JP7091496B2 - Lighting system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lighting system, and more particularly to a technique for controlling a lighting fixture by wireless communication.

Patent Document 1 discloses a lighting system that controls a plurality of lighting fixtures by 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 storage area of each luminaire at the time of manufacture. Here, when introducing a lighting system, when each lighting fixture is installed in an installation place such as a ceiling, the installer installs each lighting fixture without distinguishing them. Therefore, at the time of completion of the installation, it is not possible to specify at which position on the ceiling the lighting fixture having which identification information is installed. Therefore, as a part of the initial installation setting at the time of introducing the lighting system, the user performs the associating process between the lighting equipment and the installation position by using a terminal device such as a tablet device.

The tablet device holds in advance a lighting distribution diagram that symbolizes the location of the lighting equipment. Then, the tablet device receives the identification information of each luminaire by wireless communication. The tablet device has a touch panel, and displays a user interface on which a lighting distribution diagram and a button on which received identification information is displayed are displayed on the touch panel. When this button is touched, the tablet device sends a lighting instruction to the lighting fixture having the identification information written on the button, and the lighting fixture is turned on.

In the lighting distribution diagram displayed on the tablet device, the user drags and drops a button containing the lit lighting fixture identification information on the symbol representing the lit lighting fixture, and the user drags and drops the lighting fixture identification information and the placement location. And associate with.

International Publication No. 2014/203537

However, in the above-mentioned lighting system, when the user associates the identification information of the lighting fixture with the arrangement location in the lighting distribution diagram, it takes time to make the correspondence when the number of lighting fixtures becomes large. There's a problem.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting system using wireless communication, which can shorten the time required for installation setting at the time of introduction.

In order to solve the above problems, the lighting system according to the present invention is a lighting control device that instructs the lighting fixtures to perform the same lighting control for each group composed of a plurality of lighting fixtures and at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures. Each of the plurality of luminaires includes a transmission means for transmitting the identification information of the luminaire, and the lighting control device has a receiving means for receiving the identification information and the receiving means for receiving the identification information. A user interface means for displaying a list of the luminaires identified by the identification information and performing a group registration process for each of the displayed luminaires is provided.

With the above configuration, the lighting system according to the present invention can control the lighting equipment only by registering a desired one among the lighting equipments for which the identification information can be received as a group. The time required can be shortened

The figure which shows the structure of the lighting system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Block diagram showing the configuration of lighting fixtures included in a lighting system Block diagram showing the configuration of the gateway included in the lighting system Block diagram showing the configuration of smartphones included in the lighting system (A) A diagram showing a group information list, (b) A diagram showing a lighting fixture information list (A) Figure showing the group registration UI, (b) Figure showing the group registration UI (when entering the group name) (A) Figure showing the group registration UI (when the toggle switch is touched), (b) Figure showing the group registration UI (check box is checked) Diagram representing the group control UI Flowchart showing the flow of the group registration process of lighting equipment Flowchart showing the flow of the lighting fixture information list creation process Flowchart showing the flow of group information creation process Flow chart showing the flow of identification information-group mapping process Flowchart showing the flow of group control processing The figure which shows the group registration UI which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the group registration UI which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the lighting system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1.1. Overview>
As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes 40 lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 and a lighting control device 2. Each of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 holds identification information inside, and is uniquely identified by this identification information. The lighting control device 2 is a system for controlling operations such as turning on, turning off, and changing the dimming rate of the light source by the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40. The lighting control device 2 is a smartphone 6 as an example of an information terminal device used for instructing an operation requested by a user to the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40, and the lighting fixture LF1 according to a user input performed by the user to the smartphone 6. A gateway 5 for transmitting an operation instruction is provided to at least one of the LF 40s. The lighting control device 2 does not necessarily have to be composed of a plurality of devices such as the smartphone 6 and the gateway 5, and among the functions of the smartphone 6 and the gateway 5, the operation of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 is controlled. It may be configured by one lighting control device having a necessary function, or may be configured by more devices.

The lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40, the gateway 5, and the smartphone 6 communicate with each other wirelessly. The dotted arrow in FIG. 1 schematically shows wireless communication. Wireless communication is based on, but is not limited to, the Bluetooth® Low Energy (hereinafter referred to as “BLE”) specification. The gateway 5 and the luminaires LF1 to LF40 are particularly connected to each other in a one-to-many or many-to-many manner to form a mesh network. The gateway 5 can directly or indirectly transmit an operation instruction to any of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 through the mesh network.

