JP2011096447A - Display lamp device, and method of lighting the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display lamp device allowing detection of a failure of a lamp with a simpler structure, and to provide a method of lighting such the display lamp. <P>SOLUTION: The display lamp 100 includes a display device 3 (display lamp) and a plurality of light sources L (lamps) for lighting the display device 3, wherein the plurality of light sources L blinks at mutually different timings, and the plurality of light sources L are alternately lighted so that these blinkings form a continuous lighting, thereby bringing the display device 3 into a lighting state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display lamp device and a method for lighting a display lamp.

  In a display lamp device that performs error warning display and important status display, it is important that the display lamp is lit in response to a lighting command from a CPU or the like. In the display lamp device, if the lamp breaks down due to disconnection, the display lamp does not turn on, and error warning display and important status display cannot be performed. Therefore, when the lamp is disconnected, it is necessary to clearly notify the user that the display lamp does not light up in order to lead to maintenance of the display lamp device. For this reason, in the display lamp device, lamp disconnection detection means for recognizing that the lamp is not lit due to disconnection is mounted as a host system.

  As a lamp disconnection detecting means, a number of devices that detect that the lamp is not lit due to disconnection and issue a warning have been proposed. In this type of device, a lamp breakage detection device that electrically detects a lamp breakage using a comparison function that compares with a reference voltage or a current detector, and a detected lamp breakage separately from the lamp breakage detection device. It is common to have a circuit for informing the user (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-1-31927 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-123832

  However, since the conventional lamp breakage detection means has a complicated breakage detection device and a circuit for notifying the breakage, if this is mounted, the size of the display lamp device is increased and the cost is increased. Further, when the disconnection detection is performed by a host system such as a CPU, the number of I / O points and circuits for disconnection detection input and warning output are required. Furthermore, it is necessary to take means for ensuring the reliability of the disconnection detection means.

  There is also a method of simply duplexing two lamps, but if only one lamp is doubled, the brightness changes to the extent that one of the lamps is burned out, and there is a case where the disconnection failure of the lamp is not noticed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a display lamp device capable of detecting a lamp failure with a simpler configuration, and a display lamp lighting method. Objective.

  A display lamp device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a display lamp and a plurality of light sources for lighting the display lamp, and the plurality of light sources flash at different timings, The display lamps are turned on by alternately lighting the plurality of light sources so that the blinking continues. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the lamp (light source) of the display lamp has failed based on the lighting state of the display lamp. For this reason, it is possible to detect a lamp failure with a simpler configuration.

  A display lamp device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the above-described display lamp device, wherein the plurality of light sources have a predetermined time during which each of the plurality of light sources is lit alone. Thereby, it is possible to reliably detect a lamp failure.

  A display lamp device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the display lamp device described above, and further includes a control unit that controls lighting of each of the plurality of light sources. Thereby, the failure of the lamp can be detected with a simple configuration.

  A lighting method of a display lamp device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a lighting method of a display lamp device that lights a single display lamp using a plurality of light sources, and the plurality of light sources flash at different timings. The display lamps are turned on by alternately turning on the plurality of light sources so that the respective blinking continues. By such a method, it is possible to determine whether or not the lamp (light source) of the display lamp has failed based on the lighting state of the display lamp. For this reason, it is possible to detect a lamp failure with a simpler configuration.

  The lighting method of the display lamp device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the above-described lighting method, wherein the plurality of light sources have a predetermined time during which each of the plurality of light sources is lit alone. Thereby, it is possible to reliably detect a lamp failure.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the display lamp apparatus which can detect the failure of a lamp with a simpler structure, and the lighting method of a display lamp can be provided.

It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the display lamp apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an alternating blinking circuit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a timing chart when the display lamp device according to the first embodiment is normal. 3 is a timing chart at the time of a lamp failure of the display lamp device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the display lamp apparatus which concerns on another Example of Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a display lamp according to another example of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the display lamp apparatus which concerns on another Example of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the display lamp apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a timing chart when the display lamp device according to the second embodiment is normal. It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the display lamp apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. 10 is a timing chart at the time of lamp failure of the display lamp device according to Embodiment 3.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. For the sake of clarification, duplicate explanation is omitted as necessary. In addition, what attached | subjected the same code | symbol in each figure has shown the same element, and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
The structure of the display lamp device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of the display lamp device according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a display lamp device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a display device 3 serving as a display lamp, and a plurality of light sources L for lighting the display device 3. The display device 3 is a display lamp capable of displaying information by turning on / off. As the light source L, for example, a small lamp such as an incandescent bulb or a discharge lamp can be used. Here, the display device 3 includes, for example, a transparent housing 3a and two light sources L1 and L2 provided inside the housing 3a.

