JP7313591B2 - lighting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a lighting device that simulates a starry sky.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, lighting devices have been proposed that can intentionally give an awakening effect or a relaxing effect to an observer by simulating a natural lighting environment. As one of the simulations of natural light by such lighting devices, a starry sky effect such as twinkling stars is preferred. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an example of lighting technology for simulating a starry sky.

Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a blinking device for a planetarium projector. In such a device, when repeatedly transmitting a bright signal to brighten the light source and a dark signal to darken the light source, a reference value for the bright signal time for each cycle is set, and a random number is added to this reference value to randomly change the ratio between the bright signal time and the dark signal time for each cycle, thereby simulating the twinkling of a star.

When people perceive imitation objects, they tend to exclude imitations based on the premise of comparison with the real thing. For this reason, in the device of Patent Document 1, as described above, by randomly changing the ratio between the bright signal time and the dark signal time for each cycle, the lighting is made irregular to express the appearance of the starry sky. With such technology, people have the illusion that the appearance of the simulated starry sky is the real thing. Therefore, in such a device, by allowing the observer to experience the outdoor natural environment indoors, it is possible to give the observer an awakening effect and a relaxing effect.

Japanese Patent No. 3468453

In Patent Document 1, the blinking of a star is simulated by randomly changing the ratio between the bright signal time and the dark signal time for each cycle, but there is room for further improvement in terms of producing more natural star blinking.

An object of the present disclosure is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a lighting device capable of producing more natural twinkling of stars.

A lighting device according to the present disclosure is a lighting device that simulates the twinkling of a star, and includes a light source unit that is associated with one star and includes a plurality of light emitting points, and a drive control unit that controls driving of the plurality of light emitting points included in the light source unit.

According to the lighting device according to the present disclosure, it is possible to produce more natural twinkling of stars.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a lighting device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 7 is a graph for explaining luminance fluctuation data used in the lighting devices according to Embodiments 1 to 3. FIG. 5 is a graph for explaining temporal fluctuation data used in lighting devices according to Embodiments 1 to 3. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the lighting device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a lighting device according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 10 is a graph for explaining center-of-gravity fluctuation data used in the lighting devices according to Embodiments 2 and 3. FIG. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the angular distribution of a plurality of light source units according to Embodiment 2; 13 is a flow chart showing an example of processing of the lighting device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the light source drive control circuit of the lighting device according to the second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a lighting device according to Embodiment 3; FIG. 11 is a graph for explaining delay time fluctuation data used in the lighting device according to Embodiment 3; FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a processing example of a delay circuit used in the lighting device according to Embodiment 3;

Hereinafter, embodiments of a lighting device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the lighting device according to the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below. Also, in the following drawings, the size relationship of each component may differ from the actual size. Furthermore, in the following description, the same reference numerals are given to parts or parts having the same configuration, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

Embodiment 1.
First, the configuration of a lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. In the first embodiment, first, a brief description will be given of a configuration for more naturally reproducing the brightness of the entire star and changes in the emission duration of that brightness.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG.

In Embodiment 1, illumination device 100 simulates twinkling stars as a natural illumination environment, and by extension, a starry sky. As shown in FIG. 1 , the illumination device 100 roughly includes a drive control section 1 and a light source unit 5 . The drive control unit 1 is a portion that controls driving of a light emitting point 51 (described later) of the light source unit 5, and includes a control unit 2 that controls the whole, a brightness control data holding circuit 3, and a light source drive control circuit 4.

Specifically, lighting device 100 has one light source unit 5 associated with one star. That is, the illumination device 100 reproduces one star with one light source unit 5 . The light source unit 5 has one or more light emitting points 51 . FIG. 1 shows an example of one light emitting point 51 . As the light-emitting point 51, a wide range of general devices such as a surface-mount type LED element, a COB-type LED module, a light-emitting element such as a solid-state laser element, a semiconductor laser element, or an organic EL element, or various light-emitting bodies such as an incandescent lamp can be widely applied.

