JP2017224513A - Illumination control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination control system capable of suppressing useless power consumption.SOLUTION: An illumination control system comprises: an illumination control terminal 10; communication equipment 12 including a wire communication unit 12A which performs wire communication with the illumination control terminal 10, a wireless communication unit 12B which performs wireless communication with the illumination control terminal 10, and a control unit 12D connected to the wire communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B; illumination control equipment 22 which receives a signal from the communication equipment 12; and a lighting fixture 30 controlled by the illumination control equipment 22. The control unit 12D comprises a selection unit 12a which puts at least one of the wire communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B into an off state according to a signal from a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting control system.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an illumination system that can set address information and the like by specifying an arbitrary illumination device from a plurality of illumination devices by transmitting a setting wireless signal from a setting device.

JP 2006-093098 A

  In some cases, the lighting control device controls the lighting fixture by sending a signal from the lighting control terminal to the communication device, and the communication device sending the signal to the lighting control device. In such a system, if communication between the lighting control terminal and the communication device is performed by a wireless LAN, the system cannot be used in an environment with radio wave interference. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide both wireless and wired communication. However, since wireless and wired communication are not operated simultaneously, power is wasted if both wireless and wired communication are enabled.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an illumination control system capable of suppressing wasteful power consumption.

  An illumination control system according to the present invention includes an illumination control terminal, a wired communication unit that performs wired communication with the illumination control terminal, a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the illumination control terminal, the wired communication unit, and the wireless communication unit. A control unit connected to the lighting device, a lighting control device that receives a signal from the communication device, and a lighting fixture that is controlled by the lighting control device. And a selection unit that turns off at least one of the wired communication unit and the wireless communication unit.

  According to the present invention, since a communication selection function is provided in a communication device so that wireless and wired can be switched, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

1 is a block diagram of a lighting control system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of communication equipment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the illumination control system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen displayed on the display of an illumination control terminal. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a communication apparatus. It is a block diagram of a communication device or the like according to the second embodiment.

  An illumination control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description may be omitted.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
(Description of configuration)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lighting control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The illumination control system includes an illumination control terminal 10. The illumination control terminal 10 is, for example, a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. The illumination control terminal 10 can communicate with the communication device 12 using the wire 14, the wireless 16, and the infrared ray 18.

  The communication device 12 is connected to the lighting control device 22 via the RS485 communication line 20. The communication device 12 may be connected to a plurality of lighting control devices 22. In that case, the communication device 12 establishes communication with the associated illumination control device 22 by associating the illumination control device 22 with an address. A plurality of lighting fixtures 30 and 32 are connected to the lighting control device 22 through a lighting control communication line 24. The number of lighting fixtures connected to the lighting control communication line 24 is not particularly limited. The lighting fixtures 30 and 32 are controlled by the lighting control device 22. For example, the lighting control device 22 outputs a PWM signal to the lighting to change the dimming rate of the lighting fixtures 30 and 32, or to turn the power on / off.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the communication device 12 and the like. The communication device 12 includes a wired communication unit 12A, a wireless communication unit 12B, an infrared communication unit 12C, a control unit 12D, an illumination control side communication unit 12E, and a power supply unit 12F. The wired communication unit 12 </ b> A is a part where the communication device 12 performs wired communication with the illumination control terminal 10. The wireless communication unit 12 </ b> B is a part where the communication device 12 communicates wirelessly with the lighting control terminal 10. Any known wireless system can be used. The infrared communication unit 12 </ b> C is a part where the communication device 12 performs infrared communication with the illumination control terminal 10. As described above, the communication device 12 and the lighting control terminal 10 can communicate with each other in three ways.

  The wired communication unit 12A, the wireless communication unit 12B, and the infrared communication unit 12C are connected to the control unit 12D. The control unit 12D is a microcomputer, for example. A selection unit 12a is provided in the control unit 12D. The selection unit 12a is a part that turns off at least one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B based on the signal received from the infrared communication unit 12C.

  The illumination control side communication unit 12E is connected to the control unit 12D. The illumination control side communication unit 12E is connected to the illumination control device 22. The illumination control side communication unit 12E transmits the signal output from the control unit 12D to the illumination control device 22. The communication device 12 has a power supply unit 12F. The power supply unit 12F is connected to a commercial power supply, receives power supply from the commercial power supply, and provides the operating voltage of the communication device 12.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an appearance of the illumination control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. An infrared transmitter 10 </ b> A is attached to the illumination control terminal 10. The infrared transmission unit 10A is connected to the illumination control terminal 10 by, for example, USB. The communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 are similar in appearance. A printed circuit board is accommodated inside the communication device 12 and the illumination control device 22. The communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 are embedded in the ceiling, and only the lower circular portion is exposed in the room. It is preferable to provide an LED in a portion exposed to the room and display the operation state of the communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 by turning on or off the LED. Although the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 are not specifically limited, they are LED lighting.