The same communication specifications may be used for communication between the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40, the gateway 5, and the smartphone 6, or a plurality of communication specifications may be used. Further, the lighting control device 2 does not necessarily have to be composed of the gateway 5 and the smartphone 6, and it is sufficient if the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 can be controlled. The lighting control device 2 may be configured by, for example, a single device, or may be configured by a device different from the gateway 5 and the smartphone 6 such as a tablet terminal device and a personal computer, or may be configured by three or more devices. It may be that. The number of lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 is not limited to 40, but may be changed as appropriate.

The lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 include an LED (Light Emitting Diode) as an example of a light source, and have a function of performing an operation indicated by an operation instruction received from the gateway 5. The lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 are installed separately in three places, a conference room, a living room, and a corridor, as an example of the installation place. Here, the lighting fixtures installed at the same installation location are controlled so as to perform the same operation all at once as a group. Hereinafter, the group consisting of the lighting fixtures installed in the meeting room is referred to as the "meeting room group", and the group consisting of the lighting fixtures installed in the living room is referred to as the "living room group". The constituent groups are called "corridor groups".

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 introduced. Since the contractor installs the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 without distinguishing them, it becomes impossible to specify which identification information the lighting fixture has in which group in the lighting system 1 immediately after the installation is completed. There is.

Therefore, in order to control the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 for each group according to the installation location, the identification information of the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40, more specifically, the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 is according to the installation location. Processing to associate with the group is required.

The lighting system 1 is a system that makes it possible to associate a group with identification information by a simple procedure. Hereinafter, each configuration of the lighting system 1 will be described in more detail.

<1.2. Configuration>
<1.2.1. Lighting equipment LFn>
As shown in FIG. 2, the luminaire LFn (n represents any of 1 to 40) includes a light source unit 41, a circuit unit 43, and a wireless module (hereinafter referred to as “WM”) unit 44.

The light source unit 41 includes a light source composed of LEDs and a light source board which is a circuit board on which the light sources are arranged. It should be noted that the light source only needs to function as a light source for lighting, and may be configured by other than an LED such as an organic EL (Electroluminescence) device. The light source unit 41 performs operations such as turning on / off the light source, changing the dimming rate, and adjusting the color based on the input control signal.

The circuit unit 43 includes a socket for mounting the WM unit 44, and supplies a direct current to the light source unit 41 according to the signal received from the WM unit 44.

The WM unit 44 is a module that performs wireless communication that can be attached to and detached from the socket of the WM unit 44. It is assumed that the WM unit 44 can perform wireless communication according to a plurality of communication specifications, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a dedicated WM unit 44 is prepared for each different communication specification, and the WM unit 44 corresponding to the communication protocol to be used is provided. 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 transmission means for transmitting information and a receiving means for receiving information. The wireless communication unit 44a holds the Media Access Control address (hereinafter referred to as “MAC address”) as an example of the identification information. The MAC address is also used as an address for wireless communication. In the following, the value of the MAC address of the luminaire LFn may be expressed as "LID_n".

It should be noted that LID_n is actually a 48-bit number, and there are provisions such as a manufacturer-specific number being assigned 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 uniquely assigned to the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40.

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

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, and decreasing the dimming rate, the circuit unit 43 sends a control signal for performing the operation indicated by the operation instruction. It is output to the light source unit 41 via the light source unit 41. Further, when the operation instruction is a transmission instruction of a beacon which is a signal for having another device recognize the identification information of the own device, the wireless communication unit 44a is provided with a beacon containing the identification information of the own device. Instruct to make a call at time intervals. If the operation instruction is a beacon stop instruction, the beacon transmission is stopped.

<1.2.2. Gateway 5>
As shown in FIG. 3, the gateway 5 includes a wireless communication unit 51, a wired communication unit 52, a control unit 53, a ROM 54, and a RAM 55.

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

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) or the like. For example, when a plurality of gateways 5 operate in cooperation with each other, the plurality of gateways 5 are connected by wire. The wired communication unit 52 exchanges necessary information with another gateway 5 by using wired communication. If the wired communication is not performed, the wired communication unit 52 can be omitted.

