JP5230301B2 - Load control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a load control system that receives a signal transmitted by radio waves from a transmitter by a receiver and controls a load according to the signal.

  In recent years, a load control configured to receive a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter by a switch disposed on a construction surface such as a wall surface, and perform an opening / closing operation of a lighting device or the like based on the signal received by the switch. A system is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a load control system, by using wireless communication, for example, a highly functional switch can be replaced with an existing switch without performing wiring work with other parts of the load control system. Or it can newly arrange | position easily.

  In such a load control system using wireless communication, depending on the application, transmitting and receiving signals between the transmitter and the switch by wireless communication using radio waves is more effective than transmitting and receiving signals using infrared light. It may be desirable. This is because wireless communication has advantages such as a wider transmitter area that allows signals to be transmitted to the switch due to radio wave transmission and diffraction than with infrared light. . However, even in the case of wireless communication using such radio waves, communication may not be performed properly between the transmitter and the switch. In this case, for example, even if the user operates the transmitter, the user's intention As you can see, the load is no longer opened or closed.

Such a problem may occur due to, for example, fading or external noise. In other words, if fading occurs due to the occurrence of reflected waves in the radio propagation path according to the positional relationship between the transmitter and the switch, the position of obstacles, etc. around it, the intensity of the radio wave reaching the switch is reduced This makes it difficult to receive the signal transmitted from the transmitter. In addition, when an electronic device that emits radio waves that become noise in the same frequency band as the channel that communicates between the transmitter and the switch is near the switch, the signal transmitted from the transmitter due to the influence of the noise It becomes difficult to receive. In such a case, in order to enable communication, for example, it is conceivable to increase the antenna power. However, if the antenna power is changed, there is a problem that power consumption increases. In addition, the user can change the magnitude of the antenna power of the transmitter by switching a changeover switch or the like, but in this case, there is a problem that the burden on the user for changing the setting increases. Arise.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-261767

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is possible to easily and surely open and close a load in an environment where external noise is present or fading occurs. An object of the present invention is to provide a load control system having a small size.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 has a transmitter for transmitting a signal by radio waves and a function for receiving radio waves, and is connected to a load to control at least on / off of the load. In the load control system including the receiver, the transmitter includes an antenna, a radio transmission circuit unit that transmits a signal from the antenna, and trigger detection means that outputs a trigger signal when a predetermined state is detected And a load state detecting means for detecting a change in environment due to the load, and a control unit for controlling the wireless transmission circuit unit based on the trigger signal and transmitting a predetermined signal, wherein the receiver includes an antenna A radio reception circuit unit that receives radio waves and extracts signals using the antenna, a load control circuit unit that opens and closes a power supply path from a power source to the load, and a radio reception circuit unit that receives the signal. A control unit that controls the operation of the load control circuit in response to the received signal, and configured to operate the load in response to a trigger signal output from the trigger detection unit. The antenna is configured to be able to transmit a signal from the antenna by switching a plurality of transmission modes having different antenna powers output to the antenna, and when a trigger signal is output from the trigger detection means, When a predetermined signal is transmitted in a predetermined transmission mode, and a change in environment due to the load is not detected by the load state detection means within a predetermined time, a signal is transmitted at least immediately before the plurality of transmission modes. The predetermined signal is transmitted in a transmission mode that is different from the transmitted transmission mode, and the load state detection means detects the environment caused by the load. Of repeats these operations until the detection, when the output trigger signal from the trigger detection unit performs transmission of the predetermined signal by using a transmission mode that attempts to send the predetermined signal to the preceding, When a predetermined period longer than the predetermined time has elapsed since the last transmission of the predetermined signal, and when the predetermined signal is transmitted after that, the transmission mode with the lowest antenna power is used. This signal is transmitted .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a trigger signal is output, a predetermined signal is transmitted. After that, when a change in the environment due to a load is not detected within a predetermined time, for example, communication is performed due to the influence of external noise or fading. If it fails, signal transmission is performed in a transmission mode in which the antenna power is different from that at the previous transmission. Therefore, the possibility of communication failure can be reduced without requiring the user to change the radio channel, and the load can be opened and closed easily and reliably. Moreover, since signal transmission is not always performed in the transmission mode with a high antenna power, the power consumption of the transmitter can be kept small.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a lighting control system as an example of a load control system according to the present embodiment. The lighting control system 1 includes a lighting device 150 as a load, a remote controller (transmitter; hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 151 that transmits a radio signal by radio waves, a power source (see FIG. 2) 50 that is, for example, a commercial AC power source, and a lighting device. A switch (receiver) 152 and the like are connected in series to 150 via an electric wire.

