JP2012045964A - Indoor-light control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that, when an indoor light such as a room lamp is provided with a function of being turned off automatically after the lapse of a predetermined time and when the light is made to turn off automatically without detecting a condition of a switch etc., wasteful electric power is consumed because a timer circuit is actuated until the predetermined time elapses irrespective of the lighting condition of the indoor light.SOLUTION: An indoor-light control device controls an indoor light, modulates the indoor light by a predetermined signal, determines the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermine signal, and turns off the room light after a lapse of fixed time from the time point of that determination after a predetermined equipment associated with the indoor light control device is stopped.

Description

  The present invention relates to a room light control device.

  Some interior light control devices control the lighting and extinguishing of interior lights such as room lamps and map lamps in a vehicle interior in conjunction with opening and closing operations of a vehicle door. For example, a vehicle having a function of improving usability after getting on and after getting off has been put into practical use by turning on the interior light when the door is opened and turning off the interior light after a predetermined delay time when the door is closed.

  In addition, even if a room lamp such as a room lamp is forgotten to be turned off, a vehicle having a function of automatically turning off when a predetermined time elapses after the vehicle engine switch is turned off has been put into practical use.

  In Patent Document 2 below, when the door is opened to get off without turning off the headlamp or small lamp while the engine is stopped, the timer operates and automatically turns off after a predetermined time has elapsed. Describes a technique for preventing overdischarge of the battery.

  On the other hand, in recent years, development of visible light communication technology using visible light emitted from a light emitting element using a light emitting diode (LED) has been promoted. Since it is visible light, it can be applied to, for example, a home or office illuminator. Patent Document 2 describes a technique for transmitting various kinds of information by using a light emitting diode as a light source of a traffic signal for road traffic and blinking it at high speed.

JP-A-10-095275 Japanese Patent No. 3391204

  However, the interior light control device of Patent Document 1 described above has problems as described below.

  Referring to FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, a plurality of switches are connected from a control circuit. This is a room lamp switch, a switch for detecting opening / closing of a door, and the like. These switches are for controlling, for example, lighting and extinguishing of the room lamp, and for detecting a condition for starting the operation of the timer. However, in addition to the harness (wiring) for lighting the room lamp itself, a harness from the switch to the control circuit is required, which leads to an increase in cost and vehicle weight.

  When detecting the state of these switches, etc., and automatically turning off the room light after a predetermined time has elapsed with the engine switch turned off, the timer circuit operates until the predetermined time has passed regardless of the lighting state of the room light. Therefore, there is a problem that wasteful power is consumed.

  A means for directly detecting the lighting state of the room light with an illuminance sensor or the like is conceivable, but in the case of an automobile or the like, there are many cases where there are restrictions on the installation location of the illuminance sensor. Therefore, when the brightness is detected simply using the illuminance sensor, it is difficult to distinguish between the light from the room light and the outside light, and it is difficult to detect the lighting state of the room light. There is also a risk of malfunction.

  Patent Document 2 uses a traffic signal, and is not a technique for solving the above-described problem of the interior light control device.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an interior light control device that solves any of the problems described above.

The room light control device of the present invention is
An indoor light control device for controlling indoor light,
Modulating the room light with a predetermined signal, and determining the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermined signal;
After a predetermined device associated with the room light control device stops, the room light is turned off after a predetermined time from the determined time.

The interior light control method of the present invention is an interior light control method for controlling interior lights,
The indoor light is modulated with a predetermined signal, the lighting of the indoor light is determined by detecting the predetermined signal, and the determination is made after the predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device is stopped. The room light is turned off after a certain time from the time.

The program of the present invention is a room light control program for controlling a room light,
Modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
Determining the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermined signal;
Turning off the room light after a predetermined time from the determined time after the predetermined device associated with the room light control program is stopped;
Is executed on the computer.

  As described above, the present invention has the following effects. Even in a situation where outside light is inserted into the vehicle interior, the state of the interior light can be detected, and the lighting time of the interior light can be detected without adding a harness for detecting the state of the switch to each interior light. Therefore, the power supply for the room lamp can be automatically cut off after a certain time from the lighting time, and the battery can be prevented from being overdischarged.

It is a block diagram which shows the interior lamp control apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the interior light control apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the interior light control apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the interior lamp control apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
The configuration of the room light control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a room light control device 10 as a first embodiment of the present invention.

  The battery power line 11 is a positive power line connected to the battery 26. The vehicle body grounding portion 12 is a negative power line connected to the battery 26.

