to the operating device 10. The operation device 10 is often buried in a wall using a switch box or the like, and it is extremely difficult to install a plurality of such power lines in a limited space in the switch box. Even if the ratio of using the phase control voltage as a control signal is higher than the ratio of controlling the power by directly connecting to an incandescent lamp, it is necessary to use an excess and unnecessary thick line because it uses the common terminal with the power line. There is.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to collectively and rationally control lighting loads of different control systems such as incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps while using low-power signal wiring with good workability. An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting control device as described above.

[0006]

According to the lighting control device of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, as shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit (fader 2) for dimming operation is provided. A PWM signal generator (PWM dimmer 1) for generating a PWM signal whose pulse width changes according to an operation of an operation unit;
A converter 3 which receives a PWM signal output from the M signal generator, converts the PWM signal into a phase control voltage whose firing angle changes in accordance with a pulse width, and outputs the phase control voltage, and performs dimming control by the PWM signal. (Inverter fluorescent lamp 5) and an illumination load (incandescent lamp 4) whose phase is controlled by the phase control voltage are controlled by the same system.

[0007]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. This lighting control device includes a PWM dimmer 1 that generates a plurality of PWM signals for collectively performing dimming control on a plurality of lighting loads. This PWM dimmer 1 has a plurality of faders 2, and each fader 2
And outputs a plurality of PWM signals in which each pulse width is independently variable in accordance with the operation amount. The PWM signal output from the PWM dimmer 1 is distributed to a plurality of lighting loads by a weak wire. Part of the PWM signal is input to the converter 3 and converted into a phase control voltage whose firing angle changes according to the pulse width of the PWM signal. In the example of FIG. 1, the dimming control of the incandescent lamp 4 is performed by the phase control voltage. Other PWM
The signal is input to an inverter fluorescent lamp, that is, a fluorescent lamp luminaire 5 having an electronic ballast by the inverter, and the light output of the fluorescent lamp is controlled by changing the oscillation frequency and the like of the inverter.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the operation of the converter 3. FIG.
(A) is a waveform diagram of a PWM signal input to the converter 3, and (b) is a waveform diagram of a phase control output output from the converter 3. In this example, the PWM signal is a voltage signal of a constant frequency, and the firing angle is changed so that the smaller the on-duty (the ratio of the on-period ton in one cycle T in the figure), the more dimming is performed. ing. The phase control of the incandescent lamp 4 controls the electric power by igniting a semiconductor switch element interposed in the middle of an AC line of a commercial frequency at a predetermined timing, and controls the power as shown on the left side of FIG. ,
If the ignition timing is advanced, the electric power (corresponding to the area of the hatched portion in the figure) supplied to the incandescent lamp 4 as a load increases, and the lamp is dimmed brightly. Further, as shown on the right side of FIG. 2B, when the ignition timing is delayed, the supplied power decreases, and the incandescent lamp 4 becomes dark. Furthermore, if the firing is performed at the firing angle of 0 °, that is, at the zero cross point, 100%
Brightness.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of this embodiment. P
The WM dimmer 1 includes an operation unit 11 such as the fader 2 shown in FIG. 1 and a PWM signal generator 12 that generates a PWM signal whose pulse width changes according to the operation amount of the operation unit 11.
It is composed of Some of the plurality of PWM signals output from the PWM signal generator 12 are supplied to the inverter fluorescent lamp 5. This inverter fluorescent lamp 5 has P
The lamp discharge is controlled by the inverter such that the smaller the on-duty of the WM signal is, the brighter the light of the fluorescent lamp is adjusted. The other PWM signals are supplied to a plurality of phase control converters 3.
Is supplied to The PWM signal is insulated and input by the photocoupler 31, rectified and smoothed by the DC converter 32, and temporarily
The voltage is converted into a C voltage, and is input to the microcomputer 34 as a digital value by the A / D converter 33. On the other hand, the firing angle control of the phase control needs to be controlled based on the zero cross point of the AC voltage. Therefore, the zero cross point of the AC power supply 6 is detected by the synchronization circuit 35 and input to the microcomputer 34. The microcomputer 34 outputs a gate signal according to the on-duty of the PWM signal so that the semiconductor switch element 36 (here, triac) conducts from the zero-cross point to the next zero-cross point at a predetermined firing angle, and outputs the on-duty of the PWM signal. This is repeated until changes.

