JP2003347069A - Lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system suppressing unnecessary lighting of an all-night light. <P>SOLUTION: In this lighting system, a lighting circuit 2 of a main power source 1 is turned off by a switch operation, and at the same time, a lighting circuit 4 of the all-night light 3 is turned on. The lighting system is provided with a control part 5 for automatically putting out the lighted all-night light 3 by a brightness sensor 5 and outside light when a room becomes bright and light reaches more than prescribed illumination. By the switch operation, the main power source 1 is put out and the all-night light 3 is lighted. The lighting circuit 2 of the main power source 1 is provided independently from the lighting circuit 4 of the all-night light 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting device.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a lighting device including a main light source and a nightlight.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, lighting equipment provided with a nightlight has been widely used. The nightlight is turned on, for example, when the main light source is turned off by a switch operation, and the nightlight is turned off by a switch operation.

[0003]

However, since the nightlight is low in power during the daytime, the brightness of the nightlight itself is small, so it is difficult to recognize that the nightlight is lit, and the nightlight is often left on due to forgetting to turn it off. For this reason, it is expected that useless power consumption is caused, the life of the nightlight is shortened, and the number of lamp replacements is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a lighting device in which unnecessary lighting of a nightlight is suppressed.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an illuminating apparatus comprising: a main light source; a nightlight that is lit when the main light source is turned off; a brightness sensor for detecting ambient brightness; A lighting device including a control unit that performs control,
The control unit turns off the nightlight when the surroundings are bright.

The lighting device can be applied, for example, to a lighting device in which the main light source is turned off by operating a switch and the nightlight is turned on, or a lighting device provided with a lighting circuit for the main light source independent of the lighting circuit for the nightlight. .

[0007] In these lighting devices, it is preferable that the control unit turns on the nightlight when the surroundings are dark.

Further, it is preferable to provide a light-off means for forcibly turning off the lit nightlight.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The lighting device includes a main light source 1, a night light 3, a brightness sensor 6, a night light 3, and a main light source 1.
A lighting circuit 2 for lighting the main light source 1 and a lighting circuit 4 for lighting the nightlight 3. This lighting device is mainly installed indoors,
The lighting circuit 2 and the lighting circuit 4 are supplied with electricity from a power supply line (not shown). The main light source 1 illuminates the interior of the room as in the daytime, and for example, a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp is used. The nightlight 3 is illuminated supplementarily when the main light source 1 is turned off, such as at bedtime or during absence at night, and its output is much smaller than the output of the main light source 1. . The lighting device includes a main light source 1 and a nightlight 3
And a remote control 7 for turning on and off the. The main light source 1 is turned on and off and the nightlight 3 is turned on and off by operating a switch of the remote control and a switch of a circuit switch (not shown), and the lighted nightlight 3 can be forcibly turned off.

The brightness sensor 6 detects external light (natural light) and the surrounding illuminance illuminated by the main light source 1, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 5. The control unit 5 controls lighting of the main light source 1 and the nightlight 3 by operating a switch, and performs lighting control such as optional automatic dimming, which is independent of the lighting control and automatic dimming by operating the switch. The nightlight 3 is turned off, and when the surroundings become bright and the illuminance exceeds a predetermined level, the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is turned off from on to turn off the nightlight 3.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a lighting control method in the lighting device. In this lighting device, when the lighting circuit 2 of the main light source 1 is turned on by a manual switch operation, the main light source 1 is turned on to illuminate the room brightly (S1). Next, when the lighting circuit 2 of the main light source 1 is turned off at the same time as the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is turned on by a switch operation, the main light source 1 is turned off and the nightlight 3 is turned on, thereby illuminating the room brightly (S2). Further, if the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is turned off by a switch operation, the nightlight 3 is turned off (S3). As described above, by the manual switch operation, the turning on and off of the main light source off the night light off, the main light source on the night light off, and the main light source off the night light on are repeated (S3 → S1 → S2 → S3).

Further, in the state of step S3, that is, when the nightlight 3 is on, if the room becomes bright before the light is turned off by the switch operation and the brightness sensor 6 detects a predetermined illuminance, the control unit 5 turns on the nightlight. The lighting circuit 4 of 3 is turned off, and the nightlight 3 is turned off. Further, when the lighting circuit 2 of the main light source 1 is turned on next, the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is kept off, and only the main light source 1 is turned on. As described above, when the room becomes bright, the nightlight 3 is automatically turned off, and forgetting to turn off the nightlight 3 is prevented.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a lighting control method in the lighting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The illuminating device has the same configuration as the illuminating device shown in FIG. 1, but the control unit 5 automatically turns on the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 when the surroundings become dark and the illuminance falls below a predetermined illuminance. Are different in that That is, even when the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is off, the nightlight 3 is turned on when the surroundings become dark (S3 → S2). After that, if the surrounding area becomes bright and the illuminance becomes equal to or more than a predetermined illuminance, the control unit 5 turns off the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 and turns off the nightlight 3 (S2 → S).
3). Therefore, in the situation where the surroundings are bright at daytime, the nightlight 3 is always turned off and wasteful lighting is eliminated, while the nightlight 3 is automatically turned on when necessary, thereby avoiding a situation in which the room is always dark. In this lighting device, it is needless to say that the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 can be turned off by a switch operation when the nightlight 3 is on (S3 → S1). The main light source 1
Is lit, the nightlight 3 is not lit because the surroundings are bright. Also, the illuminance set when the nightlight 3 is turned off and the illuminance set when the nightlight 3 is turned on need not always be the same. For example, the illuminance when turning off the nightlight 3 is set lower, and the case where the nightlight 3 is turned on is set higher. Can be set. As a result, the nightlight 3 is turned off as soon as the interior of the room starts to light, and the nightlight 3 is turned on as soon as the room becomes slightly dark. As a result, when the light is turned off, further energy saving can be achieved, and when the light is turned on, the person can be protected more safely from darkness.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a lighting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a lighting control method in the lighting device. This lighting device
A lighting circuit 4 for the nightlight 3 completely independent of a lighting circuit (not shown) for lighting the main light source, and a control unit 5 for performing on / off control of the lighting circuit 4 based on a detection signal of the brightness sensor 6 are provided. The lighting circuit of the main light source is turned on and off by a switch operation of a remote control or a switch operation of a circuit switch (not shown) provided in the lighting circuit, and the main light source is turned on and off.

