JP2001326081A - Brightness control system for illumination equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a brightness control system realizing energy saving and resource saving at an illumination equipment. SOLUTION: A measuring instrument 1 checks the brightness of a room 10 with a brightness sensor 5 and indicates raising and lowering of a receiving voltage of a lamp 4 to a power saving device 2 according to the comparison of the brightness with the value of standard brightness set by an information treatment device 6 through a network 7. When the power consumption of the lamp 4 exceeds a prescribed value set by the information treatment device 6 through the network 7, the measuring instrument 1 informs the life end of the lamp 4 to the information treatment device 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illuminance control system for illuminating equipment capable of controlling the illuminance of an illuminating lamp such as a lamp or a fluorescent lamp and capable of determining the life of the illuminating lamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, awareness of environmental and energy problems has increased. In addition, due to the enforcement of the Revised Energy Conservation Law in April 1999, one and two types of designated factories are
% Energy efficiency must be increased,
There is interest in how to reduce power consumption.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned designated factory or general building, the amount of energy consumed for lighting and air conditioning is very large. Therefore, if this can be reduced, it can be expected that a large energy saving effect will be obtained.

Some lighting systems that are currently in practical use can adjust the illuminance. However, these systems allow a person to adjust the volume by checking the brightness of the room, and reduce power consumption. On the other hand, since fine-grained control was not possible, the emphasis was on adjusting the brightness rather than on achieving an energy-saving effect.

On the other hand, in the conventional management of lighting equipment, the replacement time of lighting lamps such as incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps is determined based on the integrated value of the usage time. I was

It is an object of the present invention to provide an illuminance control system that focuses on lighting equipment that consumes a large amount of energy in the management-designated factory or building and reduces the amount of energy used by the lighting device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an illuminance control system capable of more strictly determining the life of a lighting fixture such as a bulb used in lighting equipment.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, an illuminance control system for lighting equipment according to the present invention includes first measuring means, voltage converting means and control means.

[0009] The first measuring means measures the illuminance of the room or the illuminance of the illumination lamp. The voltage conversion means varies a voltage received by the illumination lamp. The control means instructs the voltage conversion means to lower the receiving voltage when the illuminance is larger than a normal value as a result of the measurement by the first measuring means, and instructs the voltage conversion means to reduce the receiving voltage when the illuminance is smaller than the normal value. To raise.

With this configuration, the illuminance control system according to the present invention can control the illuminance of the room by varying the voltage received by the illuminator based on the change in the illuminance. Further, the voltage conversion means applies a voltage lower than the rated voltage of the lighting lamp as a power receiving voltage to the lighting lamp, so that the life of the lighting lamp can be extended.

Further, the illuminance control system according to the present invention comprises: a second measuring means for measuring a received voltage to the illuminating lamp or a power consumption of the illuminating lamp; At one time, the illuminating lamp may further include a life determining unit that determines that the lamp has reached the end of its life. By further providing these means, it is possible to determine the life of the illumination lamp based on deterioration of the illumination lamp.

Further, the illuminance control system according to the present invention may further comprise a setting means for setting the normal value or the specific value to the control means via a network. By providing this setting means, all settings and changes can be made from one place without going to the site.

[0013] Further, the setting means is configured to store the normal values in a library, search the library based on the condition input by the administrator, and obtain a normal value to be set in the control means. The administrator need only input the condition values, and does not need to input specific numerical values.

The present invention also includes an illuminance control method as well as an illuminance control system for lighting equipment.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an illuminance control system according to this embodiment. The system according to the present embodiment controls illumination lamps 4-1 to 4-m such as fluorescent lamps installed in each of the rooms 10-1 to 10-n, and includes a measuring device 1, a power saving device 2, and an illuminance sensor. 5 and an information processing device 6.

The measuring instrument 1 uses the wattmeter 12-1 to illuminate the illuminating lamp 4.
-1 to monitor the power supply to 4-m, and measure the illuminance of the room 10 using the sensor 5, and instruct the power saving device 2 to control the receiving voltage to the lighting lamp 4 based on the result. Or the ON / OFF of the switch 11 to control the number of the illuminating lights 4. This number control is performed, for example, by turning off the power supply to some of the lighting lamps 4 when it is bright due to natural light in the daytime and turning on the switch 11 that is shut off at night, such as daytime and nighttime or seasonal lighting lamps 4-1. ... 4-m are partially cut off.
The power saving device 2 performs this unit control by changing the illuminance from the illuminance sensor 5 or by a time keeping function provided by itself.