  The display lamp device 100 further includes an alternating blinking circuit 4 and a lighting instruction circuit 5. The alternating blinking circuit 4 is connected to the light source L and the lighting instruction circuit 5. The alternating blinking circuit 4 has an input side connected to the lighting instruction circuit 5 and an output side connected to each of the plurality of light sources L. Here, the two light sources L 1 and L 2 are connected to the alternating blinking circuit 4.

  The lighting instruction circuit 5 instructs lighting (ON) / extinguishing (OFF) of the display device 3 by outputting a lighting command signal. That is, the lighting instruction circuit 5 functions as a control unit that controls ON / OFF of lighting of the display device 3.

  The alternating flashing circuit 4 instructs each of the light sources L to turn on / off based on the input lighting command signal. That is, the alternating blinking circuit 4 functions as a control unit that controls ON / OFF of lighting of the plurality of light sources L. In the present embodiment, when the lighting command signal is input, the alternate blinking circuit 4 instructs the plurality of light sources L to blink alternately.

  FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of the alternating blinking circuit 4 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the alternating blinking circuit 4 includes, for example, a transmission circuit 41, a NOT buffer 42, and a buffer 43. The transmission circuit 41 is connected to the lighting instruction circuit 5 on the input side. The transmission circuit 41 converts the lighting command signal S5 output from the lighting instruction circuit 5 into a rectangular wave signal S41.

  The output side of the transmission circuit 41 is connected to the buffer 43 and the NOT buffer 42. The NOT buffer 42 reverses the input rectangular wave signal S41 and outputs the reverse rectangular wave signal S42 to the light source L2. The rectangular wave signal S41 output from the transmission circuit 41 is branched into two and input to the buffer 43 and the NOT buffer. Here, one of the branched rectangular wave signals S41 passes through the buffer 43 and is sent as it is to the light source L1, and the other is converted into the reverse rectangular wave signal S42 by the NOT buffer 42 and then sent to the light source L2.

  Note that the lighting command signal S5 output from the lighting instruction circuit 5 is input to the buffer 43 and the NOT buffer 42 as a control signal. The buffer 43 outputs a rectangular wave signal S41 to the light source L1 when the input lighting command signal S5 is “1 (ON)”, and outputs to the light source L1 when the input lighting command signal S5 is “0 (OFF)”. The rectangular wave signal S41 is not output. Similarly, the NOT buffer 42 outputs a reverse rectangular wave signal S42 to the light source L2 when the input lighting command signal S5 is “1”, and reverses to the light source L2 when the input lighting command signal S5 is “0”. The rectangular wave signal S42 is not output.

  As described above, the alternating blinking circuit 4 outputs the rectangular wave signal S41 to the light source L1 and the reverse rectangular wave signal S42 to the light source L2 based on the input lighting command signal S5.

  Next, the operation of the display lamp device 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a timing chart when the display lamp device 100 according to the first embodiment is normal.

  In FIG. 3, when the lighting instruction circuit 5 turns on the lighting command signal S5, the light sources L1 and L2 start blinking alternately. Specifically, when the lighting command signal S5 from the lighting instruction circuit 5 is turned ON, the alternate blinking circuit 4 generates a rectangular wave signal S41 and a reverse rectangular wave signal S42 so that the light sources L1 and L2 blink alternately. Output. The light source L1 is lit based on the input rectangular wave signal S41. That is, the light source L1 starts blinking as shown in the timing chart of FIG. The light source L2 lights up based on the input reverse rectangular wave signal S42. That is, the light source L2 blinks at a timing different from that of the light source L1.

  Here, the reverse rectangular wave signal S42 is obtained by inverting the rectangular wave signal S41 as described above. Therefore, when the lighting command signal S5 is ON, the light source L2 is not lit while the light source L1 is lit, and is lit while the light source L1 is not lit. Further, the lighting time of the light source L1 and the lighting time of the light source L2 are continuous without a gap. For this reason, when the lighting command signal S5 is ON, as the display device 3, one of the light sources L1 and L2 is lit. Therefore, when viewed from the user, while the lighting instruction circuit 5 is instructed to turn on, the display device 3 appears to be lit. That is, the ON signal of the lighting command signal S5 is reproduced as the lighting state of the display device 3.

  Thus, in the display lamp device 100, the light source L1 and the light source L2 are alternately lit, so that the display device 3 is continuously lit. That is, the plurality of light sources L are alternately turned on so that the respective blinks are continued, whereby the display device 3 is turned on.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows the operation of the display lamp device 100 when the light source L is broken due to disconnection or the like and is not lit. FIG. 4 is a timing chart at the time of lamp failure of the display lamp device 100 according to the first embodiment.

