JP2013149464A - Control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control unit which can control a lighting apparatus to a lighting state specified by an input signal from an external apparatus, regardless of the signal level of the input signal.SOLUTION: A control unit 10 for controlling the lighting of a lighting apparatus independently includes external input sections 42, 43 which receive an input signal for specifying the lighting state of the lighting apparatus from an external apparatus, and lighting schedule data 16 having an external input validity specification column for specifying the lighting control based on the input signal. Lighting of the lighting apparatus is controlled to be in the lighting state specified by the input signal, while execution of lighting control based on the input signal is specified by the external input validity specification column.

Description

  The present invention relates to a controller that controls lighting of a lighting fixture.

  There is known a lighting system that centrally controls lighting of one or a plurality of lighting fixtures by a controller. This type of illumination system is widely used in both outdoor illumination systems that illuminate the outdoors and indoor illumination systems that illuminate the interior (for example, see Patent Document 1). Examples of outdoor lighting systems include road lighting systems used for road lighting, street lighting systems used for street and arcade lighting, and landscape lighting systems that illuminate shopping malls and various facilities to enhance the landscape. . Examples of the indoor lighting system include an indoor lighting system used for lighting in a living room and an in-house lighting system used for lighting in a building.

In these lighting systems, the controller controls the lighting of each of the lighting fixtures so as to reduce waste by suppressing unnecessary lighting while performing lighting required according to the purpose and purpose of lighting. In this way, lighting efficiency is improved.
In the case of a road lighting system, the controller centrally controls lighting of each lighting fixture (road light) arranged along the road. In terms of road illuminance, traffic volume is one of the factors that regulate road illuminance necessary for ensuring traffic safety.
Therefore, the traffic volume of the road to be illuminated is predicted for each time, and according to the traffic volume for each time, schedule data that predefines the lighting state of each lighting fixture for each time is created. The controller centrally controls the blinking and dimming of each lighting fixture to provide the lighting required for road lighting, and also avoids unnecessary lighting by not increasing the illuminance on the road more than necessary. Reduced.

  On the other hand, a technique for controlling lighting of a lighting fixture based on a signal from an external device such as a human body detection sensor (human sensor), an illuminance sensor, or a dimmer is also known. In this type of technology, in general, an external device outputs a binary level signal that instructs lighting / extinguishing of a lighting fixture, or a PWM signal that is used for PWM control of dimming, and lighting is performed based on these signals. Lighting of the appliance is controlled (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2011-18466 A JP 2010-55766 A

By the way, if the controller that centrally controls lighting of the luminaire according to predetermined schedule data is configured to accept the input of the external device, the luminaire is turned on according to the input of the external device. It can be changed in real time.
In particular, the controller of this configuration normally operates according to the schedule data, and while the input signal is input from the external device, prioritizes the input signal over the schedule data and controls lighting based on the input signal. With this configuration, when a signal is output from an external device, appropriate lighting control according to this signal can be realized.

However, this configuration causes the following problems.
That is, in dimming by PWM control, a PWM signal having a duty ratio of 0%, that is, a PWM signal having a low level (earth level) steadily instructs 100% dimming (full lighting at maximum output). However, even when an external device is not connected, the input to the controller is at a low level. For this reason, even if the external device is connected, the controller determines that the external device is not connected or no signal is input when a Low level PWM signal is input. There is a problem that the lighting control is executed according to the schedule data.

This problem is not limited to the PWM signal, and similarly occurs even when the Low level is a binary signal instructing to turn on and the High level is instructing to turn off.
In addition, this problem is not limited to a controller that controls lighting according to schedule data, but when a signal from an external device is input while autonomously controlling lighting of a lighting fixture according to an arbitrary lighting control mode. This is a problem common to controllers configured to control lighting based on the signal.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides a controller capable of controlling a lighting fixture in a lighting state defined by the input signal regardless of the signal level of the input signal from the external device. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a controller that autonomously controls lighting of a lighting fixture, an external input unit that receives an input signal that defines the lighting state of the lighting fixture from an external device, and Designating means for designating lighting control based on an input signal, and while the lighting control based on the input signal is designated by the designating means, the lighting apparatus is in a lighting state defined by the input signal The lighting is controlled.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the above-mentioned controller, there is provided storage means for storing schedule data defining a time zone for performing lighting control based on the input signal, and the designation means performs designation according to the schedule. And

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the controller includes a plurality of the external input units, and a priority order can be set when the input signals are input from the respective external input units. .