The power saving device 2 adjusts the voltage received by the illuminating lamp 4 in each room 10. The control unit 21 controls the voltage conversion unit 22 in response to the measurement result of the measuring device 1. The value of the supply voltage to the distribution board is varied by phase conversion.

In FIG. 1, the measuring device 1 and the power saving device 2 are provided one-to-one with respect to each room. A plurality of rooms may be managed, or one room may be managed by a plurality of measuring instruments 1 and power saving devices 2. Also, in the figure, the measuring device 1 and the power saving device 2 have a one-to-one configuration, but the present system is not limited to this configuration, and one measuring device 1 and a plurality of power saving devices 2 are connected, or Conversely, a configuration in which a plurality of measuring instruments 1 are connected to one power saving device 2 may be adopted.

The illuminance sensor 5 measures the illuminance of the room 10, and one or more illuminance sensors 5 are provided in each room. The illuminance sensors 5 are installed one by one for each of the illuminating lamps 4, and the measuring instrument 1 is used for a plurality of illuminating lamps 4-4 in the room 10.
A configuration in which changes in illuminance of 1 to 4-m are individually monitored may be adopted.

The information processing device 6 includes the rooms 10-1 to 10
-N is connected to the measuring device 1 via the network 7, diagnoses and monitors the measuring device 1 via each network 7, and sets the illuminance reference value of the room 10 for the measuring device 1. This point will be described later.

Normally, from the distribution board 3 to each of the illuminating lamps 4, 104 V to 105 V
Receiving voltage is supplied. In addition, the illuminating lamp 4 has a standard of brightness defined by JIS for each type, but the actual value of the initial luminous flux is designed to have a margin more than these stipulated values. It is made with a margin of 30%.

The present invention pays attention to this point, and realizes energy saving by reducing the surplus power with the allowance. In the illuminance control system of FIG. 1, when each of the illuminating lights 4 is new, the power saving device 2 is adjusted to supply a receiving voltage lower than the rated voltage value. For example, when the lighting lamp 4 is a 100V fluorescent lamp, the power supply voltage applied to each lighting lamp 4 by the power saving device 2 is adjusted to 95V.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the received voltage and the illuminance in the illumination lamp. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the received voltage and the illuminance with respect to the glow type fluorescent tube assuming that the illuminance is 100% when the rated voltage of 100 V is applied as the receiving voltage. And
It can be seen that the illuminance increases as the voltage increases.
In this respect, not only glow fluorescent lamps but also other lamps such as incandescent lamps and halogen lamps have similar characteristics.

The brightness of each lamp 4 and the room 10 is substantially proportional to the voltage value applied to the lamp 4, and
Is about 95% as compared with the case where a voltage of 100 V is applied. However, as described above, since the illumination lamp 4 is made with more illuminance than the value specified in the standard, the illuminance required for the room 10 is sufficiently obtained, and the difference of about 5% There is almost no difference in human eyes.

As described above, the voltage applied to each lighting lamp 4 is reduced.
Thus, power consumption can be reduced. example
For example, the power supply voltage of 105 V was applied to 95
When it is reduced to V, the power value is proportional to the square of the voltage value.
So far (95/105) ^Two× 100 ≒ 82%
Power consumption can be reduced.

Also, by lowering the power supply voltage applied to the lighting lamp 4, the life of the lighting lamp 4 can be extended as compared with the case where the rated lighting voltage is applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in power supply voltage applied to the illumination lamp and life. FIG. 3 (a)
FIG. 3B shows the life for an incandescent lamp, and FIG. 10B shows the life when each voltage is used with the life at the rated voltage being 100% for a fluorescent lamp.

FIG. 2 shows that in the case of an incandescent lamp, the life is shortened when the voltage is increased, and the life is extended when the voltage is decreased. In the case of a fluorescent lamp, the life is the longest when the power supply voltage is 96% to 98%, and the life is up to 94% than when it is used at the rated voltage.