The ROM 54 is a non-volatile memory that stores a lighting control program or the like that operates the control unit 53. The ROM 54 holds a group information list and a lighting fixture 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 in which the lighting control program stored in the ROM 54 is loaded.

The control unit 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 control unit 53 executing a lighting control program loaded from the ROM 54 and stored in the RAM 55.

<12.3. Smartphone 6>
The smartphone 6 has a rectangular plate-like appearance as shown in FIG. 1, and is a portable information terminal device in which a touch panel 65 is 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 gives an instruction of the operation requested by the user based on the contents of the UI displayed on the touch panel 65, the touch to the touch panel 65 performed by the user, and the gesture input (hereinafter referred to as "user input"). It is determined and a control request based on the user input is transmitted to the gateway 5. When the gateway 5 receives a control request from the smartphone 6, the gateway 5 transmits an operation instruction to the lighting fixtures LF1 to LF40 based on the control request. As shown in FIG. 4, the smartphone 6 includes a control unit 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, a wireless communication unit 64, and a touch panel 65.

The ROM 62 is composed of a flash memory or the like, and holds various data such as an application, a program, and a UI. The ROM 62 holds a reception strength-distance conversion table as an example of data. The reception intensity-distance conversion table shows the reception intensity of the radio wave received by the smartphone 6 from the luminaire LFn and the approximate distance between the luminaire LFn and the smartphone 6 in the case of the reception intensity (unit is an example). Represents the correspondence with the distance information indicating meters). The relationship between the reception strength and the distance information in the reception strength-distance conversion table shall be derived in advance by actual measurement or simulation.

The RAM 63 is a storage device in which the lighting control program stored in the ROM 62 is loaded.

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

The control unit 61 includes a CPU. Each function of the smartphone 6 is realized by the control unit 61 executing a lighting control program loaded from the ROM 62 and stored in the RAM 63. The control unit 61 identifies the content of the user instruction based on the UI displayed on the touch panel 65 and the user input notified from the touch panel 65, and executes the process 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. Further, the wireless communication unit 64 has a function of measuring the reception intensity (RSSI) of the received radio wave.

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

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

<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 a group identification information that uniquely identifies a group and a group name information indicating a group name are associated with each other. One row of the group information list 150 is one group information. As an example, the first row of the group information list 150 shows group information in which the group identification information 150a is "1" and the group name information 150b is a "meeting room".

(2) Lighting equipment information list 200
The lighting fixture information list 200 is a set of lighting fixture information showing information about the lighting fixture LFn for which the smartphone 6 could receive the beacon. In the lighting fixture information list 200, as shown in FIG. 5B as an example, one line is one lighting fixture information. The luminaire 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 the fixture name information, the second column is the identification information, the third column is the distance information, the fourth column is the lighting information, and the fifth column is the adjustment. The light rate information, and the sixth column is the group information.

The fixture name information represents a name given by the user to the lighting fixture LFn. The default device name information is "untitled". The user can set a desired name as the device name information by using a separate UI for setting a name or the like. By using the fixture name information, the user can easily distinguish the lighting fixture LFn, which is difficult to perform by using the identification information which is a sequence of numbers, symbols, and the like.

The identification information is the identification information possessed by the luminaire LFn represented by the luminaire 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 fixture LFn is approximately 1 m (meter).

The lighting information indicates whether the lighting fixture LFn is currently in the lighting state or in the extinguishing state. When it is in the lit state, it is "On", and when it is in the off state, it is "Off".

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

The group identification information is the group identification information of the group including the luminaire LFn. As the group information of the lighting fixture information list 200, the group identification information in the group information list 150 is described. The luminaire information in the luminaire information list 200 is associated with the group information in the group information list 150 in which the group identification information has the same value. The initial value of the group identification information is "0" indicating that there is no group to which the group identification information belongs.

As an example of the lighting fixture information list 200, in the first row of FIG. 5B, the identification information 201b is information about the lighting fixture LF1 of "LID_1", the fixture name information 201a is "untitled", and the distance information. The 201c is "1", the lighting information 201d is "On", the dimming rate information 201e is "100", and the group identification information 201f is "1".