The output of the microcomputer 34 shown in FIG. 3 is not limited to outputting a gate signal for continuously changing the firing angle.
For a constant value of the on-duty of the PWM signal, turn on / off the gate signal to the triac 36 for phase control.
By doing so, a function of controlling lighting and extinguishing of the lighting load is provided. For example, if the on-duty of the PWM signal is 95
When the on-duty of the PWM signal is 5% or less, the illumination load is turned off at the maximum brightness when the on-duty of the PWM signal is 5% or less.

In FIG. 3, in addition to a synchronization circuit 35, a microcomputer 34 and an A / D converter 3
However, if the capability of the microcomputer 34 permits, it is also conceivable to unify them and add a block of only the input / output terminals and the control semiconductor switch element 36 (triac). The method of converting the PWM signal into the phase control voltage is not limited to the method using the A / D converter 33 and the microcomputer 34, but may be, for example, a method using an analog circuit using the RC time constant. .

By the way, in a bright region and a dark region of illumination, even if the brightness changes to the same degree, the degree of change in brightness looks different visually, so that the inverter which continuously controls the light output using the PWM signal is used. In a fluorescent lamp, the change in brightness of the fluorescent lamp is not always uniform with respect to the operation amount of the operation device (for example, a stroke of moving the fader 2 of the dimmer 1 in FIG. 1), and the change in brightness is too rapid. Some things are consciously changed so that they are not too slow or too slow. An example is shown in FIG. On the other hand, the fluorescent light and the incandescent light have different light output changes with respect to the input power.
If the phase control firing angle is simply converted linearly with respect to the on-duty of the M signal, the light output of the incandescent lamp changes as shown in FIG. 4B, and does not always look natural. Therefore, the relationship (dimming curve) between the on-duty of the PWM signal and the firing angle of the phase control is obtained in advance and stored as, for example, table data of the microcomputer 34, and the on-duty of the PWM signal is converted into a DC voltage. ,
After A / D conversion and input to the microcomputer 34, the triac 3 outputs a gate signal having a firing angle corresponding to the table data.
6, a phase control method is adopted.

[0013] Inverter fluorescent lamps (such as our EDH) are designed so that when the PWM signal is lost due to disconnection of the signal line or the like, the lighting is turned on 100% (full lighting).
For this reason, the system of the present embodiment is designed such that the smaller the on-duty of the PWM signal is, the larger (brighter) the light output of the illumination is. However, in the dimming control of the incandescent lamp by the conventional phase control, when the signal from the operation device is disconnected (corresponding to the case where the on-duty of the PWM signal becomes zero in the system of the present invention), it is generally turned off. Therefore, the maximum brightness is provided when the on-duty is 5%, and a circuit for turning off the triac 36 and turning off the light when the on-duty is less than 2% is added. FIG.
In the configuration described above, the output of the microcomputer 34 that drives the gate of the triac 36 is, for example, OFF when the on-duty is 0 to 2%, ON (continuous dimming by phase control) when the on-duty is 2 to 95%, and 95% on-duty. ~ 100
In%, it is always set to ON. Of course, it is also possible to adopt a specification in which 100% light is turned on when the signal is disconnected.

Further, among the existing fluorescent lamps which are dimmed by the PWM signal, there are light emitting devices whose light output ratio with respect to a fixed signal input varies depending on the product type (our EDH or H
f, PD type, PE type, etc.), the maximum / minimum value and change rate of the on-duty of the PWM dimmer 1 are changed according to the type of load (the minimum value of the on-duty is 5% and the maximum value of our EDH) The dimming curve is 95%, the minimum value is 3% for PD, and the maximum value is 99% for PD. Phase control converter 3
In order to ensure that the PWM dimmer 1 connected to the PWM dimmer 1 is designed for any of these devices, the phase control output is zero when the on-duty of the PWM signal is 95% or less, for example. The table data of the microcomputer 34 is determined so that

When a circuit for turning off the output when a signal is disconnected is added, if the specification is set to immediately turn off the light when the disconnection occurs, the process of turning off (duty 0%) → dimming with minimum brightness (duty 95%) Or dimming with minimum brightness (95% duty) → off (duty 0
%), A duty of 0 to 95% must be passed, and in the on-duty of this range, the lighting load tends to produce a brighter output. Therefore, when passing through this range, bright light is momentarily emitted. A flash phenomenon occurs. Therefore,
A signal which is OFF with an on-duty of 0 to 2% detects a 0 to 2% on-duty and a fixed delay time (several hundred ms)
After that, turn off the gate of the triac 34,
A delay circuit is interposed.

