JP2022126732A - Lighting system and lighting control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lighting system that uses wireless communication and can reduce a time required for installation settings at the time of introduction.

SOLUTION: A lighting system includes a plurality of lighting fixtures, and a lighting control device that instructs the same lighting control to lighting fixtures for each group consisting of at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the plurality of lighting fixtures form a mesh network. The lighting control device display a button MBn for displaying at least some of the plurality of lighting fixtures on one screen and a button GBp for displaying a group name of the group in order to select the plurality of lighting fixtures to be included in the group, the buttons MBn that display the lighting fixtures are displayed in order from the one closest to the lighting control device on the basis of the strength of radio waves received by the lighting control device from the lighting fixture, and the button MBn for displaying the lighting fixture is associated with the button GBp for displaying the group name, and therefore, it is possible to select a lighting fixture to be included in the group.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to lighting systems, and more particularly to technology for controlling lighting fixtures by wireless communication.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200001 discloses a lighting system that controls a plurality of lighting fixtures using wireless communication. In a lighting system using wireless communication, it is necessary to identify each lighting fixture by identification information and control each lighting fixture. The identification information is stored in the memory area of each lighting fixture at the time of manufacture. Here, in introducing the lighting system, when each lighting fixture is installed in an installation place such as a ceiling, the installer installs each lighting fixture without distinguishing between them. Therefore, at the time of installation completion, it is not possible to specify which lighting fixture having the identification information is installed at which position on the ceiling. For this reason, the user uses a terminal device such as a tablet device to perform processing for associating lighting fixtures with installation positions as part of initial installation settings when the lighting system is introduced.

The tablet device pre-stores a lighting arrangement diagram in which the locations of the lighting fixtures are represented by symbols. Then, the tablet device receives the identification information of each lighting fixture through wireless communication. The tablet device has a touch panel, and displays on the touch panel a user interface in which a lighting arrangement diagram and buttons on which the received identification information is indicated are displayed. When this button is touched, the tablet device transmits a lighting instruction to the lighting fixture having the identification information written on the button, and the lighting fixture is lit.

In the lighting arrangement diagram displayed on the tablet device, the user drags and drops a button with the identification information of the lit lighting fixture on the symbol representing the lit lighting fixture, and displays the identification information and the location of the lighting fixture. and

WO2014/203537

However, in the lighting system described above, when the user associates the identification information of the lighting fixtures with the arrangement locations in the lighting arrangement diagram, it takes time to associate the number of lighting fixtures. There's a problem.

In view of the above problems, the present invention relates to a lighting system using wireless communication, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lighting system capable of shortening the time required for installation settings at the time of installation.

In order to solve the above problems, a lighting system according to the present invention provides a plurality of lighting fixtures and a lighting control device for instructing the same lighting control to the lighting fixtures for each group composed of at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures. and wherein the plurality of lighting fixtures form a mesh network, wherein the lighting control device selects the plurality of lighting fixtures to be included in the group, and displays the plurality of lighting fixtures on one screen. and a button for displaying the group name of the group, and a button for displaying the lighting fixture, based on the reception strength of the radio wave received by the lighting control device from the lighting fixture. , are displayed in descending order of distance from the lighting control device, and the lighting fixtures to be included in the group can be selected by associating the button displaying the lighting fixtures with the button displaying the group name. be.

With the above-described configuration, the lighting system according to the present invention can control the lighting fixtures simply by group-registering the desired lighting fixtures among the lighting fixtures whose identification information has been received. can reduce the time required

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a lighting system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Block diagram showing the configuration of lighting fixtures included in the lighting system Block diagram showing the configuration of the gateway included in the lighting system Block diagram showing the configuration of a smartphone included in the lighting system (a) Diagram showing group information list, (b) Diagram showing lighting equipment information list (a) Diagram showing group registration UI, (b) Diagram showing group registration UI (when entering a group name) (a) Diagram showing group registration UI (toggle switch touched), (b) Diagram showing group registration UI (checkbox checked) A diagram representing the group control UI Flowchart showing the flow of group registration processing for lighting fixtures Flowchart showing the flow of processing for creating a lighting fixture information list Flowchart showing the flow of group information creation processing Flowchart showing the flow of identification information-group association processing Flow chart showing the flow of group control processing A diagram showing a group registration UI according to the second embodiment of the present invention. A diagram showing a group registration UI according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

A lighting system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1.1. Overview>
A lighting system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes 40 lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 and a lighting control device 2, as shown in FIG. Each of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 holds identification information therein, and is uniquely identified by this identification information. The lighting control device 2 is a system for controlling operations such as turning on and off the light sources of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 and changing the dimming rate. The lighting control device 2 includes a smartphone 6 as an example of an information terminal device used by a user to instruct the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 to perform a desired operation, and the lighting fixture LF1 according to a user input to the smartphone 6 by the user. A gateway 5 that transmits an operation instruction to at least one of the LFs 40 is provided. Note that the lighting control device 2 does not necessarily need to be composed of a plurality of devices like the smartphone 6 and the gateway 5. It may be configured with one lighting control device having the necessary functions, or may be configured with more devices.

The lighting fixtures LF1-LF40, the gateway 5, and the smart phone 6 communicate with each other using radio. Dotted arrows in FIG. 1 schematically indicate wireless communication. The wireless communication is based on the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (hereinafter referred to as “BLE”) specification, but is not limited to this. The gateway 5 and the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 are interconnected, in particular, one-to-many or many-to-many to form a mesh network. The gateway 5 can send operating instructions to any of the lighting fixtures LF1-LF40, directly or indirectly through the mesh network.

