JP2013033700A - Luminaire and outdoor luminaire - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a luminaire and an outdoor luminaire capable of dimming control which, combined with a general controller, causes brightness to change in accordance with time.SOLUTION: According to an embodiment, a luminaire comprises a light source, a lighting circuit to control lighting of the light source, a connection terminal for connection to a controller, and a control circuit connected to the connection terminal. The controller is connected to a solar cell module which generates power by sunlight, and to a storage battery which stores therein the power generated by the solar cell module. In accordance with the power generation output of the solar cell module, the controller controls electricity supply from the storage battery and electricity supply to the storage battery. On the basis of information which is input from the connection terminal, the control circuit starts control of outputting to the lighting circuit a dimmer signal which causes the brightness of illumination to change according to the duration of electricity supply from the storage battery.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a lighting device and an outdoor lighting device that are turned on using power generated by a solar cell module.

  A street light provided with a solar battery, a storage battery that stores power generated by the solar battery, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that is turned on by the power from the storage battery, and a controller that controls lighting, turning off, and lighting time of the LED. Are known.

JP 2002-15610 A

  According to the embodiment, in combination with a general controller, an illumination device and an outdoor illumination device capable of dimming control that changes brightness according to time are provided.

  According to the embodiment, the lighting device includes a light source, a lighting circuit that controls lighting of the light source, a connection terminal connected to the controller, and a control circuit connected to the connection terminal. The controller is connected to each of a solar cell module that generates power with sunlight and a storage battery that stores electric power generated by the solar cell module, and the power supply from the storage battery and the storage battery according to the power generation output of the solar cell module Control the power supply to. The control circuit starts control to output a dimming signal for changing the brightness of the illumination to the lighting circuit according to the power supply time from the storage battery based on information input from the connection terminal.

  According to the embodiment, the dimming control enables efficient use of the power of the storage battery.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the outdoor illuminating device of embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the illuminating device of embodiment. The figure showing an example of light control signal data. The figure showing the other example of light control signal data.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an outdoor lighting device 5 according to the embodiment.

  The outdoor lighting device 5 includes a solar cell module 1 that generates power using sunlight, a storage battery 3 that stores power generated by the solar cell module 1, a controller 2, and a lighting device 4.

  The controller 2 is connected to each of the solar cell module 1 and the storage battery 3, and controls power supply from the storage battery 3 and power supply to the storage battery 3 according to the power generation output of the solar cell module 1.

  Specifically, based on the control of the controller 2, the electric power generated by the solar cell module 1 is charged into the storage battery 3 during the daytime, and the electric power is supplied from the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4 after sunset to turn on the lighting device 4. .

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the illumination device 4.

  The lighting device 4 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 13 that is a light source, a lighting circuit 12 that controls lighting of the LED 13, a connection terminal 6 that is connected to the controller 2 illustrated in FIG. 1, and a control that is connected to the connection terminal 6. Circuit 7.

  The LED 13 is not limited to a light emitting portion made of an inorganic material, and an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) can also be used.

  The control circuit 7 includes a power supply IC 8, a processing device 9, and a storage unit 11. Further, the processing device 9 has a count circuit 10.

  Based on the information input from the connection terminal 6, the control circuit 7 starts control to output a dimming signal to the lighting circuit 12 according to the power supply time from the storage battery 3.

The dimming signal is a signal that changes the brightness of illumination by the LED 13 according to time.
FIG. 3 illustrates, for example, four dimming patterns a to d for determining the dimming signal.

  In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents time, and time t <b> 1 represents the power supply start time from the storage battery 3. The vertical axis represents the brightness of illumination by the LED 13 and corresponds to the current supplied to the LED 13.

  Next, operations of the outdoor lighting device 5 and the lighting device 4 will be described.

  The controller 2 monitors the change in the generated voltage of the solar cell module 1 and determines sunset and sunrise based on the change in the generated voltage.

  When the sun sets and the power generation voltage of the solar cell module 1 decreases, the controller 2 supplies the power stored in the storage battery 3 to the power supply IC 8 via the connection terminal 6. The power supply IC 8 supplies power to the processing device 9 and the storage unit 11.

  Receiving power supply from the power supply IC 8, the processing device 9 sends a dimming signal to the lighting circuit 12, and the lighting circuit 12 lights the LED 13.

  A plurality of dimming signals are stored in the storage unit 11 as, for example, dimming patterns (or dimming signal setting data) a to d shown in FIG. Which dimming pattern the processing device 9 selects is set in advance, and the processing device 9 sends a dimming signal corresponding to the set dimming pattern to the lighting circuit 12.

  Thereby, LED13 is light-controlled and lighted. That is, the brightness of the LED 13 changes, for example, in any one of a to d shown in FIG. 3 according to time.