The load connected to the output of the phase control converter 3 shown in FIG. 3 is not limited to the incandescent lamp 4 of 100 V.
A 12V incandescent lamp 8 may be connected via the down transformer 7 or a fluorescent lamp 9 which is turned on by a copper-iron type ballast may be connected. Table 1 shows combinations of dimming output and dimming load. IL means an incandescent lamp, and FL means a fluorescent lamp. The conventional example of FIG. 1 and the embodiment of FIG. Equivalent to 7. The system of the present invention has a PWM
When the lighting load controlled by the signal is an incandescent lamp (No. 5, No. 8) or when the lighting load controlled by the phase control voltage is a fluorescent lamp (No. 6, N)
o. 8).

[0017]

[Table 1]

[0018]

According to the first to fourteenth aspects of the present invention, the PWM
An illumination load controlled by a PWM signal using a dimmer equipped with an oscillator and a lighting load controlled by a phase control voltage can be dimmed in the same system.
Compared with a conventional system in which a 100V system phase control voltage is used as a control signal, which is converted to a PWM signal and collectively dimming, the signal voltage is low. It has the effect of being excellent in workability. Therefore, it is particularly useful when an incandescent lamp is added at a site where a fluorescent lamp whose dimming is controlled by the PWM signal is already installed. Also, unlike the case where the actuator is a phase control output, it is not a circuit that directly controls the power, so the conduction current is small, there is no need for a large-capacity heat radiation design, and the signal voltage to be handled can be low, so the insulation distance Therefore, there is an effect that the amount of structural design is greatly reduced, such as that the design considerations are easier than that of the high voltage. Furthermore, since the signal voltage is low and the AC is rectified before the output is generated, noise and power supply distortion to other devices such as generation of radiation noise and outflow of harmonic current when viewed from the actuator alone. The effect is that the influence can be reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the brightness can be changed naturally as perceived by the human eye, and that only necessary parts can be finely controlled. According to the sixth aspect of the invention, when the signal line is disconnected, the light is turned off / full lit in the same sequence as that of the conventional incandescent lamp / fluorescent lamp. There is an effect that it can be done with the same feeling as. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent a trouble that the light cannot be turned off even if the operation is reduced to zero, in combination with the lighting equipment.
According to the eighth aspect of the invention, there is an effect that a flash phenomenon that occurs transiently immediately before turning off can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of the converter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of each unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing as an example that a change in a light output ratio with respect to an operation amount of a light control operation device differs between a fluorescent lamp and an incandescent lamp.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 PWM dimmer 2 Fader 3 Phase control converter 4 Incandescent lamp 5 Inverter fluorescent lamp

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiharu Nakatsu 1048 Odomo Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) CL10 3K098 CC40 CC70 DD18 DD20 EE13 EE28 EE31 EE32 EE37 FF12

Claims (10)

[Claims] An operation unit for dimming operation, a PWM signal generator for generating a PWM signal whose pulse width changes according to an operation of the operation unit, and a PWM signal output from the PWM signal generator are received. And a converter for converting and outputting a phase control voltage whose firing angle changes in accordance with the pulse width.
An illumination control device, wherein an illumination load controlled by dimming control by a WM signal and an illumination load controlled by a phase control voltage are controlled by the same system. 2. The lighting control device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting load controlled for dimming by the PWM signal is a fluorescent lamp turned on by an inverter circuit. 3. The lighting control device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting load whose phase is controlled by the phase control voltage is an incandescent lamp. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the converter is a P converter.
An illumination control device comprising means for turning on or off an illumination load when a pulse width of a WM signal reaches a predetermined value. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the converter is a P converter.
The firing angle of the phase control voltage with respect to the pulse width of the WM signal is
An illumination control device, comprising: means for converting an illuminance ratio of an illumination load to a natural change ratio with respect to an operation amount of an operation device. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the converter is a P converter.
An illumination control device, comprising: means for turning on or off the illumination load when there is no WM signal. 7. The lighting device according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined value for turning on or off the lighting load is set so that the PWM signal generators of different models can be turned off or turned on without fail. Control device. 8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the converter is a P-type converter.
An illumination control device wherein a change in a phase control output is delayed with respect to a change in a pulse width of a WM signal. 9. The lighting control device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting load controlled for dimming by the PWM signal is an incandescent lamp. 10. The lighting control device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting load whose phase is controlled by the phase control voltage is a fluorescent lamp.