The communication between the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40, the gateway 5, and the smartphone 6 may all use the same communication specification, or may use a plurality of communication specifications. Further, the lighting control device 2 does not necessarily need to be composed of the gateway 5 and the smartphone 6, and is sufficient as long as it can control the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40. The lighting control device 2 may be composed of, for example, a single device, or may be composed of a device different from the gateway 5 and the smartphone 6, such as a tablet terminal device or a personal computer, or composed of three or more devices. You can do it. Also, although the number of lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 is 40, the number is not limited to this and may be changed as appropriate.

The lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 include LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) as an example of light sources, and have the function of performing operations indicated by operation instructions received from the gateway 5 . The lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 are installed separately in three locations, a conference room, a living room, and a corridor, as an example of installation locations. Here, the lighting fixtures installed in the same installation place are grouped together and controlled to perform the same operation all at once. Hereinafter, a group consisting of lighting fixtures installed in a meeting room will be referred to as a "meeting room group", a group consisting of lighting fixtures installed in a living room will be referred to as a "living room group", and lighting fixtures installed in corridors will The group to constitute is called a "corridor group."

Here, the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 are installed on the ceiling of each installation location by a contractor or the like when the lighting system 1 is installed. Since the contractor installs the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 without distinguishing them, immediately after the installation is finished, the lighting system 1 is in a state where it is not possible to identify which group the lighting fixture having the identification information belongs to. there is

Therefore, in order to control the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 for each group according to the installation location, each identification information of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40, more A process for associating with groups is required.

The lighting system 1 is a system that makes it possible to associate groups and identification information with a simple procedure. Each configuration of the lighting system 1 will be described in more detail below.

<1.2. Configuration>
<1.2.1. lighting fixture LFn>
A lighting fixture LFn (n represents any one of 1 to 40) includes a light source section 41, a circuit section 43, and a wireless module (hereinafter referred to as “WM”) section 44, as shown in FIG.

The light source unit 41 includes a light source made up of LEDs and a light source board, which is a circuit board on which the light source is arranged. Note that the light source is sufficient as long as it functions as a light source for illumination, and may be composed of a device other than an LED such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) device. The light source unit 41 performs operations such as turning on and off the light source, changing the dimming rate, and toning the light based on the input control signal.

The circuit section 43 has a socket to which the WM section 44 is attached, and supplies direct current to the light source section 41 according to the signal received from the WM section 44 .

The WM unit 44 is a module that performs wireless communication that can be attached to and detached from a socket of the WM unit 44 . The WM unit 44 is assumed to be capable of wireless communication according to a plurality of communication specifications. It may be attached to a socket. The WM unit 44 includes a wireless communication unit 44a and a control unit 44b.

The wireless communication unit 44a has a function of performing wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 44a functions as a transmitting means for transmitting information and a receiving means for receiving information. The wireless communication unit 44a holds a Media Access Control address (hereinafter referred to as "MAC address") as an example of identification information. A MAC address is also used as an address for wireless communication. Below, the value of the MAC address of the lighting fixture LFn may be expressed as “LID_n”.

Note that LID_n is actually a 48-bit number, and there are regulations such as assigning a manufacturer-specific number to the first 24 bits. Further, the identification information is not limited to the MAC address, and any information that can identify each of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 is sufficient. For example, it may be a random number that is uniquely assigned to the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40.

When receiving communication data, the wireless communication unit 44a notifies the control unit 44b if the communication data is addressed to its own device, and transfers the data to the other device via the mesh network if the communication data is addressed to another device.

The control unit 44b includes an IC (Integrated Circuit) and has a function of controlling the operation of the lighting fixture LFn.

When the control unit 44b receives an operation instruction regarding the operation of the light source such as turning on, turning off, blinking, increasing the dimming rate, or decreasing the dimming rate of the light source, the control unit 44b outputs a control signal for performing the operation indicated by the operation instruction to the circuit unit 43. output to the light source unit 41 via the light source unit 41 . Further, when the operation instruction is an instruction to transmit a beacon, which is a signal for recognizing the identification information of the own device by another device, the wireless communication unit 44a transmits a beacon including the identification information of the own device to the predetermined device. Instruct to send at time intervals. When the operation instruction is a beacon stop instruction, beacon transmission is stopped.

<1.2.2. Gateway 5>
The gateway 5 includes a wireless communication section 51, a wired communication section 52, a control section 53, a ROM 54, and a RAM 55, as shown in FIG.

The wireless communication unit 51 has a function of performing wireless communication, and holds a MAC address as an example of identification information. A MAC address is used as an address for wireless communication. When receiving communication data, the wireless communication unit 51 notifies the control unit 53 if the communication data is addressed to its own device, and transfers the data to the other device via the mesh network if the communication data is addressed to another device.

The wired communication unit 52 has a function of performing data communication via a wired network cable. The wired network is, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network). For example, when a plurality of gateways 5 operate cooperatively, the plurality of gateways 5 are connected to each other by wires. The wired communication unit 52 exchanges necessary information with other gateways 5 using wired communication. Note that the wired communication unit 52 can be omitted when wired communication is not performed.

The ROM 54 is a non-volatile memory that stores a lighting control program for operating the controller 53 and the like. The ROM 54 holds a group information list and a lighting equipment information list. Details of the group information list and the lighting fixture information list will be described later.

The RAM 55 is a storage device into which the lighting control program stored in the ROM 54 is loaded.

The controller 53 has a function of controlling the operation of the gateway 5 . The control unit 53 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Each function of the gateway 5 is realized by the controller 53 executing a lighting control program loaded from the ROM 54 and stored in the RAM 55 .