As described above, in the present system, not only the power consumption is suppressed but also the power consumption of the lighting lamp 4 is reduced by reducing the receiving voltage within a range that does not shorten the life of the lighting lamp 4 shown in FIG.
Can extend the life of the device, thereby realizing energy saving and resource saving.

Each lamp 4 can provide sufficient brightness even when the power supply voltage is reduced in a new state, but gradually deteriorates as it is used, and the same brightness is obtained even when the same voltage is applied. I can no longer be. The measuring device 1 notifies the power saving device 2 when the illuminance is less than the reference illuminance set by itself by the illuminance sensor 5. In response to this, the control unit 21 of the power saving device 2 increases the output voltage of the voltage
Is controlled so that the illuminance of the room 10 is always equal to or higher than the reference illuminance. As a result, even if the illuminance of the room 10 is reduced due to the deterioration of the illuminating lamp 4, the received voltage to the illuminating lamp 4 is automatically gradually increased.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of the voltage conversion unit 22 of the power saving device 2. 4 is a semiconductor type voltage converter that adjusts the voltage phase and changes the output voltage value. The voltage converter 22 converts a correction voltage obtained by converting the input voltage Vin by the AC / AC converter 221 by the current transformer 222. An output voltage Vout is obtained by superimposing on the input voltage Vin. AC / AC converter 22
1 changes the ON / OFF timing of each IGBT transistor switch according to an instruction from the control unit 21 and outputs correction voltages having different phases. When increasing the output voltage Vout, the control unit 21 causes the AC / AC converter 221 to output a voltage having the same phase as the input voltage Vin as a correction voltage, and superimposes the voltage on the input voltage Vin by the current transformer 222. When decreasing the voltage, the AC / AC converter 221 outputs a voltage of the opposite phase. When the input voltage Vin is directly output as the output voltage Vout without performing voltage conversion, the direct-feed switch 2
23 is turned ON to short-circuit the primary side of the current transformer 222.

As described above, in this system, when the illumination lamp 4 is deteriorated and the brightness becomes insufficient, the receiving voltage is increased.
As the deterioration progresses, the power consumption of the lighting lamp 4 gradually increases in accordance with the deterioration, and eventually becomes larger than the rated power of the lighting lamp 4. In this system, the life of the illuminating lamp 4 is determined based on the change in power consumption.

The measuring instrument 1 monitors the increase in the power consumption of the illuminating lamp 4, and when the power consumption exceeds a certain value, determines that the illuminating lamp 4 has reached the end of its life. Notify the administrator. The administrator sees this and replaces the light 4 of the room 10 notified.

As described above, in the present system, the deterioration is detected by monitoring the power increasing tendency of the illumination lamp 4,
The life of the illumination lamp 4 is determined. Note that the present system may be configured to perform the life determination based on the received voltage to the illumination lamp 4,
Since the power is proportional to the square of the voltage, deterioration of the illuminating lamp 4 changes the power value more than the voltage value.
Monitoring the change in power consumption of each lamp 4,
The deterioration of the illumination lamp 4 can be detected with higher sensitivity than monitoring the change in the voltage value.

According to this determination method, the present system integrates and sums up the use time of the illuminating lamp 4 and estimates that the life time has expired when the use time exceeds a specific value. For example, the replacement time can be determined in accordance with the real deterioration of the performance of the lighting lamp 4. Thus, what has been discarded after the end of its useful life, even if it is still usable, can be used up to its real life due to its degradation in real performance. Therefore, the replacement time of the illumination lamp 4 can be extended, and as a result, not only power saving but also resource saving can be promoted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the monitoring processing operation of the illuminating lamp 4 by the measuring instrument 1. As a steady process, the measuring device 1 monitors the illuminance sensor 5 and monitors whether the current illuminance of the room 10 is within a normal value based on the illuminance reference value set for itself (step S).
1). As a result, when the illuminance of the room 10 becomes higher than the normal value (step S1, high), the controller 21 of the power saving device 2
Is instructed to lower the voltage value of the illumination lamp 4 (step S5)
After that, the process returns to the illuminance monitoring process in step S1. Also,
If the illuminance is lower than the normal value (step S1,
Then, the power consumption of each lighting lamp 4 from the wattmeter 12 is compared with the maximum power value of the lighting lamp 4 installed therein (step S2). This maximum power value is determined by the type of the illumination lamp 4, and is set by the information processing device 6 as described later. As a result of the comparison in step S2, if the power value measured by the power meter 12 is smaller than the maximum power value (step S2).
(2, less than the maximum value), and instructs the controller 21 to increase the voltage value of the illumination lamp 4 (step S3), and returns to the illuminance monitoring process of step S1. And the controller 2 which received these
1 controls the voltage conversion unit 22 to change the voltage to the illumination lamp 4.