Here, the "light emitting point 51" included in the light source unit 5 may be the light source element itself, or may be the light emitting surface of a light guide member that guides light from light sources provided at different positions. Note that the light emitting point 51 and the light source may not correspond one-to-one. For example, the light emitting point 51 may be a light emitting surface that guides and emits light from the outside. Thus, the light-emitting points 51 include those that do not themselves emit light. In addition, the light emitting point 51 may include scratches, unevenness, or a light reflecting surface provided for emitting the light guided in the light guide member to the outside. In other words, the “light emitting point 51” of the light source unit 5 is not particularly limited as long as it can be regarded as a light source in the installation environment of the lighting device 100, and it does not matter whether it is an element itself or a virtual light source. The “light emitting point 51 ” may be a light emitting surface large enough for a person to regard it as a point light source in the installation environment of the lighting device 100 . When the light source unit 5 has a plurality of light emitting points 51, the plurality of light emitting points 51 may have the same configuration or may have different configurations.

Also, the light source unit 5 may be one light source device including one light emitting point 51 or may be a unit including a plurality of light source devices each including one light emitting point 51 . A case where the light source unit 5 is a light source device including one light emitting point 51 will be described below as an example.

In the illumination device 100, the control unit 2 determines brightness fluctuation data D1 indicating the brightness fluctuation of the entire light source unit 5 corresponding to one star when the star is reproduced and assigned to the light source unit 5. The control unit 2 also determines time fluctuation data D2 indicating fluctuations in light emission duration, which is the time during which the light source unit 5 emits light with the brightness assigned to the light source unit 5 based on the brightness fluctuation data D1. The control unit 2 outputs the determined brightness fluctuation data D1 and time fluctuation data D2 to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 in the subsequent stage.

Here, the brightness fluctuation data D1 is, more specifically, data for reproducing brightness fluctuations of one star seen by an observer, and data for simulating brightness changes of the star. The brightness fluctuation data D1 has a plurality of brightness data, and the brightness fluctuation is reproduced by the plurality of brightness data. The brightness data may be data that can define brightness, and may be luminance, or a value indicating a current amount or a light emission ratio (ratio to a predetermined maximum light emission amount).

The brightness data may be any value between 0 and 1 as a coefficient of the current flowing through the LED light source, for example, when one light source unit 5 is regarded as one LED light source. The brightness data may be analog data or digital data with high resolution. The brightness fluctuation data D1 may be data in which a plurality of brightness data are arranged in time series so that the data as a whole changes with a fluctuation component of 1/f. An example of the brightness fluctuation data D1 is data having an order such as a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , . . . , _an . Thus, the brightness fluctuation data D1 may be a data series that changes sequentially. In short, it is sufficient that the brightness fluctuation data D1 has a plurality of brightness data and expresses brightness fluctuation when viewed as a whole. In this specification, the brightness fluctuation data D1 is described as having brightness data a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , . . . , _an .

The brightness fluctuation data D1 is set based on, for example, the graph shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a graph for explaining brightness fluctuation data D1 used in lighting apparatus 100 according to Embodiments 1 to 3. In FIG. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis is the absolute value of the amount of change in brightness before and after the change. The vertical axis represents the occurrence frequency in the brightness fluctuation data D1 at which the "brightness change" of the "absolute value of the brightness change amount" specified by the horizontal axis occurs. The brightness fluctuation data D1 is configured such that the smaller the absolute value of the amount of change before and after the change in brightness, the more frequently "brightness change of that amount" occurs in the brightness fluctuation data D1. Further, the brightness fluctuation data D1 is constructed so as to satisfy the condition that the frequency of occurrence of "brightness change of that change amount" in the brightness fluctuation data D1 decreases as the absolute value of the amount of change before and after the change in brightness increases.