<1.2.3. Smartphone 6>
The smartphone 6 is a portable information terminal device having a rectangular plate-like appearance as shown in FIG. 1 and having a touch panel 65 fitted on one surface. The smartphone 6 has a function of displaying a user interface (hereinafter referred to as “UI”) on the touch panel 65 . The smartphone 6 instructs the operation requested by the user based on the content of the UI displayed on the touch panel 65 and the user's touch and gesture input on the touch panel 65 (hereinafter referred to as "user input"). It makes a decision and sends a control request to the gateway 5 based on the user input. Upon receiving a control request from the smartphone 6, the gateway 5 transmits operation instructions to the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 based on the control request. The smartphone 6 includes a control unit 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, a wireless communication unit 64, and a touch panel 65, as shown in FIG.

The ROM 62 is composed of a flash memory or the like, and holds applications, programs, UIs, and various other data. The ROM 62 holds a reception intensity-distance conversion table as an example of data. The reception intensity-distance conversion table shows the reception intensity of the radio waves that the smartphone 6 receives from the lighting device LFn, and the approximate distance between the lighting device LFn and the smartphone 6 in the case of the reception strength (the unit is an example It represents the correspondence with the distance information indicating (meters). It is assumed that the relationship between the reception intensity and the distance information in the reception intensity-distance conversion table is derived in advance by actual measurement, simulation, or the like.

RAM63 is a memory|storage device by which the lighting control program stored in ROM62 is loaded.

The touch panel 65 is an electronic component that combines a display unit that displays images and information that constitute the UI and an input unit that accepts input of user instructions, and functions as user interface means. The display unit is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel. Also, the input unit is, for example, a touch pad. The touch panel 65 notifies the control unit 61 of user input.

The control unit 61 has a CPU. Each function of the smartphone 6 is realized by the controller 61 executing a lighting control program loaded from the ROM 62 and stored in the RAM 63 . Control unit 61 identifies the content of the user instruction based on the UI displayed on touch panel 65 and the user input notified from touch panel 65, and executes processing according to the user instruction.

The wireless communication unit 64 is composed of a device that performs wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 64 performs wireless communication between the gateway 5 and the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40. The wireless communication unit 64 also has a function of measuring the reception strength (RSSI) of the received radio waves.

In the smartphone 6, the UI and the like do not have to be stored in the ROM 62 in advance, and an application capable of displaying the UI may be downloaded from the server and stored in the ROM 62. That is, by downloading an application to a smartphone distributed in the market, the smartphone can be used as a user interface means.

<1.3. Data structure and UI>
The data structure and UI used by the lighting control program in the lighting system 1 will be described below.

<1.3.1. Data structure>
(1) Group information list 150
As shown in FIG. 5A, the group information list 150 is a set of group information in which group identification information that uniquely identifies a group is associated with group name information that indicates the group name. One row of the group information list table 150 is one group information. As an example, the first row of the group information list 150 indicates group information in which the group identification information 150a is "1" and the group name information 150b is "meeting room".

(2) Lighting fixture information list 200
The lighting fixture information list 200 is a set of lighting fixture information indicating information about the lighting fixtures LFn from which the smartphone 6 could receive beacons. In the lighting equipment information list 200, one row is one lighting equipment information, as shown in FIG. 5B as an example. The lighting fixture information includes group information, identification information, distance information, lighting information, dimming rate information, and group information. In the lighting fixture information list 200, the first column is fixture name information, the second column is identification information, the third column is distance information, the fourth column is lighting information, and the fifth column is lighting information. It is light rate information, and the sixth column is group information.

The fixture name information represents the name given by the user to the lighting fixture LFn. The device name information defaults to "unnamed". The user can set a desired name as the device name information using a separate name setting UI or the like. By using the fixture name information, the user can easily distinguish between the lighting fixtures LFn, which is difficult to do using the identification information, which is a string of numbers, symbols, and the like.

The identification information is identification information possessed by the lighting fixture LFn represented by the lighting fixture information.

The distance information indicates the approximate distance between the smartphone 6 and the lighting fixture LFn. When the distance information is "1", it indicates that the distance between the smartphone 6 and the lighting device LFn is approximately 1 m (meters).

The lighting information indicates whether the lighting device LFn is currently lit or not. It is "On" when it is in the lighting state, and "Off" when it is in the light-out state.

The dimming rate information indicates the current dimming rate (unit: %) of the light source of the lighting fixture LFn.

The group identification information is group identification information of the group in which the lighting fixture LFn is included. Group identification information in the group information list 150 is described as group information in the lighting fixture information list 200 . The lighting fixture information in the lighting fixture information list 200 is linked to the group information in the group information list 150 that has the same group identification information. The initial value of the group identification information is "0" indicating that there is no belonging group.

As an example of the lighting fixture information list 200, the first row in FIG. 201c is "1", lighting information 201d is "On", dimming rate information 201e is "100", and group identification information 201f is "1".

<1.3.2. UI>
The smartphone 6 includes a "group control UI" for the user to control the lighting fixtures on a group basis, and a "group registration UI 100" for setting the relationship between the lighting fixtures and the groups in advance prior to the control.

(1) Group registration UI 100
The group registration UI 100 is a UI for group registration displayed when the smartphone 6 inputs on the touch panel 65 a user input indicating the start of creating a group from a menu showing selectable operations by the user. The group registration UI 100 includes, as shown in FIG. 6A, a group entry field IB, a cancel button CB, a save button SB, and a control button LBn.

The group input field IB is an input field for the user to set a group name. When the user inputs a group name to the smartphone 6, the user touches the group input field IB. When the touch by the user is detected, the smartphone 6 displays a cursor CS indicating the character input position in the group input field IB as shown in FIG. Display the keyboard KB.

