JP2008243496A - Dimming control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dimming control device adjusting turning on/off and dimming in a room such as a living room or a bedroom of a house, a shop or a conference room where luminaires of a plurality of illumination circuits are controlled by reducing the number of light emission of display of an indicator, saving energy and reducing the size of the device. <P>SOLUTION: The dimming control device includes a power control part generating dimming power of the illumination circuits; a D.C. power supply part; an arithmetic processing part; and an operation part having dimming switches 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d adjusting dimming levels of the illumination circuits, and light emitting indicators 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d displaying the dimming levels. The dimming control device is characterized in that the light emitting indicators 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d corresponding the plurality of illumination circuits are provided; the respective light emitting indicators 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d include a plurality of light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4 and m5; and not more than 1 of the light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4 and m5 is lit for every lighting circuit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dimming control device that performs on / off and dimming adjustment in a room that controls lighting fixtures of a plurality of lighting circuits such as a living room or bedroom in a house, a store, a conference room, or the like.

  Conventionally, in order to perform dimming of a lighting fixture, it is necessary to set a lighting level by operating an operation switch. At that time, a lighting control device that can recognize the lighting level is known. (For example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, since the dimmer which controls the lighting fixture of a lighting circuit (load) handles electric power, the emitted-heat amount is large and the influence of heat comes out also to the surface which a person operates. For this reason, it is necessary to design for heat dissipation in order to lower the temperature of the surface operated by a person. Nevertheless, in order to guide the dimming operation, a light-emitting indicator using an LED or the like serving as a heat source is provided on the operation surface. Since this luminescent indicator emits light using a low-voltage DC power supply, it is necessary to incorporate a DC power supply that is commensurate with the total amount of light emission. This DC power supply also becomes a heat source and causes the size of the instrument to increase. Yes.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a conventional dimming control device 101 includes a turn-off switch 102 for turning on / off all lighting circuits (loads) and a reproduction switch 103 for reproducing lighting conditions (four in the example in the figure). , A storage switch 104 for storing the lighting conditions, an indicator unit 105 for each of the lighting loads (four in the illustrated example), and a dimming switch 106 for increasing or decreasing each dimming level of the lighting load. The dimming control device 101 further includes a power supply control unit, a DC power supply unit, and an arithmetic processing unit which are not shown.

  And as shown in FIG. 5, the indicator part 105 has the light emission indicator 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d which performs each display according to the brightness which the illumination load La, Lb, Lc, Ld adjusted. ing. Each of the light emitting indicators 105a, 105b, 105c, and 105d employs an accumulation display in which five LEDs are arranged in a columnar shape and the number of lighting is increased. For example, when the number of lighting is five, the load is 100%, when the number of lighting is four, the load is 75 to 99%, when the number of lighting is three, the load is 74 to 50%, and when the number of lighting is two, the loads are 25 to 49 When the number of% lighting is 1, the load is 1 to 24%, and when the number of lighting is 0, the load is 0% (lights off).

In the example of FIG. 5, the lighting load La has a dimming level of 100% and five LEDs of the light emission indicator 105a are lit, and the lighting load Lb has a dimming level of 60% and three light emission indicators 105b are lit. Like to do. Similarly, the lighting load Lc has a dimming level of 10% and one LED of the light emission indicator 105c is lit, and the lighting load Ld has a dimming level of 0% (not lit) and the light emission indicator 105d is lit. The number is 0.
JP-A-2-94293

  Since the conventional light emitting indicator displays accumulated information, the higher the load, the more the light emitting indicator emits light, the more heat is generated, and the more energy is consumed. Moreover, since the light emitting indicator emits light using a low voltage DC power source, it is necessary to incorporate a DC power source corresponding to the total light emission amount. This DC power source has also become a heat source and has become a factor in increasing the size of the instrument. In the case of a device in which a light emitting indicator is always visible, a storage LED display is desired from the viewpoint of design (appearance). However, in the case of a device in which the light emission indicator is covered with a cover, the LED is seen only when setting with a dimming switch, so the appearance is not so important, and it is not necessary to stick to the accumulated display as long as the visibility is ensured.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dimming control device that reduces the number of light emission of indicator display, saves energy, and reduces the size of the device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a dimming control device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a power supply control unit that creates dimming power of a lighting circuit, a DC power supply unit, an arithmetic processing unit, and a lighting circuit. A dimming control device comprising a dimming switch for adjusting a dimming level and an operation unit having a light emission indicator for displaying the dimming level, the dimming control device comprising a plurality of the light emission indicators corresponding to the illumination circuit, In addition, each of the light emitting indicators includes a plurality of light emitting members, and one or less of the light emitting members are turned on for each lighting circuit.