  The remote controller 151 is provided with a human sensor (trigger detection means) 151a for detecting the presence or absence of a human body H in a predetermined area, an illuminance sensor (load state detection means) 151b for measuring ambient illuminance, and the like. The switch 152 turns on or off the illumination device 150 in accordance with a radio signal transmitted from the remote controller 151 as will be described later. That is, the lighting control system 1 employs a unidirectional communication method from the remote controller 151 to the switch 152. Here, in the present embodiment, the illumination device 150 made of an incandescent lamp is exemplified as the load. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other illumination devices such as a fluorescent lamp and a fluorescent lamp electronic ballast, as well as illumination. It may be a load other than the device. The switch 152 has an operation handle that can be operated by the user from the outside, for example, and the user directly operates the operation handle in addition to the operation of the operation button 151a of the remote controller 151, whereby the illumination device 150 is operated. May be configured to be turned on or off.

  FIG. 2 shows a block configuration of the remote controller 151 and the switch 152. In addition to the human sensor 151a and the illuminance sensor 151b, the remote controller 151 includes an antenna 11, a wireless transmission circuit unit 12 that transmits a signal from the antenna 11, a control unit 13 that controls the operation of the remote controller 151, and electric circuits thereof. The battery 14 etc. which supply electric power to are provided. The remote controller 151 is configured in a box shape in which each unit is housed in a housing, for example.

  The human sensor 151a detects, for example, the presence or absence of the human body H in a predetermined area by detecting thermal radiation radiated from the human body H. When the human body H is detected, a human body detection signal (trigger signal) is detected. Is sent to the control unit 13. The illuminance sensor 151b is composed of, for example, a photodiode, and detects a change in illuminance due to the lighting operation or extinguishing operation of the lighting device 150, and sends the detected change in illuminance to the control unit 13 as an environment change signal.

  The control unit 13 is configured by a microcomputer or the like, and controls the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 and the like. When a human body detection signal is input, or after that, an environment change signal is input within a predetermined period as described later. When not, a lighting signal for lighting the lighting device 150 is generated. When a lighting signal or the like is input from the control unit 13, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 modulates and amplifies the lighting signal or the like, and transmits the signal as a radio wave of a wireless channel (hereinafter referred to as a channel) having a predetermined frequency from the antenna 11. To do. Thus, the remote controller 151 transmits the lighting signal superimposed on the carrier wave based on the human body detection signal output from the human sensor 151a.

  The switch 152 is connected to the lighting device 150 connected to the lighting device 150, for example, the antenna 21 such as a loop antenna, the wireless reception circuit unit 22 that receives radio waves by the antenna 21, the control unit 23 that controls the operation of the switch 152. A load control circuit unit 24 that opens and closes the power supply path and a power supply circuit 25 that supplies power to the lighting device 150 from a power supply 50 of 100 V, for example, are provided. The switch 152 is formed in a two-module size of a wide handle type continuous switch (see JIS C 8304) having, for example, a rectangular box-shaped body made of synthetic resin, and is attached to a mounting frame or the like conforming to the standard. And placed in a switch box embedded in the wall surface. Note that the switch 152 is not limited to the one embedded in the wall surface as described above, and may be attached to, for example, a wall surface or a ceiling.

  Based on the control of the control unit 23, the radio reception circuit unit 22 receives radio waves of a channel having a predetermined frequency. The load control circuit unit 24 includes a switching element (for example, a triac) that opens and closes a power supply path from the power supply circuit 25 to the lighting device 150. The control unit 23 is configured by a microcomputer or the like, and performs switching control of the switching element of the load control circuit unit 24 in accordance with the signal received by the wireless reception circuit unit 22. For example, when the lighting signal is received by the wireless reception circuit unit 22, the control unit 23 performs switching control for switching between a state where power is supplied to the lighting device 150 and a state where power is not supplied. The power supply circuit 25 supplies operating power to the control unit 23 and the like. In the switch 152, when the load control circuit unit 24 opens a power supply path to the lighting device 150, the power supply circuit 25 charges the capacitor to generate an operating power supply for the switch 152. On the other hand, when the load control circuit unit 24 closes the power supply path from the power supply circuit 25 to the lighting device 150, the power supply path is periodically set for a predetermined time within a range that does not affect the lighting state of the lighting device 150. The capacitor is opened and charged to the capacitor, and when closed outside a predetermined time, the capacitor is discharged to generate an operating power supply. Thereby, the switch 152 can connect the power supply circuit 25 and the illumination device 150 in series by two lines. Since this type of power supply circuit 25 is conventionally known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-357443, etc.), illustration and description of a detailed configuration and operation are omitted. The configuration of the power supply circuit 25 is not limited to this, and power may be constantly supplied from the power supply 50 to the switch 152.