  When the lighting command signal S5 from the lighting instruction circuit 5 is turned ON, the alternate blinking circuit 4 outputs a rectangular wave signal S41 and a reverse rectangular wave signal S42 so that the light sources L1 and L2 blink alternately. Here, for example, when the light source L2 is out of order, as shown in FIG. 4, the light source L1 starts blinking based on the input rectangular wave signal S41, but the light source L2 receives the inverted rectangular wave signal S42. Does not light even if it is done. For this reason, when the lighting command signal S5 is ON, as the display device 3, the light source L2 remains off and only the light source L1 blinks. Therefore, when viewed from the user, the display device 3 appears to blink while the lighting instruction circuit 5 receives a lighting command. That is, the ON signal of the lighting command signal S5 is reproduced as the blinking state of the display device 3.

  Conversely, when the light source L1 is out of order, the light source L2 starts blinking based on the input reverse rectangular wave signal S42, but the light source L1 is not lit even when the rectangular wave signal S41 is input. For this reason, when the lighting command signal S5 is ON, as the display device 3, the light source L1 remains off and only the light source L2 blinks. Therefore, when viewed from the user, the display device 3 appears to blink while the lighting instruction circuit 5 receives a lighting command. That is, as in the case where the light source L2 is out of order, the ON signal of the lighting command signal S5 is reproduced as the blinking state of the display device 3.

  Thus, in the display lamp device 100, when the display device 3 is blinking, one of the light sources L1 and L2 is in a state of failure. Therefore, the user can recognize whether or not the light source L is broken by the lighting state of the display device 3.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the display lamp (display device 3) of the display lamp device 100 is continuously turned on by alternately turning on the plurality of light sources L so that the respective blinking continues. I have to. Thus, the user can determine whether or not the lamp (light source L) of the display lamp has failed based on the lighting state of the display lamp. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a host system for recognizing a lamp failure as in the prior art. In other words, there is no need for a lamp failure detection circuit, etc. Furthermore, there is no need to recognize a lamp failure in another circuit or to prepare a further input / output signal for recognition by a host system, and a lamp disconnection failure is displayed. There is no need for additional circuitry. As a result, a highly reliable circuit can be easily configured at low cost. Further, in this embodiment, since the failure is recognized by means of identifying whether the lighting state of the display lamp is blinking or not, it is necessary to identify the brightness of the lamp, and compared with the conventional method of duplicating the lamp. Then, a lamp failure can be recognized more effectively. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a display lamp device that can detect a lamp failure with a simpler configuration and a method for lighting the display lamp.

  The configuration of the display lamp device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, and may be a configuration as described below, for example.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a display lamp device 100 according to another example of the first embodiment. In the above description with reference to FIG. 1, the light source L is described as a small lamp such as an incandescent lamp or a discharge lamp. However, the light source L is an LED (Light Emitting Diode) as shown in FIG. 5. Also good. As described above, the light source L is not limited to the lamp shape, and any light sources having other shapes can be used as appropriate.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a display lamp according to another example of the first embodiment. When an LED is used as the light source L, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a light bulb-shaped display lamp (display device 3) can have a structure in which a plurality of light sources L and alternating blinking circuits 4 are integrated. . As described above, the display device 3 is not limited to the case where the plurality of light sources L are provided in the box-shaped housing 3a as shown in FIG. Further, the alternating blinking circuit 4 and the lighting instruction circuit 5 may be provided inside the display device 3.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a display lamp device 100 according to still another example of the first embodiment. When an LED is used as the light source L, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the light from the light source L provided outside the display device 3 is guided into the display device 3 using the light guide tube 8, thereby displaying the display device. 3 may be lit. Thus, the arrangement positions of the plurality of light sources L are not limited to the display device 3, and the light sources L may be arranged outside the display device 3.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
A configuration of the display lamp device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the display lamp device according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the display lamp device 200 according to the present embodiment may be configured not to include the alternating blinking circuit 4. A plurality of light sources L may be directly connected to the lighting instruction circuit 5. The lighting instruction circuit 5 directs lighting / extinguishing of the display device 3 by directly outputting a lighting command signal to each of the plurality of light sources L. In the present embodiment, the lighting instruction circuit 5 outputs a lighting command signal so that each of the plurality of light sources L blinks alternately.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the lighting instruction circuit 5 outputs a lighting command signal S51 to the light source L1, and outputs a lighting command signal S52 to the light source L2. That is, the lighting instruction circuit 5 functions as a control unit that controls ON / OFF of lighting of the plurality of light sources L, and also functions as a control unit that controls ON / OFF of lighting of the display device 3. As described above, the display lamp device 200 may be configured to light the display device 3 by directly outputting a rectangular wave from the lighting instruction circuit 5 without using the alternating blinking circuit 4. Since other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation of the display lamp device 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a timing chart when the display lamp device 200 according to the second embodiment is normal.