If the measured power value is equal to or greater than the maximum power value in step S2 (step S2, equal to or greater than the maximum value), it is time to replace the illuminating lamp 4. If the measured power value is 0 (steps S2, 0), the illumination lamp 4 has already been damaged. In these cases, in step S4, the information processing apparatus 6 is notified of the target illumination light 4 to instruct replacement of the illumination light 4, and the processing is stopped until the information processing apparatus 6 receives a notification of completion of the replacement processing. .

The information processing device 6 sets an illuminance reference value or the like of each room via the network 7 to one or a plurality of measuring instruments 1 installed in a facility where the illuminance control system manages illumination. The administrator sets each room 10 from the information processing device 6, and sets the illumination lamp 4 from the measuring device 1.
Exchange notification etc. is received.

FIG. 6 shows an example of data of the illuminance reference value for each room type, which is stored in a library in the information processing device 6. In JIS, the illuminance standard is determined according to the location of each facility and the work content, and the information processing device 6 stores the illuminance standard based on the JIS standard (JIS Z 91110) in a library. The administrator is the information processing device 6
When setting the illuminance reference value of each room from above, enter the names of facilities such as offices and factories and the names of places such as offices and conference rooms, and use these as keys to search the library as shown in FIG. The illuminance reference is set in the measuring device 1 managing the room 10. Based on the illuminance reference value, the measuring instrument 1 sets, for example, ± 10% as a normal illuminance range of each room 10, and when the measured value from the illuminance sensor 5 is out of this range, the power saving device 2 illuminates the illumination lamp. 4 to change the receiving voltage.

FIG. 7 is an example of data of the power consumption value indicating the minimum voltage and the replacement time for each type of illumination lamp 4 stored in a library in the information processing device 6. In this system, based on values measured in advance by experiments, the minimum voltage for each type of lighting and the power value indicating the time of replacement are stored in the information processing device 6 in consideration of the energy saving effect and the life of the lighting 4. It is stored in a library. The administrator is the information processing device 6
When the type of the illuminating lamp used in each room is selected and input from above, the corresponding minimum voltage value and the power value indicating the time of replacement in FIG. 7 are set in the measuring device 1 via the network 7.

FIG. 8 is an example of a setting screen when the administrator sets the illuminance reference value of the room 10 and the type of the illuminating lamp used for each measuring instrument 1 from the information processing device 6. When making the setting, the administrator displays the setting screen of FIG. 7 on the information processing device 6 and first inputs the room name to be set into the input field 70.
Input from 1. As a result, the network address of the corresponding measuring instrument 1 input in the initial setting is displayed in the display field 702, and the facility name and the place name or the work name which are the basis of the currently set illuminance reference value are input in the input field 703. To
The currently set illuminance reference value is displayed in the input column 704, and the type of illumination and the number of installed illuminations are displayed in the input columns 705 and 706 (when two types of illumination lamps 4 are installed in the room 10).

When changing the illuminance reference value of the room, the administrator inputs the changed value from the input field 704 and enters the setting button 70
Enter 7 to make settings. When the initial input or the purpose of use of the room is changed, a target type is selected and input from the input field 703. Then, the library of FIG. 6 is searched from the selected value, and the corresponding value is set in the input field 704. In FIG. 7, for example, when changing the 101 conference room from the conference room to the reception room, the administrator changes the input field 703 from the conference room to the reception room. By this operation, the information processing device 6
Searches the library of illuminance reference values in FIG. 6 and sets the illuminance reference value 300 (lx) set in the reception room in the illuminance reference value input field 704. Upon seeing this, if there is no problem, the administrator presses the setting button 707 and sets this value in the measuring device 1 managing the 101 conference room. When making further changes to the value displayed in the input field 704,
The set value is corrected from the input field 704.