  According to the present invention, there is provided designation means for designating lighting control based on an input signal that defines the lighting state of a lighting fixture, and while the lighting control based on the input signal is designated by the designation means, the input signal is It was set as the structure which controls lighting of a lighting fixture so that it may be in the lighting state prescribed | regulated. Thereby, while it is designated by the designation means, no matter what level the signal level of the input signal becomes, the external device is not considered to be in an unconnected state or an input signal is not in an uninput state. The lighting fixture can be appropriately controlled to the lighting state specified by the input signal of the external device.

It is a block diagram of the illumination system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the functional structure of a control machine. It is a conceptual diagram of lighting schedule data. It is a flowchart of control operation | movement of the lighting fixture by a controller. It is a figure which shows an example of the light control operation over one day (from midnight to 24:00 pm) by a controller. It is a figure which shows an example of the light control operation | movement over the day (from midnight to 24:00 pm) by the controller which concerns on the modification of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Below, the interior lighting system which is one of the indoor lighting systems is illustrated as an illumination system which concerns on this invention.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an in-house lighting system 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the in-house lighting system 1 includes a controller 10 and a plurality of lighting fixtures 20, and connects the controller 10 and each of the lighting fixtures 20 via the communication line 2 so that they can communicate with each other. The controller 10 is a system that centrally controls lighting of each of the lighting fixtures 20. Control of lighting of the lighting fixture 20 by the controller 10 includes part or all of switching between lighting and extinguishing (that is, blinking), dimming, and light color switching. Each of the lighting fixtures 20 is appropriately disposed in each of a room or a common space in the hall, which is a space to be illuminated, and lights up under the control of the controller 10 to illuminate the hall. The controller 10 is a device configured independently of the lighting fixture 20. The controller 10 is not limited to the space to be illuminated as long as the lighting of each lighting fixture 20 can be controlled, and can be installed in any place, for example, in a control room in a building. The
Note that the communication between the controller 10 and the lighting fixture 20 is not limited to wired communication through the communication line 2, and wireless communication can also be used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of the controller 10.
As shown in the figure, the controller 10 includes a microcomputer 11, a first communication circuit 12, an RTC (Real Time Clock) 13, and a second communication circuit 14.
The microcomputer 11 is a circuit that operates based on a predetermined program, and functions as a control unit that centrally controls each unit. The microcomputer 11 includes a data storage unit 15 that includes a RAM, a ROM, and the like and stores various data. The data storage unit 15 stores lighting schedule data 16 for controlling lighting of each lighting fixture 20 according to time.
The first communication circuit 12 is a circuit that constitutes means for communicating with each of the lighting fixtures 20 through the communication line 2 in accordance with a predetermined communication standard under the control of the microcomputer 11. For this communication standard, for example, RS-485, which is one of the communication standards standardized by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), is used.

The RTC 13 constitutes time measuring means for measuring the current time and outputting it to the microcomputer 11. The RTC 13 is provided on the board of the microcomputer 11, for example. While the power supply to the board is cut off, the RTC 13 always operates by receiving power supply from the battery provided on the board, thereby counting the time at all times. Then, it is prevented that a deviation occurs from the actual time.
The second communication circuit 14 is a circuit that constitutes means for communicating with the external terminal 17 under the control of the microcomputer 11. The external terminal 17 is a terminal for setting the lighting schedule data 16 and storing it in the data storage unit 15. As the external terminal 17, an arbitrary terminal such as a portable personal computer is used. Also, any communication standard can be used for communication between the second communication circuit 14 and the external terminal 17.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the lighting schedule data 16.
As described above, the lighting schedule data 16 is data for controlling the lighting of the lighting fixture 20 according to the time, and defines the correspondence between the time and the lighting state of the lighting fixture 20.
The regulation of the correspondence between the time and the lighting state is defined by assigning the output of the lighting fixture 20 for each time period divided into a plurality of days. This time zone can be appropriately set according to the installation environment and usage of the in-house lighting system 1. In this embodiment, in order to control the lighting according to the presence or absence of sunshine and the opening / closing time of the building, the day is divided every 6 hours starting from midnight. Output is specified. The output of the lighting fixture 20 is defined by the dimming rate indicating the ratio to the maximum output. When the dimming rate is 0%, it is defined as a turn-off instruction. It is stipulated that this is a lighting instruction.
The lighting schedule data 16 is provided with an external input valid designation field 60, which will be described in detail later.