  The door interlocking type LED interior light 14 is interior lighting arranged in a vehicle interior that is turned on / off by a door interlocking interior light position switch 17. The door non-interlocking LED interior light 15 is indoor lighting arranged in a vehicle interior that is turned on / off by a door non-interlocking indoor light position switch 18. The current limiting resistor 16 is a resistor that limits the current of the door-linked LED indoor light 14 and the door non-linked LED indoor light 15. The door opening / closing detection switch 19 is a switch for detecting opening / closing of a vehicle door. In addition, these switches are inserted in series in the circuit of the LED room light in terms of circuit and are simply interrupted. Therefore, it is not necessary to detect the state of the switch by the room light control device 10, and unnecessary harness routing does not occur.

  The microcomputer 20 has a timer function, and receives data from the modulation unit 21, data reception from the demodulation unit 24, indoor lamp turn-off signal transmission to the LED drive unit 22, and signal from the user-specified time setting switch 25. It has the function to do.

  The modulator 21 has a function of modulating visible light communication transmission data from the microcomputer.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes an LED drive unit, which receives power from the battery power line 11 and receives a signal from the modulation unit 21, and drives the door-linked LED indoor lamp 14 and the door non-linked LED indoor lamp 15 at high speed. By converting the voltage into a voltage, the LED interior light is modulated. At the same time, the LED driving unit 22 has a function of supplying the door-linked LED indoor lamp 14 and the door-nonlinked LED indoor lamp 15 through the LED power line 13. In addition, the LED drive unit 22 has a function of cutting the LED power line 13 when receiving an indoor light extinction signal from the microcomputer 20 and a function of realizing constant current driving even when the battery power line 11 fluctuates. Yes.

  The photodetector 23 has a function of converting visible light transmission data from the room lamp illumination into an electrical signal. The demodulator 24 has a function of demodulating the electric signal output from the photodetector 23. The user-specified time setting switch 25 is a switch for the user to select a time from when the lighting state of the room light is detected until when it is automatically turned off.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, at the user-specified time setting switch 25, the user designates the time from when the engine is stopped to when the interior light is turned on until the interior light is turned off. The microcomputer 20 outputs an indoor light extinguishing signal to the LED drive unit 22 after determining that the time specified by the user has elapsed since the lighting state of the indoor light has been confirmed, and the LED drive unit 22 The overdischarge of the battery 26 is protected by cutting the output of the line 13.

  In addition, the microcomputer 20 is for notifying that the indoor lamp is in a lighting state in order to perform visible light communication with the door interlocking LED indoor lamp 14 and the door non-interlocking LED indoor lamp 15 after the engine is stopped. The signal is output to the modulation unit 21. The modulation unit 21 outputs a signal for pulse driving the indoor lamp to the LED driving unit 22 in accordance with the signal output from the microcomputer 20. The modulation method is arbitrary as long as it can transmit information, and the modulation method is not limited to pulse driving. Further, in the present embodiment, the information to be transmitted may be arbitrary data as long as it can be distinguished from other signals, that is, external illumination, a signal of an optical remote controller inside or outside the vehicle, natural light, and the like.

  The photodetector 23 converts the visible light data output from the door interlocking LED indoor light 14 or the door non-interlocking LED indoor light 15 into an electrical signal, outputs a signal to the demodulator 24, and outputs the demodulated signal to the microcomputer 20. The microcomputer 20 discriminates whether or not the room lamp is lit. At that time, if data indicating the lighting state of the indoor lamp is received, it is determined that the indoor lamp is in a lighting state, and if data indicating the lighting state is not received, it is determined that the indoor lamp is in the off state. .

  Next, the operation of the indoor light control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG.

  This flow is started when the microcomputer 20 is notified that the engine has been stopped (S10).

  When the door interlocking indoor lamp position switch 17 is in the DOOR position in the door interlocking LED interior light 14 (S11: Yes), first, the open / closed state of the door is determined (S12). When it is detected that all the doors are closed, the door-linked LED indoor light 14 is turned on for a specified afterglow time (for example, 15 seconds), and then the indoor light is turned off (S15). If the door lock is detected before the specified afterglow time has elapsed (S14: Yes), the room light is turned off without waiting for the specified afterglow time to elapse (S15). After the room light is turned off, the room light control device is turned off in S16, and this flow ends.

  When the door non-interlocking LED indoor light 15 is in the ON position (S11: No), a visible light communication signal is transmitted from the door non-interlocking LED indoor light 15. Further, in the door-linked LED indoor light 14, when the indoor light position switch is in the ON position, in the OFF position, or in the DOOR position, the door is in an open or half-door state (S12: No). A visible light communication signal is transmitted from the LED room light (S17).