More specifically, based on FIG. 2, the brightness fluctuation data D1 is set so as to satisfy the condition that the smaller the absolute value of the amount of change when the brightness changes from the brightness specified by the brightness data _a1 to the brightness specified by the brightness data _a2 , the more frequently the brightness fluctuation data D1 occurs. 2, the brightness fluctuation data D1 is set so as to satisfy the condition that the frequency of occurrence in the brightness fluctuation data D1 decreases as the absolute value of the amount of change when the brightness changes from, for example, the brightness specified by the brightness data _a1 to the brightness specified by the brightness data _a2 is larger. By setting a plurality of brightness data of the brightness fluctuation data D1 so as to satisfy these conditions, the following fluctuation can be expressed in the light source unit 5 that emits light based on the brightness fluctuation data D1. The light source unit 5 repeats light emission with a small change in brightness and occasionally emits light with a large change in brightness, thereby expressing fluctuations in brightness.

The magnitude of change in brightness of light coming from a single star is thought to be affected by the magnitude of density change in the atmosphere that occurs along the optical path of that light and the size of the range (spatial quantity) in which the density change occurs. It is thought that the frequency of occurrence of large atmospheric density changes that cause large brightness changes upon arrival tends to be lower than the occurrence frequency of small atmospheric density changes that cause small brightness changes upon arrival. In addition, it is thought that the occurrence frequency of wide-range (spatially large) atmospheric density changes that cause large brightness changes upon arrival tends to be lower than the occurrence frequency of narrow-range (spatially small) atmospheric density changes that cause only small brightness changes upon arrival. Therefore, the light source unit 5 can be caused to emit light with a more natural change in brightness by driving and controlling the light source unit 5 based on the brightness fluctuation data D1 having fluctuation set based on FIG. Here, the brightness value may include a value, such as zero, that indicates a non-luminous state. The graph of FIG. 2 used for determining each brightness data of the brightness fluctuation data D1 is an example, and is not limited to the graph of FIG.

Further, the time fluctuation data D2 is, more specifically, data for reproducing the temporal fluctuation of the luminous state of a certain brightness of one star seen from the observer (fluctuation of the duration of a certain luminous state). The time fluctuation data D2 is data for simulating changes in the emission duration of the brightness of one star seen by the observer. The time fluctuation data D2 is data indicating the fluctuation of the light emission duration. The time fluctuation data D2 has a plurality of light emission duration data, and the fluctuation of the light emission duration is reproduced by the plurality of light emission duration data. The light emission duration data may be time [sec], or may be a count value, for example, any value from 1 to a set value, which counts the duration of a certain brightness. The time fluctuation data D2 may be data in which a plurality of light emission duration data are arranged in time series so that the data as a whole changes with a fluctuation component of 1/f.

Also, the time fluctuation data D2 may be a data series indicating that each brightness indicated by the brightness fluctuation data D1 is maintained for a time period having a fluctuation component of 1/f. An example of the time fluctuation data D2 is data having an order such as b ₁ , b ₂ , b ₃ , . . . , _bn . Thus, the time fluctuation data D2 may be a data series that changes sequentially. In short, the time fluctuation data D2 should have a plurality of light emission duration data, and express the fluctuation of the light emission duration when viewed as a whole. In this specification, the time fluctuation data D2 is described as having light emission duration data _b1 , _b2 , _b3 , . . . , _bn .

The time fluctuation data D2 is set based on, for example, the graph shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a graph for explaining temporal fluctuation data D2 used in lighting devices 100 according to Embodiments 1 to 3. In FIG. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis is the light emission duration. The vertical axis is the occurrence frequency in the time fluctuation data D2 of the light emission duration specified by the horizontal axis. The time fluctuation data D2 is configured such that the longer the light emission duration data is, the higher the rate of occurrence in the time fluctuation data. Further, the time fluctuation data D2 is configured to satisfy the condition that the shorter the light emission duration data is, the lower the occurrence rate in the time fluctuation data is. By configuring each light emission duration data of the time fluctuation data D2 so as to satisfy these conditions, the light source unit 5 that emits light based on the time fluctuation data D2 can express the following fluctuations. The light source unit 5 performs light emission such that light emission with a long light emission duration is repeated for a certain brightness while changing the brightness, and occasional light emission with a short light emission duration is caused, and fluctuation of the light emission duration can be expressed.