The software keyboard KB is a software keyboard having a plurality of key images representing letters, numbers, symbols, etc. When the user touches a key image, the smartphone 6 inputs letters, numbers, symbols, etc. corresponding to the key image. recognize what has been done.

The user sequentially touches keys representing desired characters on the software keyboard KB to input a desired group name. Note that the software keyboard KB is displayed on the touch panel 65 of the smartphone 6 when the user needs to input characters, numbers, and the like, not limited to the input of the group name.

The control button LBn is a button used for registering lighting fixtures LF in a group. One control button LBn corresponds to one lighting fixture LFn. Control buttons LBn are created for the number of rows in the lighting fixture information list 200, that is, the same number as the number of lighting fixtures LFn from which the smartphone 6 has been able to receive beacons. Information displayed on a predetermined button in the control buttons LBn is information described in lighting fixture information whose identification information is “LID_n” in the lighting fixture information list 200 .

The control button LBn includes, as shown in FIG. 6A, a name display portion LBna, an ID display portion LBnb, a distance display portion LBnc, and a check box LBnd.

The ID display section LBna displays "LID_n", which is identification information of the lighting fixture LFn to be controlled using the control button LBn.

The name display section LBnb displays the name of the lighting fixture LFn to be controlled using the control button LBn. The displayed content is the fixture name information of the lighting fixture information whose identification information is “LID_n” in the lighting fixture information list 200 .

The distance display section LBnc displays the approximate distance between the lighting device LFn and the smartphone 6 . The displayed distance is the distance information of the lighting fixture information whose identification information is “LID_n” in the lighting fixture information list 200 . Note that the distance display section LBnc of the group registration UI 100 displays "[distance information] within m". If the distance information is 1, the display is "within 1 m". m represents meters.

The check box LBnd is a check box used to select whether or not to include the lighting fixture LFn controlled by the control button LBn in the group identified by the group name entered in the group input field IB. When the user touches the check box LBnd to register the luminaire LFn in the group, the check box LBnd changes from the simple rectangular image shown in FIG. 6(a) to the center of the rectangular shown in FIG. 7(b). will change to a colored image (checked), indicating that it has been selected for inclusion in the group.

Here, the area other than the area where the check box LBnd of the control button LBn is displayed blinks (when other lighting fixtures are turned off) to identify the lighting fixture LFn to be determined whether or not to include it in the group. It is a toggle switch (hereinafter simply referred to as a "toggle switch") that can be used to identify other lighting fixtures other than blinking, such as turning off the light when the other lighting fixture is lit. For example, when the lighting device LFn is in the off state and the user touches the toggle switch of the control button LB1, the display of the control button LBn of the smartphone 6 changes from the state indicated by LB1d in FIG. 6A to the state indicated by LB1d in FIG. It changes to the state shown in LB1d. The hatching of the control button LB1 in FIG. 7A indicates that, for example, the background color of the control button LB1 changed from blue in FIG. 6A to yellow in FIG. 7A. , indicates that the luminaire LFn has flashed for identification purposes. The hatched portion of the control button LB1 in FIG. 7(a) corresponds to the area corresponding to the toggle switch of the control button LB1.

The user can touch the toggle switch to blink the lighting fixture LFn and confirm where the blinking lighting fixture LFn is located. The user can determine whether or not to include the lighting fixture LFn in a group (for example, a meeting room group) after confirming the location (for example, the conference room) where the lighting fixture LFn is installed, which is convenient for the user. highly sexual.

The user touches the check box LBnd when selecting to include the lighting fixture LFn in the group identified by the group name entered in the group entry field IB. When the user touches the check box LBnd, the image of the check box LBnd changes from a simple rectangular image as indicated by the check box LB1d in FIG. changed to a rectangular image.

In this state, the user may further touch the check box LBnd to return the lighting fixture LFn not to be included in the group. At this time, the image of the check box LBnd is changed from the checked rectangular image to a simple rectangular image. Each time the user touches the check box LBnd, whether or not to include the lighting fixture LFn in the group is toggled.

The save button SB is a button for confirming the lighting fixtures LFn to be included in the group identified by the group name entered in the group input field IB. When the user touches the save button SB, it is determined that the lighting fixture LFn associated with the control button LBn whose check box LBnd is a checked rectangular image is included in the group of the group name described in the group input field IB.

The cancel button CB is a button for canceling the group creation process, and functions as canceling means. When the user touches the cancel button CB, the smartphone 6 cancels the group creation process, and discards the user's instruction to include the lighting fixture LFn in the group, which the user indicated by touching the check box LBnd. . This allows the user to reselect which lighting fixtures to include in the group.

As an example, the control buttons LB1 to LB40 are arranged from top to bottom in ascending order of distance information. The user, for example, brings the smartphone 6 to the vicinity of the lighting fixtures to be registered in the group, and sequentially uses the control buttons LBn arranged at the top to perform group registration, etc., from the lighting fixtures LFn that are geographically nearby. Since the processing can be performed, it is possible to work efficiently.

Further, it is not necessary to display all of the control buttons LBn displayed as a list on the group registration UI 100 at once. As shown by way of example, a portion thereof may be displayed. In this case, the control buttons LBn that are not displayed may be displayed by scrolling the screen, or a predetermined number of control buttons LBn may be allocated to a plurality of pages so that they can be displayed on each page.

(2) Group control UI 130
The group control UI 130 is a UI for collectively controlling lighting fixtures included in a group. The group control UI 130 includes, as shown in FIG. 8, an all-on button AON, an all-off button AOF, and a group control panel PAs (s is a natural number from 1 to the number of groups).

The group control panel PAs is a panel for collectively controlling the lighting fixtures LFn arranged in the conference room. Controls that can be executed using the group control panel PAs are, for example, turning on, turning off, and changing the dimming rate.