<1.3.2. UI>
The smartphone 6 includes a "group control UI" for the user to control the luminaire in group units, and a "group registration UI 100" for setting the relationship between the luminaire and the group in advance prior to the control.

(1) Group registration UI100
The group registration UI 100 is a UI for group registration displayed when the user input indicating that the smartphone 6 selects the start of group creation from the menu showing the operation selectable by the user is input to the touch panel 65. As shown in FIG. 6A, the group registration UI 100 includes a group input 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 the group name. When the user inputs the 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 a character input position in the group input field IB, for example, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), and software used for the user to input characters. Display the keyboard KB.

The software keyboard KB is a software keyboard provided with a plurality of key images representing characters, numbers, symbols, etc. When the user touches the key images, the smartphone 6 inputs characters, numbers, symbols, etc. corresponding to the key images. Recognize that it was done.

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

The control button LBn is a button used to register the luminaire LF in the group. One control button LBn corresponds to one luminaire LFn. The control button LBn is 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 for which the smartphone 6 could receive the beacon. The information displayed on the predetermined button in the control button LBn is the information described in the luminaire information in which the identification information in the luminaire information list 200 is "LID_n".

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

The ID display unit LBna displays "LID_n" which is identification information of the target lighting fixture LFn controlled by using the control button LBn.

The name display unit LBnb displays the name of the target lighting fixture LFn controlled by using the control button LBn. The displayed content is the fixture name information of the lighting fixture information in which the identification information in the lighting fixture information list 200 is "LID_n".

The distance display unit LBnc displays the approximate distance between the lighting fixture LFn and the smartphone 6. The displayed distance is the distance information of the lighting equipment information in which the identification information in the lighting equipment information list 200 is "LID_n". The distance display unit LBnc of the group registration UI 100 displays "[distance information] within m". If the distance information is 1, "within 1 m" is displayed. m represents a meter.

The check box LBnd is a check box used for selecting whether or not to include the luminaire LFn controlled by the control button LBn in the group identified by the group name input 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 marks the center of the rectangle shown in FIG. 7 (b) from the simple rectangular image shown in FIG. 6 (a). Changes to the image (checked), indicating that it has been selected to be included in the group.

Here, the area other than the area where the check box LBnd of the control button LBn is displayed blinks as an example in order to identify the lighting equipment LFn to be determined whether to include it in the group (other lighting equipment is turned off). It is a toggle switch that makes it possible to distinguish it from other lighting fixtures other than blinking, such as turning it on at times or turning it off when it is turned on (hereinafter, this area is simply referred to as "toggle switch"). For example, when the lighting fixture LFn is turned off and the user touches the toggle switch of the control button LB1, the display of the control button LBn of the smartphone 6 is changed from the state shown in LB1d of FIG. 6A to that of FIG. 7A. It changes to the state shown in LB1d. In the hatching of the control button LB1 of FIG. 7A, for example, the background color of the control button LB1 changed from blue in the case of FIG. 6A to yellow in the case of FIG. 7A. , Presents that the luminaire LFn has blinked for identification. The hatched portion of the control button LB1 in FIG. 7A coincides with the region corresponding to the toggle switch of the control button LB1.

The user can touch the toggle switch and blink the luminaire LFn to check where the blinking luminaire LFn is located. The user can confirm the place where the lighting fixture LFn is installed (for example, a conference room) and then determine whether or not to include the lighting fixture LFn in the group (for example, the conference room group), which is convenient for the user. Highly sex.

The user touches the check box LBnd when selecting to include the luminaire LFn in the group identified by the group name entered in the group input field IB. When the user touches, the image of the check box LBnd changes from a simple rectangular image as shown as the check box LB1d in FIG. 6 (a) to a check in which a check mark is described in the rectangle shown as the check box LB1d in FIG. 7 (b). It is changed to a finished rectangular image.

In this state, when returning the luminaire LFn so as not to be included in the group, the user may further touch the check box LBnd. 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 luminaire LFn in the group is toggled.

The save button SB is a button for confirming the luminaire LFn to be included in the group identified by the group name input to the group input field IB. When the user touches the save button SB, it is determined that the luminaire LFn related to 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 a cancel means. When the cancel button CB is touched by the user, the smartphone 6 cancels the group creation process, and by touching the check box LBnd, the user instruction for including the lighting fixture LFn in the group is discarded. .. This allows the user to redo the choice of which luminaire to include in the group.