  Then, after a certain time has elapsed from the start of lighting or when sunrise is detected from the power generation voltage of the solar cell module 1, the controller 2 stops supplying power to the lighting device 4, and the LED 13 is turned off. Alternatively, the current supply from the lighting circuit 12 to the LED 13 may be stopped based on the set dimming signal, and the LED 13 may be turned off.

  In the present embodiment, the processing device 9 is mounted on the illumination device 4 side, and the processing device 9 performs dimming control of the LED 13. The controller 2 simply turns on / off the power to the lighting device 4, and the controller 2 does not have a function of dimming the LED 13. When the controller 2 is turned on, the power of the storage battery 3 is supplied to the lighting device 4 and the LED 13 can be turned on. When the controller 2 is turned off, the power supply of the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4 is stopped, and the LED 13 cannot be turned on.

  After starting the supply of power to the illuminating device 4, the processing device 9 measures the power supply time, that is, the on time of the controller 2, and according to the time, the brightness of the LED 3 is adjusted with a preset dimming pattern. Perform dimming control to change.

  In the present embodiment, the lighting device 4 is provided with lighting time measurement and dimming control functions, and the controller 2 is connected to the lighting device 4 through two lines, a power line and a ground line, It functions as a mere switch for whether or not to supply power to the lighting device 4. Therefore, dimming control of the LED 13 can be easily performed by combining the lighting device 4 with a general controller 2 having high versatility.

  For example, the power consumption of the storage battery 3 can be suppressed by performing dimming control that reduces the brightness over time. The suppression of the power consumption of the storage battery 3 enables lighting for a longer time, or enables the use of a small storage battery 3 having a smaller capacity.

  For example, the dimming patterns b to d shown in FIG. 3 have a region in which the brightness gradually decreases gradually with time. A continuous change in brightness tends to have less discomfort to humans than an intermittent (pulse-like) change. Note that, with the controller 2 that only has an on / off function of supplying power to the lighting device 4, intermittent dimming control according to the time of the LED 13 is possible, but continuous dimming control is difficult.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, continuous dimming control of the brightness of the LED 13 is possible by continuously changing the value of the current flowing through the LED 13 by control on the lighting device 4 side, not the controller 2. become. In the present embodiment, intermittent brightness control of the brightness of the LED 13 may be performed.

  Next, a method for setting the light control pattern will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the dimming pattern can be set by turning on and off the power input (power) to the control circuit 7.

  For example, by manually switching on / off switch provided in the controller 2, a pulse corresponding to ON / OFF of the power input is input to the connection terminal 6. The pulses are counted by the count circuit 10. Based on the count value of the count circuit 10, the processing device 9 detects the number of times the power input to the control circuit 7 is turned on / off, the on time, the off time, the on / on interval, the off / off interval, and the like.

  Correspondences are set in advance to the dimming pattern and the number of times the power input to the control circuit 7 is turned on / off, the on time, the off time, the on / on interval, the off / off interval, and the like. Stored in Therefore, the processing device 9 selects a corresponding dimming pattern from the number of times the power input is turned on / off, the on time, the off time, the on / on interval, the off / off interval, and the like, and the selected dimming pattern A dimming signal corresponding to is sent to the lighting circuit 12.

  In the present embodiment, for example, by operating an on / off switch normally provided in the controller 2, the power supplied to the lighting device 4 side is turned on and off to set the dimming pattern. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide operation parts, such as a switch which sets a light control pattern, in the illuminating device 4 side.

  Usually, since the illumination device 4 is installed at a high position, providing a dimming pattern setting operation unit on the illumination device 4 side makes the setting work cumbersome and can be a burden on the operator. On the other hand, the controller 2 is often provided at a position lower than the lighting device 4, and the setting operation on the controller 2 side is easy. In addition, the general controller 2 is often provided with a manual on / off switch, and the dimming pattern can be set using the existing on / off switch, so a new setting switch is not provided. I will not increase the cost.

  As described above, after the power supply input to the control circuit 7 is turned on and off to set the dimming pattern, the LED 13 is actually turned on, and the set dimming pattern can be known from the lighting state. Specifically, the number of blinks, blinking interval, fade-in dimming, fade-out dimming, and lighting state by a combination of these are preset for the dimming pattern, and the dimming pattern and the set dimming pattern Is stored in the storage section 11 as data.

  Moreover, the dimming pattern once set can be changed according to the weather or the remaining amount of electricity stored in the storage battery 3. Specifically, the dimming pattern is selected or changed based on the voltage value at the start of power supply.