  A dimming control device according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of the first aspect, the light emitting member of each light emitting indicator has a different color tone for each dimming level.

  A dimming control device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the reproduction switch according to the first or second aspect, wherein the operation unit collectively stores and reproduces the dimming levels of the lighting circuits. And a storage switch for performing the storage operation and an extinguishing switch for turning on / off the lighting loads of all the circuits.

  A dimming control device according to a fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, a cover is provided to cover the dimming switch and the light emitting indicator of the operation unit.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since only one light emitting member of the light emitting indicator corresponding to the lighting circuit is turned on per lighting circuit, it is possible to save energy by reducing the number of lighting. The apparatus can be reduced in size.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, visibility can be further improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, operability can be improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the burden on appearance can be reduced.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment)
1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a dimming control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where a door of the dimming control device is opened, and FIG. 3 is a display example of a light emission indicator. FIG.

  The dimming control device 1 of this embodiment includes a power supply control unit 2, a DC power supply unit 3, an arithmetic processing unit 4, and an operation unit 5, and has a cover 6.

  The power supply control unit 2 creates dimming power from the power input from the input power supply by thyristor phase control and supplies the power to the DC power supply unit 3. The direct current power supply unit 3 converts the electric power supplied from the power supply control unit 2 into direct current and supplies it as power for the arithmetic processing unit 4 and the operation unit 5.

  The arithmetic processing unit 4 controls the dimming of the lighting loads La, Lb, Lc, and Ld. In addition to the central processing unit that executes various calculations, the read-only memory for storing control programs and various data are stored. A microcomputer equipped with a readable / writable memory and an input / output interface is used.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation unit 5 stores the extinguishing switch 12 for turning on / off all the lighting circuits (loads), the reproduction switches 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d for reproducing the lighting conditions, and the lighting conditions. The display unit 15 includes a storage switch 14, light emission indicators 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d and dimming switches 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d.

  The reproduction switches 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d are used to reproduce a combination of stored illumination levels of the respective illumination loads La, Lb, Lc, and Ld. Illumination loads La, Lb, Lc, and Ld include, for example, chandeliers, indirect illumination, downlights, and pendants, respectively. As an example of the scene of the combination of the reproduction switches, the dimming levels of the lighting loads La, Lb, Lc, and Ld are appropriately set according to the setting conditions such as all lamps (ordinary lighting), meals, videos, and relaxation. be able to.

  The light emission indicators 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d are light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5 that display respective dimming levels according to the brightness adjusted by the illumination loads La, Lb, Lc, and Ld. Have.

  The dimming switches 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d are switches that change the dimming load level of each lighting circuit of the light emission indicators 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d, and have an increase ▲ button and a decrease ▼ button. is doing.

  In this embodiment, for example, when the load is 0%, it is not lit (lights off), when the load is 1 to 24%, m1 is lit, when the load is 25 to 49%, m2 is lit, and when the load is 50 to 74%. Is m3 lit, m4 lit when the load is 75-99%, and m5 lit when the load is 100%. As described above, each of the light emitting indicators 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d has one of the respective light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5 turned on or not turned on, in other words, the number of turned on is less than one. To display each lighting load.

  FIG. 3 shows lighting states of the light emission indicators 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d when the illumination loads La, Lb, Lc, and Ld are adjusted to 100%, 60%, 10%, and 0%, respectively.

  As the light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5, the LED is preferable because it generates little heat. As a means for facilitating identification of the level of the illumination load, the dimensions may be sequentially increased from m1 so that m5 is the maximum dimension.

  As another means for easily identifying the level of the illumination load, each of the light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5 uses a bluish color having a high color temperature for m1 having a low dimming level, and the color temperatures are sequentially set. Alternatively, yellow light close to an incandescent lamp having a lower color temperature may be used for m5 having a large dimming level. For example, m1 is blue, m2 is light blue, m3 is white, m4 is light yellow, and m5 is yellow. As described above, when the light emission dimension is changed or the color of the light emitting member is changed depending on the light control level, the visibility of the set value can be improved without increasing the power consumption.