As an example, the control buttons LB1 to LB40 are arranged in order from the one with the smallest distance information to the bottom. For example, the user can use the smartphone 6 to go near the lighting fixtures to be registered as a group and use the control buttons LBn arranged above in order to register the group from the lighting fixtures LFn existing nearby. Since processing can be performed, it is possible to work efficiently.

Further, it is not always necessary to display all of the control buttons LBn displayed as a list on the group registration UI 100 at one time, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b), 7 (a), and 7 (b). As shown as an example, a part thereof may be displayed. In this case, the control button LBn that is not displayed may be displayed by scrolling the screen, or the control button LBn may be assigned to a plurality of pages by a fixed number so that the control buttons LBn can be displayed for each page.

(2) Group control UI 130
The group control UI 130 is a UI for collectively controlling the lighting fixtures included in the group. As shown in FIG. 8, the group control UI 130 includes a fully lit button AON, a fully extinguished button AOF, and group control panel PAs (s is a natural number indicating any of 1 to the number of groups).

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

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

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

The on / off button PAsb is a button for instructing the execution of turning on / off 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 input as a toggle. The on / off button PAsb displays "On" when a user input indicating lighting is input, and displays "Off" when a user input indicating lighting is input. The “On” and “Off” of the ON / OFF button PAsb are linked with the lighting information of the lighting fixture LFn included in the group represented by the group identification information in the s line 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 dimming rate range image PAscR is a rectangular image, and the left end represents a dimming rate of 0% and the right end represents a dimming rate of 100%. The dimming rate bar image PAscB can be moved on the dimming rate range image PAscR by a user dragging operation. Then, the dimming rate is determined by the ratio of the position of the dimming rate bar image PAscB 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 1: 4 in the longitudinal direction, the dimming rate indicates 20%. The dimming rate display image PAsd displays the dimming rate indicated by the dimming rate slide bar PAsc numerically.

The method of specifying the dimming rate is not limited to the method of specifying the dimming rate with a slide type bar such as the dimming rate slide bar PAsc, and it is sufficient if the dimming rate can be specified. For example, the dimming rate may be specified by directly inputting a numerical value using a software keyboard.

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

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

<1.4. Operation>
Hereinafter, the group registration process of the lighting fixture in the lighting system 1 configured as described above will be described.

<1.4.1. Group registration process for lighting equipment>
The overall flow of the group registration process of the lighting fixture will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the user inputs a user instruction for instructing the smartphone 6 to start the group registration process of the lighting fixture (step S101). The lighting system 1 executes the lighting fixture information list creation process with the smartphone 6 receiving the input of the user instruction as a trigger (step S103). Details of step S103 will be described later with reference to FIG. By 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 point, the group information in the lighting fixture information list 200 is "0" indicating that there is no group to which all the groups belong.

Next, the smartphone 6 reflects the acquired fixture name information, identification information, and distance information of the lighting fixture information list 200 in the name display unit LBna, the ID display unit LBna, and the distance display unit 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 a group name (see FIG. 6B). Based on the input of the user, the smartphone 6 executes the group creation process (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 showing the correspondence between the group identification information and the group name as shown in FIG. 5B as an example.

Next, the user inputs the identification information-group association process using the group registration UI 100 displayed on the touch panel 65. Based on this input, the lighting system 1 executes the identification information-group association processing (step S111). By the identification information-group association processing, the group identification information of the group to which each luminaire LFn belongs is recorded in the group information column of the luminaire information list 200 shown in FIG. 5 (b). Details of step S111 will be described later together with FIG. By the above steps, the group registration process of the lighting equipment is completed.

<1.4.1.1. Lighting equipment information list creation process>
Hereinafter, the lighting fixture information list creation process in step S103 will be described 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).

When the gateway 5 receives the beacon transmission instruction to the lighting equipment LFn, the gateway 5 transmits the beacon transmission instruction to each of the lighting equipment LF1 to LF40 for which communication has been established (steps S203 and S205). Although the description of the lighting fixtures LF3 to LF40 is omitted in FIG. 10, it is assumed that the same processing as 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 fixture LF1 and extracts the identification information of the lighting fixture LF1 from the received beacon (step S223). Further, the smartphone 6 measures the reception strength of the radio wave transmitting the beacon (step S225), and converts the measured reception strength of the radio wave into distance information using the reception strength-distance conversion table held in the ROM 62. (Step S227).