  Based on the current time measured by the RTC 13, the controller 10 is associated with the time zone whenever any time zone defined in the lighting schedule data 16 starts (every time zone transitions). The output (dimming rate) is transmitted to each lighting fixture 20 as the lighting control signal 30 through the first communication circuit 12. Thereby, in the lighting fixture 20, the lighting state is varied based on the lighting control signal 30.

Returning to FIG. 2, the controller 10 further includes a lightning protection circuit 40, a PWM input unit 42, and a contact input unit 43.
The lightning protection circuit 40 is a circuit that prevents a high voltage (so-called surge voltage) that can be transiently generated in the communication line 2 during a lightning strike from being input to the first communication circuit 12 and causing the first communication circuit 12 to fail. is there. Specifically, the lightning protection circuit 40 includes a surge absorbing resistor 41 that is connected in series to the connection portion of the communication line 2 and the first communication circuit 12 and serves as a surge absorbing means that absorbs a surge voltage. The surge absorbing means is not limited to the surge absorbing resistor 41, and may be constituted by any of an arrester, a varistor, and a surge absorber, or a surge absorbing component such as the surge absorbing resistor 41, the arrester, the varistor, and the surge absorber. It may be configured by appropriately combining necessary components from the inside.

  Each of the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43 is an external input unit that receives an input of an input signal that controls lighting of the lighting fixture 20. The PWM input unit 42 is means for receiving an input of a PWM signal 44A when the lighting fixture 20 is dimmed by PWM control. In this PWM signal 44A, the duty ratio indicates the dimming rate, when the duty ratio is 0%, it is instructed to turn on at 100% (maximum) output, and when the duty ratio is 100%, it is instructed to turn off. It is prescribed.

  The contact input unit 43 is a unit that receives a binary contact signal 44B of High level (ON level) / Low level (OFF level) that instructs lighting of the lighting fixture 20. The high level signal is specified to instruct the lighting of the lighting fixture 20, and when a detection signal is output from various sensors or when the operation switch is turned on, the contact signal of the high level. 44B is input. Further, the low level contact signal 44B does not instruct the lighting device 20 to be turned off, and the lighting input of the lighting device 20 is not controlled by the contact input unit 43, but the PWM input unit 42 or the lighting schedule data. 16 is prescribed to instruct to control lighting.

When the input signals from the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43 are input to the controller 10, the lighting control is not always performed, but the external signal provided in the lighting schedule data 16 described above. Based on the validity / invalidity of the input valid designation field 60, whether or not control is possible is determined.
More specifically, the external input valid designation column 60 designates in advance the validity / invalidity of the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43 for each time zone (time), as shown in FIG. . During the time zone (time) in which “valid” is designated in the external input valid designation field 60, the input signal is defined regardless of the signal level of the input signal from the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43. The controller 10 controls the lighting fixture 20 so that the lighting device 20 is turned on.
As a result, even if the level of the input signal from the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43 is changed to the low level (for example, the ground level), the external device is recognized as not connected or the input signal is not input. Therefore, the lighting of the lighting fixture 20 can be appropriately controlled to the lighting state defined by the low level input signal.