To set the type of the illuminating lamp, the type of the illuminating lamp is selected from the input field 705 and the number of installations is input. If there are two types of lights in one room, the input field 7
In 06, the type and the number of illuminating lamps are input as in the input field 705. Note that the number of installations can be arbitrarily input.

As described above, in the present system, the setting and changing of the measuring instrument 1 can be performed only by selecting and inputting the illuminance reference value of the type of the place and the purpose of use. Setting of the illuminance reference value without knowing the relationship
You can make changes. Further, since all the measuring devices 1 can be set from the information processing device 6 via the network 7, the administrator does not have to go to each room. Further, for example, when the illuminance of the room is temporarily changed, it can be performed only by selecting and inputting the setting value to be changed among the respective set values displayed on the screen of the information processing device 6.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the illuminance control system in the present embodiment. In the illuminance control system of FIG. 1, the power saving device 2 has one output for one room, and controls the receiving voltage to the illumination lamp 4 for each room.
In contrast, the illuminance control system of FIG.
Has an output for each lighting lamp 4 and can change the receiving voltage for each lighting lamp 4. Then, the measuring device 101 instructs the power saving device 102 to increase or decrease the receiving voltage for each of the lighting lamps 4.

In the case of the configuration of FIG. 9, the scale is larger than that of the configuration of FIG. It is possible to perform fine voltage control and life determination on the illuminating lamp 4, and it is possible to obtain greater energy saving and resource saving effects.

[0046]

According to the illuminance control system according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically control the brightness of the installed lighting based on the illuminance of the room.

In addition, since the receiving voltage is applied to the lighting lamp in a range where the service life is longer than that of the normal use, the life of the lighting lamp can be extended. Furthermore, in this illumination control system,
The life of the lamp can be determined from the power consumption of each lamp. This life determination makes it possible to further use a conventionally discarded illuminating lamp.

According to the present invention, energy saving and resource saving can be realized in the lighting equipment by the above effects. Further, in the present invention, since each set value can be set via the network, in the setting / change processing, the administrator can perform the setting in the system from one place without going to the site. Further, since each set value is stored in a library, the administrator only needs to input only the condition value, and does not need to input a specific numerical value.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an illuminance control system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a receiving voltage and illuminance in an illumination lamp.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing changes in receiving voltage and life of an incandescent lamp and a fluorescent lamp, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a voltage conversion unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing operation by the measuring device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of library data of illuminance reference values for each room type.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of library data of power consumption values indicating a minimum voltage and a replacement time for each type of illumination lamp.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen displayed on the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the illuminance control system according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Measuring device 2 Power saving device 3 Distribution board 4 Illumination light 5 Illuminance sensor 6 Information processing device 7 Network 10 Room 11, 31 Switch 12 Power meter 21 Controller 22 Voltage conversion part

Claims (8)

[Claims] A first measuring means for measuring the illuminance; a voltage converting means for varying a receiving voltage to the illuminator; and a voltage converting means when the illuminance is larger than a normal value as a result of the measurement by the first measuring means. Control means for instructing the voltage conversion means to increase the received voltage when the illuminance is smaller than a normal value. 2. The illuminance control system for lighting equipment according to claim 1, wherein said voltage conversion means applies a voltage lower than a rated voltage of said lighting lamp as a receiving voltage to said lighting lamp. 3. A second measuring means for measuring a receiving voltage to the lighting lamp or a power consumption of the lighting lamp, and when a measurement result by the second measuring means is a specific value or more, the lighting lamp is The illuminance control system for lighting equipment according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a life determining unit that determines that the life is reached. 4. The illuminance control system for lighting equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit that sets the normal value to the control unit via a network. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit stores the normal value in a library and searches the library based on a condition input by an administrator to obtain a normal value to be set in the control unit. An illumination control system for lighting equipment according to claim 4. 6. The illuminance control system for lighting equipment according to claim 4, wherein the setting unit sets the specific value to the life determining unit via a network. 7. A lighting system, comprising: measuring illuminance; decreasing the received voltage to the illumination lamp when the measured illuminance is larger than a normal value; and increasing the received voltage when the illuminance is smaller than a normal value. Illuminance control method. 8. The lighting device according to claim 7, wherein the receiving voltage to the lighting device or the power consumption of the lighting device is measured, and when the measurement result is equal to or more than a specific value, the lighting device is determined to have reached the end of its life. Illuminance control method.