  Turning to FIG. The lighting control terminal 10 is installed with software that is used when the communication between the lighting control terminal 10 and the communication device 12 is switched between wired and wireless. FIG. 4 shows a screen displayed on the display of the lighting control terminal 10 when the software is activated. A pull-down menu is displayed at the position indicated as “access point”, and the user selects one of them, so that either the wired communication unit 12A or the wireless communication unit 12B can be turned off.

  When “Wired LAN” is selected from the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 4 and the “Send” button is clicked, a signal is output from the infrared transmitter 10A. The signal transmitted from the infrared transmission unit 10A is received by the infrared communication unit 12C. When the signal received by the infrared communication unit 12C is sent to the selection unit 12a, the selection unit 12a turns off the wireless communication unit 12B while energizing the wired communication unit 12A. The communication device 12 acquires an IP address when sending a signal from the infrared transmission unit 10A.

  When one of the two “infrastructure” in the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 4 is selected and the “send” button is clicked, a signal is output from the infrared transmitter 10A. The signal transmitted from the infrared transmission unit 10A is received by the infrared communication unit 12C. When the signal received by the infrared communication unit 12C is sent to the selection unit 12a, the selection unit 12a turns off the wired communication unit 12A while energizing the wireless communication unit 12B. When the infrastructure (IP fixed) is selected, the communication device 12 acquires an IP address when sending a signal from the infrared transmission unit 10A. Further, when the infrastructure (DHCP) is selected, the communication device 12 acquires an IP address from a router (not shown). When “access point” is selected from the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 4 and “send button” is clicked, a signal is transmitted from the infrared transmitter 10A. The signal transmitted from the infrared transmission unit 10A is received by the infrared communication unit 12C. When the signal received by the infrared communication unit 12C is sent to the selection unit 12a, the selection unit 12a turns off the wired communication unit 12A while energizing the wireless communication unit 12B. At this time, the communication device 12 becomes an access point and is connected to the illumination control device 22 via the communication line 20.

(Description of operation)
Next, a method for using the illumination control system according to Embodiment 1 will be described. First, the user activates software installed in the lighting control terminal 10 and causes the lighting control terminal 10 to display the screen shown in FIG. Then, either wired or wireless is selected as a communication method between the lighting control terminal 10 and the communication device 12. Then, a signal is output from the infrared transmission unit 10A to the infrared communication unit 12C. The infrared communication unit 12C sends the signal to the selection unit 12a of the control unit 12D. Then, the selection unit 12a turns off one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B. Thus, according to the selection signal from the user, either one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B is turned on, and the other is turned off.

  The lighting control device 22 changes the dimming rate of the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 based on the schedule set in the lighting control device 22. The schedule is, for example, lighting the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 at a low dimming rate in the daytime, lighting the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 at a high dimming rate at night, and lighting fixtures 30 and 32 after a fixed time such as the end of work. Is turned off. The user sets such a schedule in advance in the lighting control device 22 through the communication device 12 using the lighting control terminal 10. Thereby, the lighting control apparatus 22 dimmes the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 automatically. Therefore, when it is desired to adjust the light according to the schedule, the user does not need to operate the lighting control terminal 10 each time.

  However, the user uses the lighting control terminal 10 each time when the user wants to change the schedule or when he wants to manually change the brightness of the lighting fixtures 30 and 32. The user starts the operation after setting the state in which one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B is in the on state and the other is in the off state by the above-described operation. For example, it is assumed that the wired communication unit 12A is in an off state and the wireless communication unit 12B is in an on state. In this case, the user transmits a signal including the change contents from the illumination control terminal 10 to the wireless communication unit 12B using a known wireless communication method. The signal is acquired by the illumination control device 22 via the control unit 12D and the illumination control side communication unit 12E. The lighting control device 22 that has received a signal from the communication device 12 changes the schedule to the one desired by the user, or realizes the dimming specified by the user.

  For example, in an exhibition hall where a large number of radio waves for controlling the lighting fixtures fly, the radio wave state is bad, and there is a possibility that the wireless communication from the illumination control terminal 10 to the wireless communication unit 12B becomes unstable. In such a case, the user selects “wired LAN” on the screen of FIG. 4 and clicks “send”, thereby turning off the wireless communication unit 12B and turning on the wired communication unit 12A. Thereby, stable communication using the wire 14 is possible.

  In this way, according to the user's request, either one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B is turned on and the other is turned off, so that both the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B are always energized. Power can be saved compared to the case of doing. Moreover, the wire 14 can be disconnected from the lighting control terminal 10 when the wireless communication unit 12B is used. When the communication stability of the wireless communication is low, the wireless communication unit 12B can be turned off, and the reliability of communication can be improved using the wired communication unit 12A.

(Modification)
In the illumination control system according to Embodiment 1, either one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B is always energized. However, in order to further save power, when there is no signal from the user for a predetermined period, the selection unit 12a may turn off both the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B. When the frequency of changing the schedule or manually changing the dimming rate is not high, the power saving effect can be enhanced by doing so. Therefore, the control unit 12D only needs to include the selection unit 12a that turns off at least one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B in accordance with a signal from the user. Information such as power consumption or dimming rate is frequently provided from the lighting control device 22 to the lighting control terminal 10 via the control unit 12D and either the wired communication unit 12A or the wireless communication unit 12B. In order to do so, it is necessary to energize either the wired communication unit 12A or the wireless communication unit 12B.