  However, in the controller 10, there are three control factors of the lighting schedule data 16, the PWM input unit 42, and the contact input unit 43 as the control factors that are the basis of the lighting control, and these control factors are different. There are cases where lighting control is instructed simultaneously. In this case, the priority that defines which is prioritized is defined in advance in the lighting schedule data 16, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the lighting schedule data 16 and the PWM input unit 42 are provided. , And the order of the contact input unit 43 is increased. As a result, when the controller 10 indicates a lighting state in which each of the control factors that are valid corresponding to the time is different, the control factor having the highest priority among the control factors. Based on the instruction, lighting of the lighting fixture 20 is controlled.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the controller 10 includes an external device connection setting unit 45.
In the external device connection setting unit 45, the connection state of the external device that outputs an input signal for controlling the lighting of the lighting fixture 20 for each of the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43 is “connected state” or “unconnected state”. The switch is configured by, for example, a switch that can be operated by the user.
When the “unconnected state” is set by the external device connection setting unit 45 for each of the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43, the controller 10 sets the external input valid designation column 60, and Input is always invalid regardless of priority.
As a result, even if the same signal level (for example, Low level) as when the external device is not connected is used to define the lighting state of the lighting fixture 20, the external device is not connected when the signal level is input. Since the connection state can be identified, it is possible to prevent erroneous lighting control corresponding to the low level input signal when the external device is not connected.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the control operation of the lighting fixture 20 by the controller 10.
When the lighting device 20 is controlled, the controller 10 determines whether or not a lighting control instruction is given in the order of the control factors having the highest priority among the plurality of control factors. In the present embodiment, since the priority is set in the order of the lighting schedule data 16, the PWM input unit 42, and the contact input unit 43, the controller 10 first lights up the contact input unit 43. The following processing is executed to determine whether or not there is a control instruction.

That is, the controller 10 determines whether an external device is connected to the contact input unit 43 based on the setting of the external device connection setting unit 45 (step Sa1). When the external device is not connected (step Sa1: No), since the contact signal 44B is not input from the contact input unit 43, the controller 10 advances the processing step to step Sa2 and has the next highest priority. The presence or absence of lighting control is determined for the PWM input unit 42 that is a control factor.
On the other hand, when an external device is connected to the contact input unit 43 (step Sa1: YES), the controller 10 determines whether or not the current time belongs to a time zone in which a signal from the external device is valid. A determination is made based on the lighting schedule data 16 (step Sa3). If the current time does not belong to the valid time zone (step Sa3: NO), the contact signal 44B from the contact input unit 43 is invalidated, so the controller 10 advances the processing step to step Sa2 and gives priority. The presence or absence of lighting control is determined for the PWM input unit 42 which is the next highest control factor. If the current time belongs to a valid time zone (step Sa3: YES), lighting control is performed based on the contact signal 44B from the contact input unit 43.

  As described above, the contact signal 44B is defined as a high level (ON level) instructing lighting of the lighting fixture 20, and a low level (OFF level) instructing lighting control based on other control factors. ing. Therefore, the controller 10 turns on the lighting fixture 20 with the maximum output of, for example, 100% dimming rate (step Sa5) while the contact signal 44B is at the high level (step Sa4: High) and ( Step Sa4: Low), in order to determine whether or not lighting control is performed for the PWM input unit 42, which is the control factor with the second highest priority, the processing step is advanced to Step Sa2. As described above, even when the signal level of the contact signal 44B becomes the low level, the external device is recognized as not connected or the input signal is not input, and the contact signal 44B at the low level is ignored. There is no control in accordance with the definition of the contact signal 44B.

In step Sa2, the controller 10 determines whether or not an external device is connected to the PWM input unit 42 based on the setting of the external device connection setting unit 45 (step Sa2), and the external device is not connected. (Step Sa2: No) Since there is no input of the PWM signal 44A from the PWM input unit 42, the controller 10 advances the processing step to Step Sa6, and the lighting schedule data 16 which is the control factor with the next highest priority. Whether or not lighting control is performed is determined.
On the other hand, when an external device is connected to the PWM input unit 42 (step Sa2: YES), the controller 10 determines whether or not the current time belongs to a time zone in which a signal from the external device is valid. A determination is made based on the lighting schedule data 16 (step Sa7). If the current time does not belong to the valid time zone (step Sa7: NO), the PWM signal 44A from the PWM input unit 42 is invalidated, so the controller 10 advances the processing step to step Sa6 and gives priority. Whether or not lighting control is performed is determined for the lighting schedule data 16 that is the next highest control factor. When the current time belongs to the valid time zone (step Sa7: YES), lighting is controlled based on the PWM signal 44A from the PWM input unit 42. That is, as described above, the PWM signal 44A instructs the dimming rate by the duty ratio, instructs lighting at 100% (maximum) output when the duty ratio is 0%, and when the duty ratio is 100%. Since it is stipulated that the lamp is instructed to be turned off, the controller 10 controls the dimming of the lighting fixture 20 in accordance with this stipulation (step Sa8). As a result, even when the signal level of the PWM signal 44A becomes the Low level, the external device is recognized as not connected or the input signal is not input, and the Low level PWM signal 44A is not ignored. In accordance with the definition of the PWM signal 44A, the lighting fixture 20 is turned on with 100% (maximum) dimming.