  In the lighting control system 1, when the human sensor 151a of the remote controller 151 detects the human body H, the control unit 23 of the switch 152 turns on the power supply to the lighting device 150, and then a certain time has elapsed (for example, 1 minute has elapsed). After) The power supply to the lighting device 150 is turned off. That is, when the human body H is detected by the human sensor 151a and a lighting signal is transmitted from the remote controller 151, the switching element of the load control circuit unit 24 is switched by the control of the control unit 23 of the switch 152, and the lighting device 150 Lights up. Thereby, the user can switch the illuminating device 150 to a lighting state by being located in a predetermined area.

  Here, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is configured to be able to transmit a signal from the antenna 11 by switching, for example, three transmission modes having different antenna powers output to the antenna 11. The transmission mode is, for example, transmission with standard antenna power of a predetermined magnitude, output with antenna power greater than the predetermined magnitude, and output with antenna power smaller than the predetermined magnitude. be able to. Note that the magnitude of the antenna power in each of the three transmission modes may be arbitrarily set in consideration of the planned use location of the remote controller 151, the distance from the switch 152, the power consumption, and the like.

  For example, based on the control of the control unit 13, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 transmits a signal by selecting one of three transmission modes after a human body detection signal is transmitted from the human sensor 151a ( Hereinafter, signal transmission processing) is performed. In this signal transmission process, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 includes a control unit when the illuminance sensor 151b does not detect a change in illuminance within a predetermined time (for example, within 1 second) after the human sensor 151a detects the human body H. The transmission mode for transmitting a signal is changed based on the control of No. 13.

  The controller 13 can detect the presence / absence of the operation of the lighting device 150 based on whether or not an environment change signal is input from the illuminance sensor 151b. That is, when the environment change signal is not input from the illuminance sensor 151b, the control unit 13 determines that the lighting device 150 is not lit. Note that the signal transmission processing is performed depending on, for example, when the incandescent lamp of the lighting device 150 is burned out after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 transmitted the first signal. The process ends when no change in illuminance is detected by the sensor 151b. The signal transmission process is also terminated when a change in illuminance is detected by the illuminance sensor 151b within a predetermined time after the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 transmits the signal.

  Hereinafter, an operation mode of the transmission mode changing operation in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of the operation mode of the transmission mode changing operation. The operation example shown in the figure is a case where the illuminance change is not detected by the illuminance sensor 151b within a predetermined time after the human body H is detected in the predetermined area by the human sensor 151a. The case where 3 times have passed is shown. Here, the transmission timing of the signal transmitted from the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 by transmission of the human body detection signal by the human sensor 151a is indicated as “# 1”, and the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is transmitted after each predetermined time thereafter. The transmission timings of the signals transmitted from are indicated as “# 2” to “# 4”, respectively.

  When a change in illuminance is not detected by the illuminance sensor 151b within a predetermined time, the control unit 13 causes the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 to sequentially switch the three channels and transmit a signal. That is, first, when a human body detection signal is transmitted by the human sensor 151a (# 1), as shown in the figure, the control unit 13 generates a lighting signal and sets the transmission mode, for example, the lowest antenna power. In the first transmission mode (PWR1), the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission in the first transmission mode and starts signal transmission processing. In the signal transmission process, when no change in illuminance is detected by the illuminance sensor 151b within a predetermined time (# 2), the control unit 13 performs the first transmission unlike the first transmission mode in which the signal is transmitted immediately before. The transmission mode is switched so that transmission is performed in the second transmission mode (PWR2) in which the antenna power is small next to the mode. Accordingly, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission in the second transmission mode.