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

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

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

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

<1.4.1.2. Group information creation process>
Hereinafter, the group information creation process in step S109 will be described with reference to FIG.

As described above, the user inputs the group name using the group registration UI 100 displayed on the touch panel 65. The smartphone 6 acquires the group name (step S301).

The smartphone 6 generates the group identification information corresponding to the acquired group name (step S303). The group identification information need only be information that can uniquely identify the group.

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

<1.4.1.3. Group registration process>
Hereinafter, the identification information-group association process in step S111 will be described with reference to FIG. The group is assumed to be a conference room group as an example.

First, in order to determine whether or not the lighting fixture LFn is included in the group, the user inputs a blinking instruction of the lighting fixture LFn to the smartphone 6 using the group registration UI 100 (step S401). Specifically, the toggle switch of the control button LBn in the group registration UI 100 shown in FIG. 7A is touched. Here, n represents a value selected by the user from 1 to 40.

When the smartphone 6 detects the touch of the control button LBn to the toggle switch, the smartphone 6 transmits an operation instruction indicating blinking of the lighting fixture LFn, which is a lighting fixture corresponding to the control button LBn, to the gateway 5 (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 luminaire LFn blinks the light source (step S407).
The user confirms whether or not the blinking lighting fixture LFn is installed in the conference room, and determines whether or not to include the lighting fixture LFn in the conference room group (step S421). When including in the conference room group (YES in step S421), touch the check box LBnd in the UI 100 shown in FIG. 7 (b). As a result, the check box LBnd changes to the checked state (step S423). If the luminaire LFn is not included in the conference room group (NO in step S421), the process proceeds to step S425.

Then, since the determination of the control button LBn is completed, the user inputs an instruction to turn off the lighting fixture LFn by touching the toggle switch of the control button LBn shown in FIG. 7A (step S425). When the smartphone 6 receives the input of the lighting fixture LFn turn-off instruction, the smartphone 6 transmits the lighting fixture LFn turn-off instruction to the gateway 5 (step S427). The gateway 5 receives the turn-off instruction of the luminaire LFn and transmits the turn-off instruction to the luminaire LFn (step S429). When the luminaire LFn receives the turn-off instruction from the gateway 5, the light source is turned off (step S431).

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

When the save button SB is touched by the user (YES in step S443), the smartphone 6 has the lighting fixture information in the lighting fixture information list 200 for all the lighting fixtures LFn checked in the check box LBnd of the group registration UI100. The group identification information of the conference room group is described in the group information of (step S445). Then, the smartphone 6 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 luminaire group registration process, when the luminaire LFn is included in the group, the user touches the check box LBnd of the control button LBn displayed on the group registration UI100 displayed on the touch panel 65. All you have to do is touch the save button SB. As a result, in the lighting system 1, the identification information LID_n of the lighting fixture LFn is associated with the group identification information. Further, the group identification information is associated with the group name. Therefore, by using the touch panel 65 of the smartphone 6 to specify the group by the group name and inputting the user instruction, the user gives the user instruction to the lighting system 1 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 UI100, the lighting fixture LFn can be easily associated with a desired group, and the time required for the initial setting at the time of introduction can be shortened. can do.

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

The group lighting control is a lighting control that causes the lighting fixtures LFn included in the group to perform the same operation. Hereinafter, the control for lighting the lighting fixture LFn included in the conference room group will be described with reference to FIG. 13. When performing group lighting control, the user uses the group control UI 150 of FIG. 8 as an example for 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, "Off" is set in the lighting information of the lighting fixture information in which the group identification information is 1 indicating the conference room group in the lighting fixture information list 200. It is displayed. Along with this, "Off" is displayed on the point-off button PA1b relating to the conference room group of the group control UI 150 shown in FIG.

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

The smartphone 6 displays the group control UI 130 on the touch panel 65 (step S503). When the lighting fixture LFn included in the conference room group is turned on, the user touches the light-off button PA1b relating to the conference room group of the group control UI 150 displayed on the touch panel 65 (step S505). The smartphone 6 transmits a lighting instruction of the conference room group to the gateway 5 (step S507).