  In order to promote power saving, the infrared communication unit 12C and the selection unit 12a may be turned off by a command from the user. In that case, when the user operates the lighting control terminal 10, a signal for turning off the infrared communication unit 12 </ b> C and the selection unit 12 a is transmitted by the infrared ray 18.

  The operation schedule of the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 is set in the lighting control device 22, and the lighting control device 22 controls the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 according to the schedule is an example of a method for controlling the lighting fixtures 30 and 32. For example, a timing for changing the dimming rate of the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 or an on / off timing of the lighting fixtures 30 and 32 is set in the lighting control device 22 with a timer, and the lighting control device 22 performs lighting based on the timer. The instruments 30 and 32 may be controlled.

  By using the communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 as separate parts, for example, the communication control device 12 is provided near the lighting control terminal 10 to ensure the reliability of infrared communication, and the lighting control device 22 is attached to the ceiling. This is convenient. However, the communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 may be configured as one unit. By making the communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 into one unit, the lighting control system can be easily attached.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, an infrared communication unit that receives a signal specifying whether to use the wired communication unit 12A or the wireless communication unit 12B by infrared communication from the illumination control terminal 10 and transmits the signal to the selection unit 12a. 12C was provided. However, since the range in which communication using infrared rays is possible is as narrow as about 5 m, for example, the distance between the illumination control terminal 10 and the communication device 12 must be shortened. In order to avoid such an adverse effect, either the wired communication unit 12A or the wireless communication unit 12B may be turned off by a method capable of long-distance communication other than infrared rays.

  Each function of the communication device 12 and the illumination control device 22 is realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit is a CPU (also referred to as a central processing unit, a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a processor, and a DSP) that executes a program stored in a memory even if it is dedicated hardware. May be.

  When the communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 are dedicated hardware, the processing circuit is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof. The thing corresponds. The functions of the circuits other than the control unit 12D may be realized by a processing circuit, or the functions of the units may be realized by a processing circuit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the communication device 12.

  When the communication device 12 and the lighting control device 22 are CPUs, these functions are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software or firmware is described as a program and stored in a memory. The control unit 12D implements each function by reading and executing a program stored in the memory. The memory corresponds to, for example, a nonvolatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EPROM, and an EEPROM, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, and a DVD. The control unit 12D can realize each function by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

  In addition to the above, the lighting control system according to Embodiment 1 can be variously modified within a range that does not lose its characteristics. These modifications can be applied as appropriate to the illumination control systems according to the following embodiments. Since the illumination control system according to the following embodiment has many similarities to the first embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the communication device 12 and the like according to the second embodiment. The communication device 12 is provided with a switch 12G connected to the selection unit 12a. The infrared communication unit described in the first embodiment is not provided.

  The selection unit 12a according to the second embodiment turns off the other while energizing one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B according to the state of the switch 12G. That is, the wired radio is switched by turning on / off the switch 12G. The switch 12G needs to be provided at a position lower than the ceiling so that the user can operate it. In this way, by energizing one of the wired communication unit 12A and the wireless communication unit 12B by the switch 12G and turning the other off, the infrared communication unit 12C described in the first embodiment becomes unnecessary, and the infrared communication unit There is no need to install software for communication in the lighting control terminal 10. When the switch is turned on, the wireless communication unit 12B may be turned off while the wired communication unit 12A is turned on, or vice versa. Further, when the switch is turned off, the wireless communication unit 12B may be turned off while the wired communication unit 12A is turned on, or vice versa.

  Note that the features of the illumination control system according to Embodiments 1 and 2 may be combined as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lighting control terminal, 10A infrared transmission part, 12 Communication equipment, 12A Wired communication part, 12B Wireless communication part, 12C Infrared communication part, 12D control part, 12G switch, 12a Selection part

Claims (6)

A lighting control terminal;
A communication device having a wired communication unit that performs wired communication with the illumination control terminal, a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the illumination control terminal, and a control unit that is connected to the wired communication unit and the wireless communication unit;
A lighting control device that receives a signal from the communication device;
A lighting fixture controlled by the lighting control device,
The control unit includes a selection unit that turns off at least one of the wired communication unit and the wireless communication unit in accordance with a signal from a user.   The communication device includes an infrared communication unit that receives a signal specifying whether to use the wired communication unit or the wireless communication unit from the illumination control terminal by infrared communication and transmits the signal to the selection unit. The lighting control system according to claim 1. An infrared transmitter is attached to the lighting control terminal,
The illumination control system according to claim 2, wherein a signal transmitted from the infrared transmission unit is received by the infrared communication unit. The communication device is provided with a switch connected to the selection unit,
The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit turns off the other while energizing one of the wired communication unit and the wireless communication unit according to the state of the switch.   The selection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when there is no signal from the user for a predetermined period, both the wired communication unit and the wireless communication unit are turned off. The lighting control system described.   The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the communication device and the lighting control device are configured as one unit.

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