The group control panel PAs includes a group name PAsa, an on/off button PAsb, a dimming rate slide bar PAsc, and a dimming rate display image PAsd.

Group name PAsa displays the group name of the group to be controlled. The group name displayed in the group name PAsa is group name information in the s-th row of the group information list 150. FIG.

The lighting/extinguishing button PAsb is a button for instructing execution of lighting/extinguishing of the lighting fixture LFn belonging to the group to be controlled. Each time the user touches the on/off button PAsb, the smartphone 6 determines that one of the user input indicating lighting and the user input indicating turning off is toggled. The on/off button PAsb displays "On" when a user input indicating lighting is performed, and displays "Off" when a user input indicating extinguishing is performed. “On” and “Off” of the lighting/lighting-out button PAsb are interlocked with the lighting information of the lighting fixture LFn included in the group represented by the group identification information in the s-th row of the group information list 150 .

The dimming rate slide bar PAsc includes a dimming rate range image PAscR and a dimming rate bar image PAscB. The light control rate range image PAscR is a rectangular image, with the left end representing a light control rate of 0% and the right end representing a light control rate of 100%. The dimming rate bar image PAscB can be moved on the dimming rate range image PAscR by the user's drag operation. The position of the dimming rate bar image PAscB determines the dimming rate by the ratio of internally dividing the dimming rate range image PAscR in the longitudinal direction. As an example, when the dimming rate bar image PAscB internally divides the dimming rate range image PAscR at 1:4 in the longitudinal direction, the dimming rate indicates 20%. The dimming rate display image PAsd numerically displays the dimming rate indicated by the dimming rate slide bar PAsc.

Note that the method of specifying the dimming rate is not limited to specifying with a sliding bar like the dimming rate slide bar PAsc, and it is sufficient if the dimming rate can be specified. For example, the dimming rate may be designated by directly entering a numerical value using a software keyboard.

The all lighting button AON is a button for lighting all lighting fixtures LFn included in all groups. When the user touches the all lighting button AON, all lighting fixtures LFn whose identification information is included in the lighting fixture information list 200 are turned on.

The all-off button AOF is a button for turning off all lighting fixtures LFn included in all groups. When the user touches the all off button AOF, all the lighting fixtures LFn whose identification information is included in the lighting fixture information list 200 are turned off.

<1.4. Operation>
Group registration processing of lighting fixtures in the lighting system 1 configured as described above will be described below.

<1.4.1. Group registration processing of lighting fixtures>
The overall flow of group registration processing for lighting fixtures will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the user inputs a user instruction to the smartphone 6 for instructing the start of group registration processing of lighting fixtures (step S101). Triggered by the fact that the smartphone 6 has received the input of the user's instruction, the lighting system 1 executes lighting fixture information list creation processing (step S103). Details of step S103 will be described later with reference to FIG. Through this lighting fixture information list creation process, the smartphone 6 creates a lighting fixture information list 200 as shown in FIG. 5B as an example. However, at this time, the group information in the lighting fixture information list 200 is "0" indicating that there is no group to which all of them belong.

Next, the smartphone 6 reflects the fixture name information, identification information, and distance information of the acquired lighting fixture information list 200 in the name display portion LBna, the ID display portion LBna, and the distance display portion LBnc of the control button LBn. As an example, the group registration UI 100 shown in FIG. 6A is created (step S105). The smartphone 6 displays the group registration UI 100 on the touch panel 65 (step S107).

Using the group registration UI 100 displayed on the touch panel 65, the user inputs the group name (see FIG. 6B). Based on the user's input, the smartphone 6 executes group creation processing (step S109). Details of step S109 will be described later with reference to FIG. In the group information creation process, the smartphone 6 creates a group information list 150 representing correspondence between group identification information and group names, as shown in FIG. 5B as an example.

Next, the user uses the group registration UI 100 displayed on the touch panel 65 to perform input relating to identification information-group association processing. Based on this input, the lighting system 1 executes identification information-group association processing (step S111). Through the identification information-group correspondence processing, the group identification information of the group to which each lighting fixture LFn belongs is recorded in the group information column of the lighting fixture information list 200 shown in FIG. 5(b). Details of step S111 will be described later with reference to FIG. Through the above steps, the lighting fixture group registration processing is completed.

<1.4.1.1. Lighting Fixture Information List Creation Processing>
The lighting fixture information list creation process in step S103 will be described below with reference to FIG.

When the user performs an operation to open the group registration UI 100 shown in FIG. 6A, the smartphone 6 transmits a beacon transmission instruction to the lighting fixture LFn to the gateway 5 (step S201).

Upon receiving the beacon transmission instruction to the lighting fixture LFn, the gateway 5 transmits the beacon transmission instruction to each of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 with which communication has been established (steps S203 and S205). In FIG. 10, description of the lighting fixtures LF3 to LF40 is omitted, but processing similar to that for the lighting fixtures LF1 and LF2 is performed.

The lighting fixture LF1 that has received the beacon transmission instruction transmits a beacon (step S221). The smartphone 6 receives the beacon transmitted by the lighting device LF1, and extracts the identification information of the lighting device LF1 from the received beacon (step S223). In addition, the smartphone 6 measures the reception strength of the radio waves transmitting the beacon (step S225), and converts the measured reception strength of the radio waves into distance information using the reception strength-distance conversion table held in the ROM 62. (step S227).

As with the lighting fixture LF1, the lighting fixture LF2 that has received the beacon transmission instruction transmits a beacon (step S241). The smartphone 6 receives the beacon transmitted by the lighting device LF2, extracts the identification information of the lighting device LF2 from the received beacon (step S243), and measures the reception strength of the radio wave transmitting the beacon (step S245). ), the measured reception strength of the radio wave is converted into distance information using the reception strength-distance conversion table (step S247).