Here, the time fluctuation data D2 may be a data series having a fluctuation such that the higher the previous brightness of the light source unit 5, the shorter the current light emission duration, and the lower the previous brightness, the longer the current light emission duration.

Further, for example, the time fluctuation data D2 may be a data series having fluctuation such that the longer _b1 + _b2 is, the more frequently the change _b1 → _b2 occurs, and the shorter _b1 + _b2 is, the less frequently the change _b1 → _b2 occurs.

The duration of each fluctuating brightness of light coming from a star, that is, the emission duration, is thought to be affected by the magnitude of the atmospheric density change that occurs along the optical path and the extent (spatial quantity) of that range. For example, large or wide-area (spatially large) changes in atmospheric density that result in large brightness changes on arrival occur relatively infrequently. After such atmospheric density changes occur, such atmospheric conditions tend to persist for a relatively long time, that is, large or wide-range atmospheric density changes tend to occur less frequently. On the other hand, small or narrow (spatially small) changes in atmospheric density that result in small brightness changes on arrival are relatively frequent. And it is thought that the duration of such atmospheric conditions tends to be relatively short. Therefore, by driving and controlling the light source unit 5 based on the time fluctuation data D2 having fluctuation set based on FIG. 3 by the drive control unit 1, the light source unit 5 can emit light with a light emission duration that accompanies a more natural change in brightness.

Here, the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2 are not limited to data prepared in advance, and may be streaming data in which each data element included therein, that is, brightness data and light emission duration data, is generated sequentially.

The brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2 are configured as described above. Therefore, when outputting the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the _time fluctuation data D2 to the brightness control _data holding circuit 3, _the control unit 2 _may collectively output _a plurality of brightness data _a1 , _a2 , _a3 , . The control section 2 may sequentially output the brightness of the light source unit 5 to be instructed at the next control timing (brightness update timing) t in the brightness fluctuation data D1. Similarly, the control unit 2 may, for example, sequentially output the light emission duration of the brightness of the light source unit 5 to be instructed at the next control timing t as the time fluctuation data D2.

As described above, the format for outputting the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2 from the control section 2 to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 is not limited. In short, the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2 should be output from the control section 2 to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 as a result. It is assumed that even each brightness and each emission duration that are sequentially output have fluctuations as described above as a whole.

The brightness control data holding circuit 3 receives the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2. The brightness fluctuation data D1 may be input to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 at once as a group of a plurality of brightness data, or one brightness data constituting the brightness fluctuation data D1 may be sequentially input. In short, at least the brightness data at of the light source unit 5 to be instructed at the next control timing _t is input to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 based on the input brightness fluctuation data D1.

The same applies to the time fluctuation data D2. That is, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 may receive the time fluctuation data D2 at once as a group of a plurality of light emission duration data, or may sequentially input one light emission duration data constituting the time fluctuation data D2. In short, at least the light emission duration data _bt of the light source unit 5 to be instructed at the next control timing t is input to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 based on the input time fluctuation data D2.

When the brightness data at and the light emission duration _{data bt are} input, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 outputs the brightness control data E including the brightness data _at and the light emission duration data _bt to the light source drive control circuit 4 in the subsequent stage. The brightness control data E is control data for the light source unit ₅ to emit light with the brightness specified by the input brightness data at during the light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _bt . The brightness control data E may be in the form of, for example, continuously outputting a signal (for example, a current value) corresponding to the brightness data at to the light source drive control circuit 4 for the light emission duration specified by the light _emission duration data _bt .

The light source drive control circuit 4 is a circuit that controls driving of the light source unit 5 based on the brightness control data E input from the brightness control data holding circuit 3 .