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

Here, in FIG. 13, the lighting control of step S523 and step S525 describes only one luminaire LFn and omits the rest, but with respect to all the identification information extracted in step S521, step S523 and step S525 Similar processing is performed.

Although the lighting process has been described above as an example of the group lighting control, the control procedure is the same for the extinguishing process, the dimming process, and the toning process. Further, these group lighting controls can be performed automatically as well as manually. Examples of automatic control include control that performs dimming and toning according to the time, and control that performs dimming by detecting the ambient brightness with a sensor.

<2. Second embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, in the group registration process, the group registration UI 100 that can register the luminaire LFn to a desired group by touching the check box LBnd of the control button LBn and touching the save button SB is used.

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

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

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

The group display button GBp is a button on which the group name is displayed. The group information of 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 the present embodiment is separately created prior to the group registration process.

The configuration of the control button MBn is the same as the configuration of the control button LBn, and includes a name display unit LBna, an ID display unit LBnb, and a distance display unit LBnc, but the check box LBnd
The difference is that it does not include. Further, the control button MBn is entirely a toggle switch, and each time the user touches the control button MBn, the lighting fixture LFn is switched on and off in a toggle manner.

Further, the control button MBn is configured so that it can be dragged and dropped onto the group display button GBp. When the user registers the lighting fixture LFn represented by the control button MBn in the group by using the group registration UI 400, as shown in FIG. 14 (b), the group display button GBp in which the group name of the group to be registered is displayed is displayed. , Drag and drop the control button MBn. As a result, the luminaire LF1 is associated with the conference room group.

This correspondence is confirmed by touching the save button SB as in the first embodiment, and the group information of the lighting fixture information regarding the lighting fixture LFn in the lighting fixture information list 200 is added to the group information of the conference room group. Group identification information will be described.

As described above, the lighting fixture LFn can be easily associated with a desired group even by the group registration process using the group registration UI 400 according to the present modification, and the time required for the initial setting at the time of introduction is shortened. be able to.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, in the group registration process, a UI for registering to a group by dragging and dropping the control button MBn corresponding to the lighting fixture LFn to the group display button GBp representing a desired group is used. rice field. However, the drag-and-drop destination only needs to represent a group.

In this embodiment, the 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), the lighting distribution diagram FG is displayed instead of the group display button GBp in FIG. 14 (a). The point is different.

The lighting distribution diagram FG represents the installation location of the lighting equipment with a symbol. The lighting distribution diagram FG includes a group area GR1 representing a conference 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 living room group, and the group area GR3 corresponds to the corridor group.

The group area GR1, the group area GR2, and the group area GR3 represent the floor plans of the conference room, the living room, and the corridor, respectively, and the group name is described in each group area, and the symbol of the circle in each group area. Indicates the position where the luminaire LFn is arranged. As an example, 20 circles are described in the group area GR1, which means that 20 luminaires LFn are arranged in the conference room.

When the user registers the lighting fixture LFn represented by the control button MBn in the group by using the group registration UI500, as shown in FIG. 15B, the group area GRp in which the group name of the group to be registered is displayed is displayed. Drag and drop the control button MBn. As a result, the luminaire LF1 is associated with the conference room group.

This correspondence is confirmed by touching the save button SB as in the first embodiment, and the group information of the lighting fixture information regarding the lighting fixture LFn in the lighting fixture information list 200 is added to the group information of the conference room group. Group identification information will be described.

As described above, the lighting fixture LFn can be easily associated with a desired group even by the group registration process using the group registration UI500 according to the present modification, and the time required for the initial setting at the time of introduction is shortened. be able to.

<4. Modification example>
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 limited to the lighting system as shown in the above-described embodiment. Of course not.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the example in which one gateway 5 is used has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and there may be a plurality of gateways 5. Then, a plurality of gateways 5 may operate in cooperation with each other. Since the physical wireless communication of the gateway 5 is limited, it is possible to control the lighting fixtures installed in a wider range by operating the plurality of gateways 5 in cooperation with each other.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the timing of stopping the beacon transmitted by the luminaire LFn is not described, but the luminaire LFn for each group after the group registration process is completed or in the identification information-group association process. The beacon may be stopped at an appropriate timing such as after the completion of. For example, the smartphone 6 transmits a beacon stop instruction to the gateway 5 during or after step S445 and step S447, to all the lighting fixtures LFn checked in the check box LBnd in step S445. You may instruct them to do so.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the user interface includes objects such as buttons and panels, but these do not necessarily have to be in the form of buttons, panels and the like, and are classified by at least lines and color coding. It is enough if it is the area that has been created.