In step Sa6, the controller 10 determines whether or not the lighting schedule data 16 is set (step Sa6). In this determination, if the lighting schedule data 16 is not stored in the data storage unit 15 for some reason, the lighting schedule data 16 is damaged, or the lighting schedule data 16 has sufficient settings for lighting control. It is determined that the lighting schedule data 16 is not set when the lighting control based on the lighting schedule data 16 cannot be performed as in the case where there is no lighting schedule.
When the lighting schedule data 16 is set (step Sa6: Yes), the controller 10 refers to the lighting schedule data 16 and performs dimming control corresponding to the current time. That is, the controller 10 selects a dimming rate defined corresponding to the time zone including the current time from the data in the lighting schedule data 16, and the lighting fixture 20 is turned on at the selected dimming rate. Thus, dimming control of the lighting fixture 20 is performed (step Sa9).
On the other hand, when the lighting schedule data 16 is not set (step Sa6: No), it means that there is no effective control factor. In this case, since there is no control factor, the lighting control of the lighting fixture 20 is not performed at all, and the light is turned off. However, the situation where there is no control factor and the lighting fixture 20 is in an uncontrolled state may cause some failure, a setting error of the lighting schedule data 16, or the like. Therefore, in this case, as a fail-safe, the controller 10 puts the lighting fixture 20 into a lighting state (for example, 100% dimming) (step Sa10).

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a dimming control operation over a day (from midnight to 24:00 pm) by the controller 10. The figure shows the dimming control operation when an external device is connected to each of the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43.
As shown in the figure, the lighting control result of the controller 10 is lit based on the control factor having the highest priority among the three control factors at the current time at each time point (dimming in this embodiment). Is controlled.
Accordingly, as in the example of FIG. 5, the contact input unit 43 and the PWM input unit 42 are effective for the midnight time period that is a closed time period, and a human sensor or a security device is externally connected to the contact input part 43. By connecting as a device, the luminaire 20 is turned on at 100% dimming only in the middle of the night when a person is detected in the space to be illuminated and the high-level contact signal 44B is input from the contact input unit 43. In addition, the brightness of the space to be illuminated can be ensured.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the lighting schedule data 16 is provided with the external input valid designation field 60, and in the time zone in which “valid” is designated in the external input valid designation field 60, It was set as the structure which the controller 10 controls the lighting fixture 20 in the lighting state which the signal level of an input signal prescribes | regulates. As a result, no matter what the signal level of the input signal of the external device becomes, the external device is not considered unconnected or the input signal is not input. The lighting fixture 20 can be appropriately controlled to the lighting state to be performed.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, a time zone in which an input signal of an external device is validated is defined in advance in the lighting schedule data 16, and valid / invalid designation is performed in accordance with this.
Thereby, the lighting control by the external device can be surely executed only during the time period in which the lighting control by the external device is estimated to be necessary.