For lighting fixtures LF3 to LF40, the same processing as steps S221 to S227 for lighting fixture LF1 is performed. As a result, the smartphone 6 acquires identification information and distance information for each of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40.

Then, the smartphone 6 creates a lighting equipment information list using the identification information and the distance information (step S261). Specifically, the smartphone 6 writes lighting fixture information about each of the lighting fixtures LFn that have received the beacon in a row of the lighting fixture information list 200 . In the lighting fixture information, the smartphone 6 describes "name unset" as an initial value in the fixture name information, describes the received identification information "LID_n" in the identification information, and describes the received distance information in the distance information. , "Off" is described as the initial value in the lighting information, "100" is described as the initial value in the dimming rate information, and "0" is described as the initial value in the group identification information.

As described above, the lighting fixture information about the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 is entered in the lighting fixture information list table 200. FIG.

<1.4.1.2. Group information creation processing>
The group information creation process in step S109 will be described below with reference to FIG.

As described above, the user uses the group registration UI 100 displayed on the touch panel 65 to input the group name. The smart phone 6 acquires a group name (step S301).

The smartphone 6 generates group identification information corresponding to the obtained group name (step S303). Group identification information is sufficient if it is information that can uniquely identify a group.

Then, the smartphone 6 writes group information in which the group name and the group identification information are associated in the group information list 150 (step S305).

<1.4.1.3. Group registration process>
The identification information-group association processing in step S111 will be described below with reference to FIG. Assume that the group is, for example, a conference room group.

First, the user uses the group registration UI 100 to input a blinking instruction for the lighting fixture LFn to the smartphone 6 in order to determine whether the lighting fixture LFn is included in the group (step S401). Specifically, the toggle switch of the control button LBn on the group registration UI 100 shown in FIG. 7A is touched. Here, n represents a user-selected value from 1-40.

When the smartphone 6 detects that the toggle switch of the control button LBn is touched, the smartphone 6 transmits to the gateway 5 an operation instruction indicating blinking of the lighting fixture LFn, which is the lighting fixture corresponding to the control button LBn (step S403). Upon receiving the operation instruction, the gateway 5 transmits an operation instruction indicating blinking to the lighting fixture LFn (step S405). Upon receiving the operation instruction indicating blinking, the lighting fixture LFn blinks the light source (step S407).
The user confirms whether the installation location of the blinking lighting device LFn is in the conference room, and determines whether or not the lighting device LFn should be included in the conference room group (step S421). If it is to be included in the conference room group (YES in step S421), the check box LBnd on the UI 100 shown in FIG. 7B is touched. As a result, the check box LBnd is changed to a checked state (step S423). If the lighting fixture LFn is not included in the conference room group (NO in step S421), the process proceeds to step S425.

Then, after the user has made a decision about the control button LBn, the user touches the toggle switch of the control button LBn shown in FIG. 7A to input an instruction to turn off the lighting device LFn (step S425). Upon receiving the input of the instruction to turn off the lighting fixture LFn, the smartphone 6 transmits the instruction to turn off the lighting fixture LFn to the gateway 5 (step S427). The gateway 5 receives the instruction to turn off the lighting fixture LFn and transmits the instruction to turn off the lighting fixture LFn (step S429). When the lighting fixture LFn receives the light-off instruction from the gateway 5, it turns off the light source (step S431).

Next, the smartphone 6 determines whether or not the cancel button CB has been touched by the user (step S441), and if not (NO in step S441), proceeds to step S443. YES), end the group registration process. In step S443, the smartphone 6 determines whether the save button SB has been touched by the user, and if the save button SB has not been touched (NO in step S443), the process returns to step S401.

When the save button SB is touched by the user (YES in step S443), the smartphone 6 saves the lighting fixture information in the lighting fixture information list 200 for all the lighting fixtures LFn with check boxes LBnd checked on the group registration UI 100. The group identification information of the conference room group is described in the group information of (step S445). The smartphone 6 then transmits the lighting fixture information list 200 to the gateway 5 (step S447). The gateway 5 stores the received lighting fixture information list 200 in the ROM 54 (step S449).

As described above, in the lighting fixture group registration process, when the lighting fixture LFn is to be included in the group, the user touches the check box LBnd of the control button LBn displayed on the group registration UI 100 displayed on the touch panel 65, Simply touch the save button SB. Thus, in the lighting system 1, the identification information LID_n of the lighting fixture LFn is associated with the group identification information. Group identification information is associated with a group name. Therefore, the user uses the touch panel 65 of the smartphone 6 to specify the group by the group name and input a user instruction, thereby giving the lighting system 1 a user instruction to all the lighting fixtures LFn included in the group. be able to.

As described above, according to the invention according to the present embodiment, by using the group registration UI 100, it is possible to easily associate lighting fixtures LFn with a desired group, thereby shortening the time required for initial setting at the time of installation. can do.

<1.4.2. Group lighting control>
Next, as an example of group lighting control for controlling lighting fixtures LFn for each group, lighting control for lighting all lighting fixtures LFn included in a group will be described.

Group lighting control is lighting control that causes lighting fixtures LFn included in a group to perform the same operation. Control for lighting the lighting fixtures LFn included in the conference room group will be described below with reference to FIG. 13 . When performing group lighting control, the user uses the group control UI 150 of FIG. 8 as an example on the touch panel 65 of the smartphone 6 as an example.

When the lighting fixture LFn included in the conference room group is turned off, the lighting information of the lighting fixture information whose group identification information is 1 indicating the conference room group in the lighting fixture information list table 200 has "Off". is displayed. Accordingly, "Off" is displayed on the ON/OFF button PA1b relating to the conference room group on the group control UI 150 shown in FIG.