  When the display device 3 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 9, the lighting instruction circuit 5 causes the light source L1 and the light source L2 to blink alternately, and outputs the rectangular wave-like lighting command signals S51 and S52 so that the respective blinking continues. Output. The light source L1 is lit based on the input lighting command signal S51. That is, the light source L1 starts blinking as shown in the timing chart of FIG. The light source L2 is lit based on the input lighting command signal S52. That is, the light source L2 blinks at a timing different from that of the light source L1.

  Accordingly, as in the first embodiment, one of the light sources L1 and L2 is lit, and when viewed from the user, the display device 3 appears to be lit. Therefore, when the light source L fails, the display device 3 is displayed in a blinking manner, and it is possible to determine whether or not the light source L has failed due to the lighting state of the display device 3. Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be achieved.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
The structure of the display lamp device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating the overall configuration of the display lamp device according to the third embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, only the number of light sources L provided is different from that in the first embodiment, and the rest of the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. 10, the display lamp device 300 according to the present embodiment includes three or more light sources L1, L2,... Ln. These light sources L1, L2,... Ln are connected to the alternating blinking circuit 4, respectively. The alternating blinking circuit 4 gives an instruction to alternately blink each of the light sources L1, L2,... Ln based on the lighting command signal S5 input from the lighting instruction circuit 5. And it lights up so that each blink may continue. Thus, the number of the plurality of light sources L used for lighting one display lamp is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

The plurality of light sources L1, L2,... Ln may be turned _on sequentially for a predetermined ON time t _on while the lighting instruction circuit 5 receives a lighting command, and the display device 3 may be turned _on by repeating this. However, the method of blinking the plurality of light sources L for turning on the display device 3 is not limited to this. That is, the method of alternately flashing each of the plurality of light sources L may be changed as appropriate as long as the flashing of the display device 3 can be visually confirmed by the user when any one of the light sources L fails.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart at the time of lamp failure of the display lamp device 300 according to the third embodiment. If each of the plurality of light sources L has a predetermined time for lighting alone, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the ON time t _on partially overlaps the ON time t _on of the other light sources L. In addition, the ON time t _on may be changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of light sources L, to blink at the same intervals in the ON time t _on of the same length, to include a predetermined time, each lit solely, the predetermined shift time t You may blink by shifting _sh . In addition, the method in which each of the plurality of light sources L blinks alternately can be arbitrarily set as long as the blinking of the display device 3 can be visually confirmed by the user when any one of the light sources L fails.

  In this way, when each of the plurality of light sources L is alternately blinked so that the respective blinks are continuous, at least one of the plurality of light sources L is lit. 1, the display device 3 appears to be lit. Therefore, when the light source L fails, the display device 3 is blinked as shown in FIG. 11, and it can be determined whether the light source L has failed due to the lighting state of the display device 3. Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be achieved.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the display lamp devices 100, 200, and 300 have been described as performing error warning display and important status display, but may be display lamps used for other purposes. However, for display lamp devices where it is important that the display lamp is lit in response to the lighting command, if the lamp breaks down, the display lamp will not light, and error warning display and important status display will not be possible. The invention is suitable for application to such a display lamp device.

3 display device, 3a housing,
4 Alternating blinking circuit, 5 lighting instruction circuit,
8 light guide tube, 41 transmitter circuit,
42 NOT buffers, 43 buffers,
100, 200, 300 indicator lamp device,
L, L1, L2, Ln, light source,
S41 rectangular wave signal,
S42 Reverse rectangular wave signal,
S5, S51, S52 Lighting command signal

Claims (5)

An indicator lamp,
A plurality of light sources for turning on the display lamp,
The plurality of light sources blink at different timings,
A display lamp device in which the display lamp is turned on by alternately turning on the plurality of light sources so that the respective blinking continues.   The display lamp device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light sources has a predetermined time during which each of the plurality of light sources is lit alone.   The display lamp device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls lighting of each of the plurality of light sources. A lighting method of a display lamp device that lights a single display lamp using a plurality of light sources,
Blinking the light sources at different timings,
A lighting method for a display lamp device in which the display lamp is turned on by alternately turning on the plurality of light sources so that the respective blinking continues.   The lighting method of the display lamp device according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of light sources has a predetermined time during which each of the plurality of light sources is lit independently.

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