  In addition, each of the light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5 may be used by changing the color temperature from blue, which has a high color temperature, to light blue, light yellow, and yellow, in order of decreasing color temperature. By doing so, five levels of dimming levels can be displayed for each of the light emitting members m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5, and more levels are displayed by displaying the dimming level of extinction for each light emitting indicator. Can do. Thus, when the color of the light emitting member is changed according to the light control level, the visibility of the set value can be improved without increasing the power consumption.

  The storage switch 14 is used when the dimming level stored by the reproduction switches 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d is changed and set. For example, when changing the dimming level of the load La stored in the reproduction switch 13a, the Δ or ▽ of the dimming switch 16a is pressed to change the dimming level to a required level, and the lighting loads Lb, Lc, Ld are also Similarly, the dimming level is changed, and when a required condition is reached, the storage switch 14 is pressed to fix the combination of the dimming level conditions, and the power control unit 2 stores them.

  The cover 6 is provided so as to be able to rotate, and an opening 18 is provided so that the extinguishing switch 12 can be operated. In addition, the illumination at the dimming level stored in each of the reproduction switches 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d is provided. Each of the openings is provided so that the indicator lamp 12 can be confirmed.

  The lighting, dimming, and extinguishing operations of the dimming control device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the light is turned on, when the extinguishing switch 12 is turned on, illumination at the dimming level used when the light is turned off is executed. If the conditions for storing the dimming level are satisfied, any one of the reproduction switches 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d is turned on, and illumination at the stored dimming level is executed.

  If the reproduction switch 13b is used to change the dimming level of the lighting load Ld, the reproduction switch 13b is turned on, and for the lighting load Ld to be changed, the dimming level is required by pressing the ▲ or ▼ of the dimming switch 16d. The dimming level is set by changing the level to. Then, illumination at the dimming level is performed. If the dimming level ends only at that time, the dimming level is restored to the level that was called by the reproduction switch 13b before the change if the light is turned off as it is. If the changed dimming level is to be maintained, the reproduction switch 13b is turned on, the dimming switch 16d is changed, and the storage switch 14 is turned on while the lighting switch is turned on, so that the dimming level of the reproduction switch 13b is changed. Stored in later state. This operation is similarly performed for other reproduction switches and illumination loads.

  The off switch 12 and the reproduction switches 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d can be operated with the cover 6 on, and when the other switches are operated, it is only necessary to open the cover 6 so that the appearance of the switches is good. Therefore, the design is easy.

  Needless to say, the control conditions of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the number of light emitting members is five per one illumination load, and the illumination load and the reproduction switch are four.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the light modulation control apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the switches of the dimming control apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the example of a display of the light emission indicator. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of switches of the conventional light control apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the example of a display of the light emission indicator of the conventional light control apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dimming control apparatus 2 Power supply control part 3 DC power supply part 4 Arithmetic processing part 5 Operation part 6 Cover 12 Light extinction switch 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d Reproduction switch 14 Memory | storage switch 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d Light emission indicator 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d Dimming switch m1, m2, m3, m4, m5 Light emitting member (LED)
La, Lb, Lc, Ld Lighting load (circuit)

Claims (4)

  An operation having a power control unit for creating dimming power of the lighting circuit, a DC power source unit, an arithmetic processing unit, a dimming switch for adjusting the dimming level of the lighting circuit, and a light emitting indicator for displaying the dimming level A light control device comprising a plurality of light emitting indicators corresponding to the plurality of lighting circuits, each light emitting indicator comprising a plurality of light emitting members, and the light emitting members comprising the light emitting circuit 1. A dimming control device characterized in that one or less of each is lit.   2. The dimming control device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting member of each light emitting indicator has a different color tone for each dimming level.   The operation unit includes a reproduction switch for storing and reproducing the dimming levels of the lighting circuits collectively, a storage switch for performing the storage operation, and a light-off switch for turning on / off the illumination loads of all the circuits. The dimming control device according to claim 1, wherein the dimming control device is provided.   The dimming control device according to claim 1, further comprising a cover that covers the dimming switch and the light emitting indicator of the operation unit.

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