  When the photodetector 23 receives a visible light communication signal from the LED indoor light and the microcomputer 20 confirms that the indoor light is turned on (S18: Yes), the operation is performed as follows. That is, after the time specified by the user with the user-specified time setting switch 25 has elapsed, the microcomputer 20 transmits an indoor lamp turn-off signal to the LED drive unit 22, the LED power line 13 is disconnected, and the indoor lamp is turned off (S15). . After the room light is turned off, the room light control device is turned off in S16, and this flow ends.

  When the visible light communication signal is not received by the photodetector 23 and the lighting of the room light is not confirmed by the microcomputer 20 (S18: No), each room light is in the off state, so the room light control device is turned off in S16. Then, this flow ends.

  As described above, the present embodiment has the following effects.

  Regardless of the setting of the indoor light position switch, such as when the indoor light position switch is ON, or the DOOR position and half-door state, the power supply to the indoor light is automatically turned off after the specified time has elapsed since the engine was stopped. it can. Therefore, in this embodiment, overdischarge of the battery can be prevented. This is because the lighting state of the indoor lamp is detected by detecting the visible light communication signal.

  Moreover, the timer circuit can be turned off as soon as the indoor lamp is turned off after the engine is stopped. Therefore, useless power consumption can be prevented.

  Moreover, since the lighting / extinguishing state of the indoor lamp is detected by transmission / reception of visible light, the state of the indoor lamp can be detected even in a situation where outside light is inserted into the vehicle interior.

In addition, since visible light transmission can be realized only with a power supply harness common to all indoor lights, it is not necessary to prepare an additional harness for visible light communication. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the additional installation of the harness accompanying the increase in the interior lighting in the vehicle interior, and it is possible to realize the automatic turn-off control while suppressing the cost increase and the vehicle weight increase.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As the second embodiment of the present invention, the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the detection of the lighting state of the indoor lamp is further devised. The configuration is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the LED power supply line 13a and the LED power supply line 13b are separated for each room light, and data modulated for each room light is different. Therefore, by distinguishing the demodulated visible light communication signal, it is possible to distinguish which indoor lamp is lit.

In this embodiment, since it is determined which indoor lamp is lit, even if the lighting is performed at different timing for each room light, timer control can be performed independently for each room light, Useless power consumption can be prevented.
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 shows a room light control apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
The indoor light control device 401 modulates the indoor light with a predetermined signal, detects the predetermined signal to determine whether the indoor light is turned on, and after a predetermined time from when the indoor light is turned on. Turn off the room light.

  Thereby, the supply power of the room light can be automatically cut off after a certain time from the lighting time, and the overdischarge of the battery can be prevented.

  In each embodiment described so far, a dedicated device is assumed, but the following may be used. That is, for example, a personal computer device that performs various types of data processing is loaded with a board or card that performs processing corresponding to this example, and each processing is executed on the computer device side. In this way, a configuration may be adopted in which software for executing the processing is installed in a personal computer device and executed.

  The program installed in the data processing device such as the personal computer device may be distributed via various recording (storage) media such as an optical disk and a memory card, or distributed via communication means such as the Internet. Also good.