The control unit 5 turns on the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 to turn on the nightlight 3 when the illuminance exceeds a predetermined level, and turns off the nightlight 3 when the illuminance falls below the predetermined level. That is, the control unit 5 separates the on / off control of the lighting circuit of the main light source, turns on and off the nightlight 3 regardless of the on / off state of the lighting circuit of the main light source, and turns off the surroundings by turning off the main light source or sunset. When it becomes dark and becomes lower than a predetermined illuminance, the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is turned on to turn on the nightlight 3 (S12 → S1).
1). When the surroundings become brighter due to lighting of the main light source or sunrise and the illuminance exceeds a predetermined level, the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is turned off and the nightlight 3 is turned off (S11 → S12).
Therefore, even when the main light source is turned off, if the surroundings are dark, the nightlight 3 is turned on (S11), and if the surroundings are brightened by turning on the main light source or external light other than the main light source, the nightlight 3 is turned off (S12). By providing such a control unit 5, in a lighting apparatus having a lighting circuit 4 separated from a lighting circuit of a main light source, it is possible to automatically perform on / off control of the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3. Thereby, useless lighting of the nightlight 3 can be prevented, and the nightlight 3 is turned on only when the main light source is turned off. In addition, it is possible to turn off the lights without operating the nightlight 3 switch,
The circuit switch in the nightlight 3 can be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a lighting control method in a lighting device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This lighting device is provided with a light-off means for forcibly turning off the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 in the lighting device according to the third embodiment. The lighting means includes a lighting circuit 4 for the nightlight 3.
A circuit switch provided therein is used. For example, the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 can be turned off by operating a switch such as a remote control or an embedded switch provided on an indoor wall.

In this illuminating device, when the surroundings become dark due to turning off of the main light source or sunset and the illuminance falls below a predetermined illuminance, the control unit 5 turns on the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 to turn on the nightlight 3 ( S21). Further, when the surroundings become bright due to lighting of the main light source 1 or sunrise and the illuminance becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined illuminance, the control unit 5 turns off the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 and turns off the nightlight 3 (S22). Therefore, in this state, the same turning-on / off control as in the lighting device according to the third embodiment is performed.

In the state where the nightlight 3 is on (S21), when the lighting circuit 4 of the nightlight 3 is turned off by a switch operation of the remote control, the nightlight 3 is turned off (S23). Thereafter, the surroundings are dark but the lighting circuit 4 is off, and the nightlight 3 is not turned on. Even if the surroundings become bright, the nightlight 3 is kept off (S24). . Thereafter, when the surroundings become dark, the control unit 5 turns on the lighting circuit 4 again to turn on the nightlight 3. In this lighting device, the nightlight 3 that is turned on when the main light source is turned off can be turned off as necessary, and useless lighting can be prevented at bedtime or during absence.

In the third and fourth embodiments, the nightlight 3 is automatically turned on. However, the nightlight 3 is not turned on automatically, but is turned off independently of turning on and off the main light source. Needless to say, the nightlight 3 may be manually turned on as necessary.

[0020]

According to the present invention, the illuminated nightlight is automatically turned off when the surroundings become brighter, so that unnecessary power consumption due to forgetting to turn off the nightlight is eliminated, thereby extending the life of the nightlight and reducing the number of replacements. Can be.

For example, the present invention can be applied to a lighting device in which the main light source is turned off by operating a switch and the nightlight is turned on. The nightlight is automatically turned off without operating the switch.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a lighting device having a lighting circuit of a main light source independent of the lighting circuit of the nightlight, and the nightlight is automatically turned off regardless of a switch operation of turning on and off the main light source. That is, the nightlight can be turned off simply by turning on the main light source, and the lighting control circuit for the nightlight can be simplified.

Furthermore, since the control section turns on the nightlight when the surroundings are dark, the nightlight is automatically turned on without operating the nightlight switch. For this reason, when there is little external light and the room is dark, the nightlight is always on even when the main light source is turned off, and the room does not become completely dark. Of course, even when the main light source is turned off, if the surroundings are bright, the nightlight is turned off, so that unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed.

Further, by providing a light-off means for forcibly turning off the illuminated nightlight, the illuminated nightlight can be extinguished when unnecessary, and wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a lighting control method in the above lighting device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a lighting control method in a lighting device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a lighting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a lighting control method in the above lighting device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a lighting control method in a lighting device according to a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Main light source 2 Lighting circuit for lighting the main light source 3 Nightlight 4 Lighting circuit that turns on the nightlight 5 Control part

Claims (5)

[Claims] An illumination device comprising: a main light source; a nightlight that is turned on in a state where the main light source is turned off; a brightness sensor that detects ambient brightness; and a control unit that controls lighting of the nightlight. The lighting device, wherein the control unit turns off the nightlight when the surroundings are bright. 2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the main light source is turned off and the nightlight is turned on by a switch operation. 3. The lighting device according to claim 1, further comprising a lighting circuit for the main light source independent of a lighting circuit for the nightlight. 4. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the nightlight when the surroundings are dark. 5. The lighting device according to claim 1, further comprising a light-off means for forcibly turning off the lit nightlight.