  Thereafter, in the signal transmission process, when a change in illuminance is not detected by the illuminance sensor 151b within a predetermined time (# 3), similarly, a third transmission mode different from the second transmission mode in which the signal is transmitted immediately before (# 3) Signal transmission is performed in PWR3). Furthermore, after that, in the signal transmission process, when no change in illuminance is detected by the illuminance sensor 151b within a predetermined time (# 4), the control unit 13 performs the first transmission every time a predetermined time elapses from # 4. The transmission mode is changed in the order of mode, second transmission mode, third transmission mode, etc., and signals are transmitted with different antenna powers.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when a human body detection signal is output from the human sensor 151a in the signal transmission process, the remote controller 151 transmits a predetermined signal, and then the illuminance sensor 151b within the predetermined time passes the illuminance. Detect changes in At this time, when a change in illuminance is not detected within a predetermined time, the three transmission modes are switched each time, and signal transmission is performed with an antenna power different from the antenna power when the previous signal was transmitted. Therefore, even if communication fails due to fading or the like during the previous transmission, the antenna 21 of the switch 152 has a lower reflected wave or carrier strength than the previous transmission, so the possibility of communication failure can be reduced. . In addition, even if communication fails due to the influence of external noise at the previous transmission, the antenna 21 of the switch 152 has a lower carrier wave strength than that at the previous transmission, so the possibility of communication failure can be reduced. Furthermore, since it is not always necessary to transmit with a large antenna power, the power consumption of the remote controller 151 can be reduced compared to a remote controller that always transmits signals with a large antenna power. In particular, in this embodiment, since the transmission mode is changed so that the antenna power increases in order, these effects can be obtained more remarkably. Further, for example, when communication fails and the lighting device 150 does not turn on, the signal transmission can be performed by changing the transmission mode without requiring the user to change the wireless channel. There is no need for troublesome work such as changing the setting, and the lighting device 150 can be turned on easily and reliably.

  In the present embodiment, the number of transmission modes is not limited to three, and may be two or four or more. FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation mode of the transmission mode changing operation when signals can be transmitted and received in n or more transmission modes (PWR1, PWR2,... PWRn). At this time, a change in illuminance is not detected by the illuminance sensor 151b from when the human body detection signal is transmitted by the human sensor 151a (# 1) until the predetermined time n-1 times thereafter (#n). Then, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 first performs signal transmission in the first transmission mode at # 1.

  Thereafter, every time a predetermined time has elapsed, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 changes the antenna power in the order of the second transmission mode, the third mode,. , Perform signal transmission. After that, the signal transmission process is terminated due to a change in illuminance, and when the signal transmission process is newly started at # n + 1, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 controls the control unit 13. Based on this, signal transmission is performed in the first transmission mode. Even when the number of channels is large in this way, the channels can be automatically changed and communication can be performed reliably. In the above-described embodiment, the channel change mode is not limited to the signal transmission process that is always changed in the same order.

  Next, an illumination control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the embodiment described below, each component of the illumination device 150, the remote controller 151, and the switch 152 is the same as that in the first embodiment described above, and will be described with the same reference numerals. In the second embodiment, the transmission mode changing operation of the remote controller 151 performed by the control unit 13 and the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is different from the above-described first embodiment.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation mode of the transmission mode changing operation of the remote controller 151 in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 detects the human body by the human sensor 151a in the signal transmission process based on the control of the control unit 13 in addition to the transmission mode changing operation similar to the first embodiment. When the signal is transmitted, signal transmission is performed in the transmission mode in which the previous communication was successful.

  In other words, for example, in the previous signal transmission process, after signal transmission is performed in the first transmission mode, the illuminance sensor 151b detects a change in illuminance, and the signal transmission process ends. Then, as shown in the figure, when the first signal transmission of a new signal transmission process is performed (# 1), the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission using the first transmission mode.

  Thereafter, in the signal transmission process, when the illuminance sensor 151b does not detect a change in illuminance within a predetermined time, a second signal transmission is performed (# 2). At this time, the transmission mode is changed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above, and the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission in the second transmission mode, and then the illuminance sensor 151b detects the change in illuminance, and the signal It is assumed that the transmission process has been completed. Thereafter, when the first signal transmission of another new signal transmission process is performed (# 3), the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission at the end of the previous signal transmission process under the control of the control unit 13. Signal transmission is performed in the second transmission mode.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when signal transmission processing is performed, signal transmission is performed in a transmission mode in which communication is considered to be successful at the end. Therefore, for example, as compared with a case where transmission is always performed in the same transmission mode. Therefore, the possibility of communication failure can be reduced, and communication can be performed more reliably.