  In particular, according to the present embodiment, even when a plurality of external input units such as the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43 are provided, when input signals are input redundantly from the respective external input units. Since the order of priority (priority) is set in advance, a plurality of external devices can be combined according to the situation, and appropriate lighting control can be realized according to the situation of the space to be illuminated.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an example of one aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the contact signal 44B is at the low level, the lighting control by other control factors is specified. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a dimming rate may be assigned. That is, it may be defined that 100% dimming is instructed when the contact signal 44B is at a high level, and 25% dimming is instructed when the contact signal 44B is at a low level.
Further, regarding the PWM signal 44A, it is possible to prescribe that lighting control by another control factor is executed instead of instructing 100% dimming at the low level (duty ratio 0%).
When the contact signal 44B and the PWM signal 44A are defined as described above, in the operation example shown in FIG. 5, the time period in which the contact signal 44B is valid is as shown in FIG. The dimming control of the lighting fixture 20 is performed according to the signal level. When the lighting control based on the PWM signal 44A is performed and the PWM signal 44A is at the low level (duty ratio 0%), the dimming rate defined in the lighting schedule data 16 having the next highest priority. Lighting control is performed at.

In the above-described embodiment, lighting of all the lighting fixtures 20 is not controlled based on the input signal of the external device, but only some of the preset lighting fixtures 20 are controlled based on the input signal of the external device. It is good also as a structure to be performed.
Further, in the light control based on the control factor, not all of the plurality of lighting fixtures 20 may be controlled with the same dimming rate, but may be controlled with different dimming rates for each lighting fixture 20.

In the above-described embodiment, the external device connection setting unit 45 is configured by a structure such as a switch that can be operated by the user. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and data indicating the connection state of the external device is stored in the data storage unit 15. It is good also as a structure.
In the embodiment described above, an external input unit may be provided in addition to the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lighting schedule data 16 is provided with the external input valid designation field 60, and the external input valid designation field 60 is used to effectively designate the input signals from the PWM input unit 42 and the contact input unit 43. The band is set to be set. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and while the external device is set to be in the “connected state” by the external device connection setting unit 45, lighting based on an input signal from the external device is performed with the setting. A configuration may be adopted in which execution of control is designated. Even in this configuration, even when the external device is in the “connected state”, when the signal level becomes the low level, the external device is recognized as not connected or the input signal is not input, It is possible to avoid a situation in which a low level input signal is ignored, and to control the lighting fixture 20 in a lighting state defined by the signal level of the input signal.

In addition, the external input unit sets a PWM input unit 42 that receives an input of a PWM signal 44A when the lighting fixture 20 is dimmed by PWM control, and a binary setting of ON level / OFF level that instructs lighting of the lighting fixture 20 Although the contact input unit 43 that receives the input of the signal 44B has been described as an example, the external input unit is not limited to these. For example, when a light fixture that can change the light color is adopted as the lighting fixture 20, a light color indication signal input unit that receives a light color indication signal for instructing the light color of the lighting fixture 20 is used as an external input portion. It may be provided. For example, when the luminaire 20 is capable of selectively changing the light color from a predetermined number of light colors, the light color instruction signal can be input to the light color instruction signal input unit by appropriately changing the signal level. Provide external equipment. A light color instruction signal of a different level is associated with each of a plurality of light colors of the lighting apparatus 20, and the controller 10 recognizes the light color instruction signal, thereby operating the external apparatus that outputs the light color instruction signal. It is possible to cause the controller 10 to perform the light color control.
Further, the controller 10 of the present invention has been described as performing lighting control of the lighting fixture 20 provided indoors. However, for example, the controller 10 can also be used for lighting control of outdoor lighting fixtures such as street lights and road lights. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hall lighting system 10 Controller 11 Microcomputer 13 RTC (clock means)
15 Data storage section 16 Lighting schedule data 20 Lighting equipment 42 PWM input section (external input section)
43 Contact input part (external input part)
44A PWM signal (input signal)
44B Contact signal (input signal)
45 External device connection setting section 60 External input valid designation field (designation means)

Claims (3)

In a controller that autonomously controls lighting of lighting fixtures,
An external input unit from which an input signal that defines the lighting state of the lighting fixture is input from an external device;
Designating means for designating lighting control based on the input signal,
While the lighting control based on the input signal is specified by the specifying means, the controller controls lighting of the lighting fixture so that the lighting state specified by the input signal is achieved. Storage means for storing schedule data defining a time zone for performing lighting control based on the input signal;
The controller according to claim 1, wherein the designation unit performs designation according to the schedule.   3. The controller according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the external input units, wherein a priority order can be set when the input signals are input from the respective external input units. .

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