When starting group lighting control, the user inputs a user instruction to the touch panel 65 to display the group control UI 130 on the menu screen of the lighting control program (step S501). Note that the group control UI 130 may be the top menu of the lighting control program.

The smartphone 6 displays the group control UI 130 on the touch panel 65 (step S503). When lighting the lighting fixtures LFn included in the conference room group, the user touches the lighting/lighting button PA1b for the conference room group on the group control UI 150 displayed on the touch panel 65 (step S505). The smartphone 6 transmits an instruction to turn on the conference room group to the gateway 5 (step S507).

The gateway 5 refers to the lighting fixture information list table 200 and extracts all the identification information of the lighting fixtures LFn included in the lighting fixture information whose group identification information indicates the conference room group (the value is 1) ( step S521). Then, a lighting instruction is transmitted to the lighting fixture LFn indicated by the identification information (step S523). When receiving the lighting instruction, the lighting fixture LFn turns on the light source (step S525).

Here, in FIG. 13, the lighting control in steps S523 and S525 is described only for one lighting fixture LFn and the rest is omitted. Similar processing is performed.

As described above, the lighting process has been described as an example of the group lighting control, but the control procedure is the same for the extinguishing process, the dimming process, and the toning process. Moreover, these group lighting controls can be performed automatically as well as manually. Examples of automatic control include control that adjusts light and color depending on the time of day, and control that adjusts brightness by detecting ambient brightness with a sensor.

<2. Second Embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, in the group registration process, the group registration UI 100 is used in which the lighting fixture LFn can be registered in a desired group by touching the check box LBnd of the control button LBn and touching the save button SB.

However, the UI for simply group-registering lighting fixtures LFn may be different.

The group registration UI 400 of this embodiment is a UI for performing group registration by drag and drop.

The group registration UI 400 includes a cancel button CB, a save button SB, a control button MBn, and a group display button GBp, as shown in FIG. 14(a). Here, p indicates any one from 1 to the number of groups (3 in this embodiment). Cancel button CB and save button SB are as described in the first embodiment.

The group display button GBp is a button displaying a group name. Group information in the group information list 150 is displayed as a group name on the group display button GBp. It is assumed that the group information list 150 of this embodiment is separately created prior to group registration processing.

The configuration of the control button MBn is similar to that of the control button LBn, and includes a name display section LBna, an ID display section LBnb, and a distance display section LBnc.
The difference is that it does not include Further, the control button MBn is a toggle switch as a whole, and each time the user touches it, the lighting device LFn is toggled between lighting and extinguishing.

Also, the control button MBn can be dragged and dropped onto the group display button GBp. When the user uses the group registration UI 400 to register the lighting fixture LFn represented by the control button MBn in a group, as shown in FIG. , drag and drop the control button MBn. Thereby, the lighting fixture LF1 is associated with the conference room group.

As in the first embodiment, this association is confirmed by touching the save button SB, and the group information of the lighting fixture information about the lighting fixture LFn in the lighting fixture information list 200 is added to the conference room group. Group identification information will be described.

As described above, the group registration processing using the group registration UI 400 according to the present modification can also easily associate the lighting fixtures LFn with desired groups, thereby shortening the time required for initial setting at the time of installation. be able to.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, in the group registration process, a UI is used for group registration by dragging and dropping a control button MBn corresponding to a lighting fixture LFn onto a group display button GBp representing a desired group. rice field. However, it is sufficient that the destination of the drag and drop represents a group.

In this embodiment, a group registration UI 500 is used instead of the group registration UI 400 .

The group registration UI 500 uses the same configuration as the group registration UI 400, but as shown in FIG. 15(a), instead of the group display button GBp in FIG. 14(a), a lighting arrangement diagram FG is displayed. Points are different.

The lighting distribution diagram FG represents the installation locations of the lighting fixtures with symbols. The lighting distribution diagram FG includes a group area GR1 representing a meeting room, a group area GR2 representing a living room, and a group area GR3 representing a corridor. The group area GR1 corresponds to the conference room group, the group area GR2 corresponds to the private room group, and the group area GR3 corresponds to the corridor group.

A group area GR1, a group area GR2, and a group area GR3 represent a layout of a conference room, a living room, and a corridor, respectively. Each group area contains a group name, and a circle symbol in each group area. indicates the position where the lighting fixture LFn is arranged. As an example, 20 circles are described in the group area GR1, indicating that 20 lighting fixtures LFn are arranged in the conference room.

When the user uses the group registration UI 500 to register the lighting fixture LFn represented by the control button MBn in a group, as shown in FIG. Drag and drop the control button MBn. Thereby, the lighting fixture LF1 is associated with the conference room group.

As in the first embodiment, this association is confirmed by touching the save button SB, and the group information of the lighting fixture information about the lighting fixture LFn in the lighting fixture information list 200 is added to the conference room group. Group identification information will be described.

As described above, the group registration processing using the group registration UI 500 according to the present modification can also easily associate the lighting fixtures LFn with desired groups, thereby shortening the time required for initial setting at the time of installation. be able to.

<4. Variation>
Although the embodiment of the lighting system according to the present invention has been described above, the illustrated lighting system can be modified as follows, and the present invention is not limited to the lighting system as shown in the above embodiment. Of course not.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which one gateway 5 is used has been described. A plurality of gateways 5 may operate in cooperation. Since the physical wireless communication of the gateway 5 is limited, a plurality of gateways 5 cooperate to control lighting fixtures installed in a wider range.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the timing of stopping the beacon transmitted by the lighting fixture LFn is not described. The beacon may be stopped at an appropriate timing, such as after the completion of For example, between steps S445 and S447 or after step S447, the smartphone 6 transmits a beacon stop instruction to the gateway 5 to all lighting fixtures LFn whose check boxes LBnd are checked in step S445. It may be instructed to do so.