  Here, in the second embodiment, for example, when a predetermined period of several days to several weeks has elapsed since the last signal transmission, when performing signal transmission thereafter, the signal is transmitted in the transmission mode with the lowest antenna power. You may comprise so that transmission may be performed. As a result, it is possible to reliably communicate while reducing power consumption of the remote controller 151 more reliably.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible suitably in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, when the human sensor 151 a of the remote controller 151 detects the human body H, the control unit 23 of the switch 152 may turn off the power supply to the lighting device 150. For example, instead of the human sensor 151a, an illuminance sensor for the purpose of detecting the darkness may be provided. In this case, for example, when the indoor illuminance falls below a predetermined illuminance, the illuminance sensor sends a trigger signal corresponding to the human body detection signal to the control unit 13 to start the signal transmission process. May be.

  In addition to the lighting control system that controls on / off of the lighting device as described above, the present invention provides an air conditioning system, a hot water supply system, or a transmitter that turns on / off the operation according to a signal transmitted from the transmitter. It can also be used in a load control system used for other purposes, such as a security system that receives a predetermined signal transmitted from the terminal and performs a notification operation. That is, in a transmitter used for remote control by transmitting a signal instructing the operation of the load control system by radio waves, the transmission mode is automatically changed in the manner as described above, and the signal is transmitted. By configuring to transmit, it is possible to prevent a communication failure and easily and reliably control the load even in an environment with external noise and fading.

The figure which shows an example of the illumination control system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the remote control and switch of the said illumination control system. The figure which shows an example of the signal transmission aspect of the said remote control. The figure which shows the modification of the signal transmission aspect of the said remote control. The figure which shows an example of the signal transmission aspect of the remote control of the illumination control system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

1 Lighting control system (load control system)
11 (transmitter) antenna 12 wireless transmission circuit unit 13 (transmitter) control unit 21 (receiver) antenna 22 radio reception circuit unit 23 (receiver) control unit 24 load control circuit unit 25 power supply circuit 150 illumination Equipment (load)
151 Remote controller (transmitter)
151a Human sensor (trigger detection means)
151b Illuminance sensor (load state detection means)
152 switch (receiver)

Claims (1)

In a load control system having a transmitter for transmitting a signal by radio waves, and a receiver having a function of receiving radio waves and having a control function connected to a load and controlling at least on / off of the load,
The transmitter includes an antenna, a radio transmission circuit unit that transmits a signal from the antenna, trigger detection means that outputs a trigger signal when a predetermined state is detected, and a load state that detects a change in environment due to the load A detection unit; and a control unit that controls the wireless transmission circuit unit based on the trigger signal and transmits a predetermined signal;
The receiver includes an antenna, a radio reception circuit unit that receives a radio wave using the antenna and extracts a signal, a load control circuit unit that opens and closes a power feeding path from a power source to the load, and the radio reception circuit unit A control unit for controlling the operation of the load control circuit according to the received signal,
The load is configured to operate according to a trigger signal output from the trigger detection means,
The wireless transmission circuit unit includes:
The antenna power output to the antenna is configured to be able to transmit a signal from the antenna by switching a plurality of transmission modes different from each other,
When a trigger signal is output from the trigger detection means, a predetermined signal is transmitted in a predetermined transmission mode among the plurality of transmission modes, and then the load state detection means changes the environment due to the load within a predetermined time. Is not detected, the predetermined signal is transmitted in a transmission mode different from at least the transmission mode in which the signal was transmitted immediately before the plurality of transmission modes, and the load state detection means detects the environmental condition caused by the load. Repeat these actions until a change is detected ,
When a trigger signal is output from the trigger detection means, the predetermined signal is transmitted using a transmission mode in which the predetermined signal was transmitted last time,
When a predetermined period longer than the predetermined time has elapsed since the last transmission of the predetermined signal, and when the predetermined signal is transmitted after that, the transmission mode with the lowest antenna power is used. The load control system characterized by transmitting the signal .

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