Some or all of the embodiments described above can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but are not limited thereto.
(Appendix 1)
An indoor light control device for controlling indoor light,
Modulating the room light with a predetermined signal, and determining the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermined signal;
An indoor light control device that turns off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device stops.
(Appendix 2)
An indoor light control device for controlling indoor light,
A modulator for modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
A light receiving element that receives illumination light from the room light and converts it into an electrical signal;
A demodulator that demodulates the electrical signal;
A discriminating unit for discriminating lighting of the indoor lamp by detecting a signal demodulated by the modulating unit;
Have
An indoor light control device that turns off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device stops.
(Appendix 3)
Modulate multiple room lights with different signals,
The modulation unit detects the different signals to determine that any of the plurality of room lights has been turned on,
The indoor light control device according to supplementary note 2, wherein for each of the plurality of indoor lights, the corresponding indoor light is turned off after a predetermined time from the determined time point.
(Appendix 4)
The indoor lamp control device according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 3, wherein the indoor lamp is an LED light source.
(Appendix 5)
An interior light control method for controlling interior lights,
The indoor light is modulated with a predetermined signal, the lighting of the indoor light is determined by detecting the predetermined signal, and the determination is made after the predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device is stopped. A room light control method, wherein the room light is turned off after a predetermined time from a point in time.
(Appendix 6)
An interior light control method for controlling interior lights,
A modulation step of modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
A light receiving step for receiving illumination light from the room light and converting it into an electrical signal;
A demodulation step of demodulating the electrical signal;
A determination step of determining lighting of the room lamp by detecting the signal demodulated in the modulation step;
An indoor light control method comprising: turning off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device has stopped.
(Appendix 7)
Modulate multiple room lights with different signals,
The modulation step determines that one of the plurality of room lights is lit by detecting the different signals,
The indoor light control method according to appendix 6, wherein for each of the plurality of indoor lights, the corresponding indoor light is turned off after a predetermined time from the determined time point.
(Appendix 8)
8. The interior light control method according to any one of appendix 5 to appendix 7, wherein the interior lamp is an LED light source.
(Appendix 9)
An indoor light control program for controlling an indoor light,
Modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
Determining the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermined signal;
Turning off the room light after a predetermined time from the determined time after the predetermined device associated with the room light control program is stopped;
Is executed by a computer.
(Appendix 10)
An indoor light control program for controlling an indoor light,
A modulation step of modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
A light receiving step for receiving illumination light from the room light and converting it into an electrical signal;
A demodulation step of demodulating the electrical signal;
A determination step of determining lighting of the room lamp by detecting the signal demodulated in the modulation step;
An indoor light control program for causing a computer to execute a step of turning off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control program is stopped.
(Appendix 11)
Modulating a plurality of room lights with different signals;
The step of modulating determines the lighting of any of the plurality of room lights by detecting the different signals;
11. The indoor light control program according to appendix 10, wherein for each of the plurality of indoor lights, a computer is caused to execute a step of turning off the corresponding indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time point.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Interior light control apparatus 11 Battery power supply line 13 LED power supply line 14 Door interlocking | linkage type | mold LED interior light 15 Door non-interlocking | attachment type | mold LED indoor light 17 Door interlocking | linkage type | mold indoor light position switch 18 Door non-interlocking type | mold indoor light position switch 19 Door opening / closing detection switch 25 User specified time setting switch 26 Battery

Claims (10)

An indoor light control device for controlling indoor light,
Modulating the room light with a predetermined signal, and determining the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermined signal;
An indoor light control device that turns off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device stops. An indoor light control device for controlling indoor light,
A modulator for modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
A light receiving element that receives illumination light from the room light and converts it into an electrical signal;
A demodulator that demodulates the electrical signal;
A discriminating unit for discriminating lighting of the indoor lamp by detecting a signal demodulated by the modulating unit;
Have
An indoor light control device that turns off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device stops. Modulate multiple room lights with different signals,
The modulation unit detects the different signals to determine that any of the plurality of room lights has been turned on,
3. The room light control device according to claim 2, wherein for each of the plurality of room lights, the corresponding room light is turned off after a predetermined time from the determined time point. 4. The room light control device according to claim 1, wherein the room light is an LED light source. An interior light control method for controlling interior lights,
The indoor light is modulated with a predetermined signal, the lighting of the indoor light is determined by detecting the predetermined signal, and the determination is made after the predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device is stopped. A room light control method, wherein the room light is turned off after a predetermined time from a point in time. An interior light control method for controlling interior lights,
A modulation step of modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
A light receiving step for receiving illumination light from the room light and converting it into an electrical signal;
A demodulation step of demodulating the electrical signal;
A determination step of determining lighting of the room lamp by detecting the signal demodulated in the modulation step;
An indoor light control method comprising: turning off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control device has stopped. Modulate multiple room lights with different signals,
The modulation step determines that one of the plurality of room lights is lit by detecting the different signals,
The indoor light control method according to claim 6, wherein for each of the plurality of indoor lights, the corresponding indoor light is turned off after a predetermined time from the determined time point. The indoor light control method according to claim 5, wherein the indoor light is an LED light source. An indoor light control program for controlling an indoor light,
Modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
Determining the lighting of the room light by detecting the predetermined signal;
Turning off the room light after a predetermined time from the determined time after the predetermined device associated with the room light control program is stopped;
Is executed by a computer. An indoor light control program for controlling an indoor light,
A modulation step of modulating the room light with a predetermined signal;
A light receiving step for receiving illumination light from the room light and converting it into an electrical signal;
A demodulation step of demodulating the electrical signal;
A determination step of determining lighting of the room lamp by detecting the signal demodulated in the modulation step;
An indoor light control program for causing a computer to execute a step of turning off the indoor light after a predetermined time from the determined time after a predetermined device associated with the indoor light control program is stopped.

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