  For example, when the cloudy or rainy day continues, the remaining amount of power stored in the storage battery 3 decreases, and it becomes difficult to light the set lighting time. Therefore, the processing device 9 determines the remaining battery level from the voltage value input from the connection terminal 6 at the start of power supply, and sets a dimming pattern according to the remaining battery level. Thereby, the required lighting time can be ensured, suppressing the brightness of LED13, ie, the power consumption of the storage battery 3. FIG.

  In addition, not only at the time of the start of electric power supply, but during the electric power supply, the remaining amount of the storage battery may be monitored from the voltage value input to the connection terminal 6 and the dimming control according to the remaining amount of the storage battery may be performed.

  Next, another embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4A shows another specific example of the dimming pattern. The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the light output or brightness (lm) of the LED 13.

  The dimming pattern includes, for example, five phases of a first lighting control, a second lighting control, a third lighting control, a fourth lighting control, and a fifth lighting control.

  In the first lighting control, at the start of lighting (time t1), the LED 13 is turned on with a first light output (for example, 300 (lm)).

  The 2nd lighting control respond | corresponds to the phase of the time t1-t2 in Fig.4 (a). In the second lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is continuously increased from the first light output to the second light output (for example, 600 (lm)).

  The 3rd lighting control respond | corresponds to the phase of the time t2-t3 in Fig.4 (a). In the third lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is made constant at the second light output.

  The 4th lighting control respond | corresponds to the phase of the time t3-t4 in Fig.4 (a). In the fourth lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is continuously decreased from the second light output to a third light output (for example, 300 (lm)).

  The fifth lighting control corresponds to the phase from time t4 to t5 in FIG. In the fifth lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is made constant at the third light output.

  FIG. 4B shows still another specific example of the dimming pattern. The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the light output or brightness (lm) of the LED 13.

  This dimming pattern also includes, for example, five phases of the first lighting control, the second lighting control, the third lighting control, the fourth lighting control, and the fifth lighting control.

  In the first lighting control, at the start of lighting (time t1), the LED 13 is turned on with a first light output (for example, 500 (lm)).

  The 2nd lighting control respond | corresponds to the phase of the time t1-t2 in FIG.4 (b). In the second lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is continuously increased from the first light output to the second light output (for example, 1000 (lm)).

  The 3rd lighting control respond | corresponds to the phase of the time t2-t3 in FIG.4 (b). In the third lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is made constant at the second light output.

  The 4th lighting control respond | corresponds to the phase of the time t3-t4 in FIG.4 (b). In the fourth lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is continuously decreased from the second light output to a third light output (for example, 300 (lm)).

  The fifth lighting control corresponds to the phase at time t4 to t5 in FIG. In the fifth lighting control, the light output of the LED 13 is made constant at the third light output.

  According to the dimming pattern shown in FIG. 4A, at the start of lighting (time t1), lighting is performed at 50% of the maximum light output (for example, 300 (lm)), and the maximum light output (for example, 600 (for example, 600 (lm)) is started. lm)) until continuous light control is performed until the maximum light output is reduced to 300 (lm) again. The first light output and the third light output may be the same value.

  Further, according to the dimming pattern shown in FIG. 4B, the lighting is started at 50% of the maximum light output (for example, 500 (lm)) at the start of lighting (time t1), and the maximum light output (for example, from the start of lighting) It is controlled by continuous light control until it reaches 1000 (lm)), and is controlled by continuous light control until the maximum light output is reduced to, for example, 300 (lm). The first light output and the third light output may be the same value.

  According to the dimming patterns in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the brightness is switched by continuous dimming. Compared to switching brightness with stepped light control, it is more difficult for people to perceive changes in brightness and to feel uncomfortable.

  The time period from t1 to t2 when the brightness is continuously increased corresponds to a relatively busy time period after sunset. The time period from t3 to t4 when the brightness is continuously reduced corresponds to the time period when the traffic at night has decreased. Therefore, even if the brightness is decreased in a short time from t3 to t4, the influence is small. Therefore, the consumption time of the storage battery 3 in the phase in which the brightness is continuously reduced by shortening the time from t3 to t4 when the brightness is continuously reduced to be shorter than the time between t1 and t2 when the brightness is continuously increased. It is suppressed.

  The processing device 9 measures time using a clock signal for controlling the operation. When the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5 are arranged at a distance close to each other, if there is a time measurement shift between the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5, the brightness varies among the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5. It can be a cause.

  According to the embodiment, the time from t1 to t2 when the brightness is continuously increased is longer than the shift of the measurement time due to the variation of the clock signal of the processing device 9. Therefore, when the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5 are arranged at a distance close to each other, it is possible to make it more difficult for a person to perceive variations in brightness among the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5 after starting lighting.