The light source drive control circuit 4 controls the light emission state of the light source unit 5 simulating one star based on the brightness control data E input from the brightness control data holding circuit 3 . The light source drive control circuit 4 outputs to the light source unit 5 a light source drive signal F for driving the light source unit 5 based on the brightness control data E input from the brightness control data holding circuit 3 . The light source drive signal F is a signal for driving the light source unit 5 with the brightness specified by the brightness data _at included in the brightness control data E for the light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _bt included in the brightness control data E. Therefore, when the light source drive signal F is output from the light source drive control circuit 4 to the light source unit 5, the light source unit 5 emits light with the brightness specified by the brightness data at _and for the light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _bt .

Note that the format of the light source drive signal F is not limited to the above, and may be appropriately determined according to the light source unit 5 in the subsequent stage. Further, in Embodiment 1, the format of the brightness control data E and the format of the light source driving signal F may be the same or different. For example, when the brightness control data E continues to be input from the brightness control data holding circuit 3, the light source drive control circuit 4 may continue to output the light source drive signal F to the light source unit 5 during this period. In this configuration, the light source drive control circuit 4 stops outputting the light source drive signal F to the light source unit 5 and terminates the light emission of the light source unit 5 when the brightness control data E is no longer input from the brightness control data holding circuit 3.

Next, the processing when lighting device 100 of the first embodiment simulates the blinking of one star will be described with reference to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing of the lighting device 100 according to the first embodiment. Here, a processing example of the illumination device 100 will be described with an example in which the control unit 2 sequentially outputs brightness data and light emission duration data to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 .

In step ST1 of the illumination device 100, the control unit 2 first determines the brightness data at _, which constitutes the brightness fluctuation data D1 defining the brightness with fluctuation, which is the brightness to be assigned to the light source unit 5 that reproduces one star. Preset data may be used as the brightness data _a1 , which is the initial value of the brightness fluctuation data D1. The determined brightness data _at is input to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 .

Next, in step ST2, the control unit 2 determines the light emission duration data _bt , which is the light emission duration of the brightness specified by the brightness data at and constitutes the time fluctuation data _D2 that defines the light emission duration having fluctuation. Preset data may be used as the light emission duration data _b1 , which is the initial value of the time fluctuation data D2. The determined light emission duration data _bt is input to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 .

Then, in step ST3, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 generates brightness control data E based on the brightness data _at and the light emission duration data _bt input from the control unit 2, and outputs it to the light source drive control circuit 4 at an appropriate timing. At this time, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 holds the brightness data _at determined by the control unit 2 for at least the light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _bt or until the light emission duration ends.

The light source drive control circuit 4 outputs a light source drive signal F to the light source units 5 forming one star based on the brightness control data E input from the brightness control data holding circuit 3 to control the light emission state of the light source units 5. More specifically, the light source drive control circuit 4 controls the light emission state of the light source unit 5 based on the brightness control data E by outputting a light source drive signal F for causing the light source unit 5 to emit light with the brightness specified by the brightness _data at for the light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _b1 . The light source unit 5 causes the light emitting point 51 to emit light based on the light source drive signal F input from the light source drive control circuit 4 .

For example, while the light source driving signal F is being input, the light source unit 5 may emit light from the light source serving as the light emitting point 51 or from the light emitting surface with the light energy indicated by the light source driving signal F. When the light source unit 5 has a plurality of light emitting points 51, the light source unit 5 causes each light emitting point 51 to emit light so that the light energy from the plurality of light emitting points 51 as a whole becomes the light energy indicated by the input light source driving signal F. At this time, the light source unit 5 may equally distribute the light energy indicated by the input light source driving signal F to each light emitting point 51, or may distribute the light energy so that each light emitting point has different light energy. However, the light source unit 5 emits light so that the total light energy of each light emitting point 51 becomes the light energy indicated by the light source driving signal F. FIG. That is, the light source unit 5 emits light so that the total brightness of the light emitting points 51 is the brightness specified by the brightness data _a1 .