(4) Each functional component shown in the above-described embodiment may be realized as a circuit for executing the function, or may be realized by executing a lighting control program by one or a plurality of processors.

(5) The above-described embodiment and each modification may be partially combined.

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

(1) The lighting system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a lighting control device that instructs the lighting fixtures to perform the same lighting control for each group composed of a plurality of lighting fixtures and at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures. Each of the plurality of luminaires includes a transmission means for transmitting the identification information of the luminaire, and the lighting control device has a receiving means for receiving the identification information and the receiving means for receiving the identification information. A user interface means for displaying a list of the luminaires identified by the identification information and performing a group registration process for each of the displayed luminaires is provided.

With this configuration, the lighting system according to the present invention can control the lighting equipment only by registering a desired one of the lighting equipments for which the identification information can be received as a group, which is necessary for the installation setting at the time of introduction. In addition, the user interface means can instruct the user to distinguish one of the displayed luminaires from the other luminaires, and the luminaire control device can reduce the time. It may be possible to control the luminaire for which the distinction operation instruction from the other luminaire is given to perform the distinction operation from the other luminaire.

(3) Further, the operation of distinguishing from the other lighting fixture may be any of blinking, lighting, and extinguishing.

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 a lighting fixture to be included in the group, and the lighting fixture in which the check box is checked may be registered in the group.

With this configuration, the user can register the desired lighting fixtures as a group simply by checking the check box, so that the group registration is easy and the time required for the installation setting at the time of introduction can be shortened (5). The user interface means also has an area indicating the group, and may be registered in the group by dragging and dropping a list of lighting fixtures to be included in the group in the area indicating the group. good.

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

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

With this configuration, it is possible to perform processing such as group registration from a lighting fixture that exists nearby in terms of location, so that the user can work efficiently.

(7) Further, when the transmission means transmits the identification information, the identification information may be included in the beacon and transmitted, and the receiving means may receive the beacon including the identification information.

With this configuration, identification information can be transmitted from the luminaire to the control system based on the existing communication specifications specified for the beacon.

(8) Further, a smartphone provided with the user interface means may be provided.

With this configuration, a smartphone distributed in the market can be used as the user interface means by causing the smartphone to download an application capable of displaying the user interface.

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 ROM 54
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 equipment information list 201a Equipment name information 201b Identification information 201c Distance information 201d Lighting information 201e Dimming rate information 201f Group identification information AOF All lights off button AON All lights 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 button LF1 to LF40 Lighting equipment MB1, MB3, MB5, MB14 Control button PA1 , PA2, PA3 Group control panel PA1a Group name PA1b Dot 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 (6)

A lighting system including a plurality of lighting fixtures and a lighting control device for instructing the lighting fixtures to perform the same lighting control for each group composed of at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures.
The lighting control device is
Since the creation of the group and the selection of the lighting fixtures to be included in the group are performed on one screen, one group is shown on one screen, and whether or not each of at least one lighting fixture displayed in the list is included in the group. Provide a user interface means to select
A lighting system that features that. The lighting system according to claim 1 , wherein the selection of whether or not to include in the group is performed by touching a button corresponding to each of the lighting fixtures . Each of the plurality of luminaires is provided with a transmission means for transmitting the identification information of the luminaire.
The lighting control device includes a receiving means for receiving the identification information.
The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the user interface means displays at least a part of a list of the luminaires identified by the received identification information and allows the user to select a luminaire to be included in the group. The lighting system according to claim 3, wherein the list of the lighting fixtures is a list in which the lighting fixtures are arranged in order. The lighting system according to claim 3, wherein the user interface means displays an approximate distance between the lighting fixture and the lighting control device in a list display of the lighting fixture. The lighting system according to claim 2 , wherein the selection of whether or not to include the group is performed by touching the check box included in the button .

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