  In addition, the time from t3 to t4 when the brightness is continuously reduced is longer than the shift of the measurement time due to the variation of the clock signal of the processing device 9. Therefore, the brightness from the second light output (maximum light output) to the third light output between the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5 when the plurality of outdoor lighting devices 5 are arranged at a distance close to each other. It is possible to make it harder for people to perceive variations in changes.

  The controller 2 monitors the change in the generated voltage of the solar cell module 1, determines sunset from the change in the generated voltage, applies the power of the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4, and also determines the sunrise from the change in the generated voltage. It judges and stops the electric power supply of the storage battery 3 to the illuminating device 4. FIG.

  Alternatively, the controller 2 has a function of measuring time, and gives the power of the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4 according to the time, and stops the power supply of the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4.

  The power supply start and power supply stop of the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4 are controlled by the controller 2.

  That is, when the controller 2 determines sunset from the generated power or based on the measurement time, the controller 2 starts supplying the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4 at time t1 in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Then, the lighting of the LED 13 is started.

  Then, based on control of the processing apparatus 9 of the illuminating device 4, dimming control is performed with the pattern shown to Fig.4 (a) and (b).

  Then, when the controller 2 determines sunrise from the generated power or based on the measurement time, the controller 2 stops the power supply of the storage battery 3 to the lighting device 4 at time t5, and the LED 13 is turned off.

  The lighting circuit 12 controls the LED 13 by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). That is, when the LED 13 is turned on, a pulse current flows through the LED 13 and the LED 13 blinks at a speed that is not perceived by the human eye.

  Therefore, only when the current flows through the LED 13 (high level period in the pulse signal), the power of the storage battery 3 is discharged to the lighting device 4, and when no current flows through the LED 13 (low level period in the pulse signal), the power of the storage battery 3 is The lighting device 4 is not discharged.

  Therefore, when the LED 13 is lit, the electric power of the storage battery 3 is input to the lighting device 4 in a pulse shape. That is, the discharge output of the storage battery 3 becomes a pulse, and it can be expected that the life of the storage battery 3 will be prolonged by reactivation (refreshing).

  The outdoor lighting device 5 is supported by a pole standing on the ground. The pole is further provided with a charging terminal for a portable terminal such as a cellular phone. For this reason, for example, when an earthquake occurs, the power of the storage battery 3 can be provided for charging the portable terminal for the refugees who return home.

  The outdoor lighting device 5 is provided with a human sensor. This makes it possible to perform control such as increasing the illuminance only when there is a certain person, not the illuminance control based on the time of day, thereby eliminating waste of power consumption. As a result, it is possible to reduce the cost of the entire system, such as reducing the capacity and size of the solar cell module 1 and the storage battery 3.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Solar cell module, 2 ... Controller, 3 ... Storage battery, 4 ... Lighting apparatus, 5 ... Outdoor lighting apparatus, 6 ... Connection terminal, 7 ... Control circuit, 8 ... Power supply IC, 9 ... Processing apparatus, 10 ... Count circuit, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Memory | storage part, 12 ... Lighting circuit, 13 ... LED

Claims (5)

A light source;
A lighting circuit for controlling lighting of the light source;
Connected to each of a solar cell module that generates power with sunlight and a storage battery that stores the power generated by the solar cell module, and supplies power from the storage battery and supplies power to the storage battery according to the power generation output of the solar cell module A connection terminal connected to a controller for controlling
Based on information connected to the connection terminal and input from the connection terminal, control is started to output a dimming signal that changes the brightness of the illumination to the lighting circuit according to the power supply time from the storage battery. A control circuit;
An illumination device comprising: The control circuit has a dimming pattern for determining the dimming signal,
The dimming pattern includes a first lighting control for lighting the light source with a first light output, and a second for continuously increasing the light output of the light source from the first light output to a second light output. Lighting control, third lighting control for making the light output constant at the second light output, and fourth for continuously reducing the light output from the second light output to the third light output. The lighting device according to claim 1, further comprising: a lighting control for controlling the lighting and a fifth lighting control for making the light output constant at the third light output. The control circuit has a plurality of dimming patterns for determining the dimming signal, and a count circuit that counts on / off of a power input to the control circuit,
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the dimming pattern is selected according to a count value of the count circuit. The control circuit has a plurality of dimming patterns for determining the dimming signal,
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the dimming pattern is selected based on a voltage value input from the connection terminal at the start of power supply. A solar cell module for generating electricity with sunlight,
A storage battery for storing the power generated by the solar cell module;
A controller that is connected to each of the solar cell module and the storage battery, and that controls power supply from the storage battery and power supply to the storage battery according to a power generation output of the solar cell module;
A lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An outdoor lighting device comprising:

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