(3) In the above-described embodiments, the user interface includes objects such as buttons and panels, but these do not necessarily have to be in the form of buttons, panels, etc., and can be distinguished by at least lines, color coding, or the like. It is enough if the area is

(4) Each functional component shown in the above embodiments may be implemented as a circuit that executes the function, or may be implemented by executing a lighting control program using one or more processors.

(5) You may partially combine the above-mentioned embodiment and each modification.

<5. Supplement>
Hereinafter, the configuration of the lighting system as one embodiment of the present invention, its modification examples, and effects will be further described.

(1) A lighting system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of lighting fixtures and a lighting control device that instructs the same lighting control to the lighting fixtures for each group composed of at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures. wherein each of the plurality of lighting fixtures includes transmitting means for transmitting identification information of the lighting fixture itself, and the lighting control device includes receiving means for receiving the identification information; User interface means for displaying a list of the lighting fixtures identified by the identification information and performing group registration processing for each of the displayed lighting fixtures.

With this configuration, the lighting system according to the present invention can control the lighting fixtures simply by group-registering the desired lighting fixtures among the lighting fixtures whose identification information has been received. (2) In addition, the user interface means instructs the user to identify any of the displayed lighting fixtures from other lighting fixtures, and the lighting control device: Control may be performed so that the lighting fixture for which the identification operation instruction with the other lighting fixture has been issued performs the identification operation with the other lighting fixture.

(3) Further, the identification operation with the other lighting fixture may be one of blinking, turning on, and turning off.

With this configuration, the user can determine whether or not to include the lighting fixture LFn in the group after confirming the installation location of the lighting fixture, which is highly convenient for the user.

(4) Further, the user interface means may include a check box for designating lighting fixtures to be included in a group, and the lighting fixtures with the checked check box may be registered in the group.

With this configuration, the user can register desired lighting fixtures in a group simply by checking a check box, so group registration is easy and the time required for installation settings at the time of introduction can be shortened. The user interface means has an area indicating the group, and the listed lighting fixtures to be included in the group can be registered in the group by dragging and dropping them into the area indicating the group. good.

With this configuration, the user can include desired lighting fixtures in the group with a simple operation.

(6) Further, the user interface means may display the distance between each of the listed lighting fixtures and the lighting control device.

With this configuration, processing such as group registration can be performed from lighting fixtures that are located close to each other, so that the user can work efficiently.

(7) Further, when transmitting the identification information, the transmission means may transmit the identification information in a beacon, and the reception means may receive the beacon including the identification information.

With this configuration, identification information can be transmitted from the lighting fixture to the control system based on existing communication specifications defined for beacons.

(8) Moreover, it is good also as providing the smart phone provided with the said user interface means.

With this configuration, a commercially available smartphone can be used as the user interface means by, for example, downloading an application capable of displaying a user interface to the smartphone.

1 lighting system 2 lighting control device 5 gateway 6 smartphone 41 light source unit 43 circuit unit 44 WM unit 44a wireless communication unit 44b control unit 51 wireless communication unit 52 wired communication unit 53 control unit 54 ROM54
61 control unit 62 ROM
63 RAM
64 wireless communication unit 65 touch panel 100 group registration UI
150 Group information list 150a Group identification information 150b Group name information 200 Lighting fixture information list 201a Fixture name information 201b Identification information 201c Distance information 201d Lighting information 201e Dimming rate information 201f Group identification information AOF All light-off button AON All light-up button CB Cancel button CS Cursor GB1, GB2, GB3 Group display button GR1, GR2, GR3 Group area IB Group input field KB Software keyboard LB1, LB3, LB5, LB14 Control buttons LF1 to LF40 Lighting equipment MB1, MB3, MB5, MB14 Control button PA1 , PA2, PA3 Group control panel PA1a Group name PA1b ON/OFF button PA1cB Dimming rate bar image PA1cR Dimming rate range image PA1d Dimming rate display image SB Save button 100, 400, 500 Group registration UI
130, 150 Group control UI

Claims (4)

a plurality of lighting fixtures; and a lighting control device for instructing the same lighting control to the lighting fixtures for each group composed of at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the plurality of lighting fixtures constitute a mesh network. A lighting system,
The lighting control device
Displaying a button for displaying at least part of the plurality of lighting fixtures and a button for displaying the group name of the group on one screen in order to select the plurality of lighting fixtures to be included in the group;
The buttons for displaying the lighting fixtures are displayed in descending order of distance from the lighting control device based on the reception strength of radio waves received by the lighting control device from the lighting fixtures,
The lighting system, wherein a lighting fixture to be included in the group can be selected by associating a button displaying the lighting fixture with a button displaying the group name. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the button for displaying the lighting fixture displays the distance to the lighting control device. A lighting control device for instructing the same lighting control to the lighting fixtures for each group composed of at least one of a plurality of lighting fixtures forming a mesh network,
The lighting control device
Displaying a button for displaying at least part of the plurality of lighting fixtures and a button for displaying the group name of the group on one screen in order to select the plurality of lighting fixtures to be included in the group;
The buttons for displaying the lighting fixtures are displayed in descending order of distance from the lighting control device based on the reception strength of radio waves received by the lighting control device from the lighting fixtures,
The lighting control device is capable of selecting lighting fixtures to be included in the group by associating a button displaying the lighting fixture with a button displaying the group name. The lighting control device according to claim 3, wherein the button for displaying the lighting fixture displays a distance from the lighting control device.

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