Then, in step ST4, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 determines whether or not the light emission duration of the brightness currently being controlled has expired. If the light emission duration has not expired (step ST4: NO), the brightness control data holding circuit 3 returns to step ST3. The brightness control data holding circuit 3 continues to output the brightness control data E specifying the current brightness and the duration of light emission to the light source drive control circuit 4, thereby maintaining the current light emission state. If the current light emission state can be maintained without continuously outputting the brightness control data E indicating the current brightness, the process from step ST4: NO to step ST3 may be omitted.

On the other hand, when the light emission duration has expired (step ST4: YES), the brightness control data holding circuit 3 stops outputting the brightness control data E to the light source drive control circuit 4, and the control unit 2 shifts control to step ST1 and enters the next control timing t+1.

At the next control timing t+1, the controller 2 updates the brightness data to be output to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 in step ST1. That is, the control unit 2 determines the next brightness data _at+1 that constitutes the brightness fluctuation data D1. When the control unit 2 determines the next brightness data _at+1 , if the control unit 2 holds a plurality of brightness data in advance as time-series data as the brightness fluctuation data D1, the held brightness data at ₊₁ may be determined. Further, if the control unit 2 does not previously hold a plurality of brightness data as time-series data as the brightness fluctuation data D1, the control unit 2 may perform the following. The control unit 2 may automatically generate the brightness data _at+1 at the current control timing based on the previous brightness data _at , for example, based on the conditions specified in the graph of FIG. 2, and output the generated brightness data _at+1 to the brightness control data holding circuit 3. In any case, the updated brightness data a _t+1 determined by the control unit 2 is determined to be a value having the above-described fluctuations with respect to the previous brightness data a ₁ , a ₂ , . . . a _t .

Then, the controller 2 updates the light emission duration data to be output to the brightness control data holding circuit 3 in step ST2. That is, the control unit 2 determines the next light emission duration data bt ₊₁ that constitutes the time fluctuation data D2. The light emission duration data b _t+1 is the light emission duration of the brightness specified by the brightness data a _t+1 and is data specifying the light emission duration with fluctuation. When the control unit 2 determines the next light emission duration data b _t+1 , if the control unit 2 holds a plurality of light emission duration data in advance as time-series data, the held light emission duration data b _t+1 may be determined. Further, if the control unit 2 does not previously hold a plurality of light emission duration data as time-series data in advance, the control unit 2 may perform the following. The control unit may automatically generate the light emission duration data bt+ ₁ at the current control timing t ₊₁ based on the previous light emission duration data _b1 based on, for example, the conditions specified in the graph of FIG. In any case, the updated light emission duration data b _t+1 determined by the control unit 2 is determined to be a value having the above-described fluctuations with respect to the previous light emission duration data b ₁ , b ₂ , . . . b _t .

Then, in step ST3, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 generates brightness control data E based on the brightness data _a2 and the light emission duration data _b2 input from the control unit 2, and outputs it to the light source drive control circuit 4 at an appropriate timing.

Subsequent processing in step ST4 is the same as described above, and the control section 2 repeats the processing in steps ST1 to ST4, so that the light source unit 5 emits light that simulates the twinkling of stars.

In the above example, the control unit 2 updates the brightness data of the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the light emission duration data of the time fluctuation data D2, but the following may be performed. For example, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 holds the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2 input from the control section 2 in an internal storage section. Then, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 may read out the brightness data at _and the light emission duration data _bt specified at the next control timing t from the storage unit, and update the brightness control data E output to the light source drive control circuit 4. At this time, the brightness data and light emission duration data stored in the storage unit may be generated by the control unit 2 based on the previous brightness data and light emission duration data, or may be prepared in advance.

In this way, lighting device 100 controls the light emission state of light source unit 5 while repeating data update and determination of expiration of the light emission duration during brightness control. Data update refers to updating of the brightness data at and the light emission duration _{data bt} instructed at the next control timing t by the control section 2 or the brightness control data holding circuit 3 .

As described above, the illumination device 100 of Embodiment 1 has the light source unit 5 that reproduces one star. Since light emission of the light source unit 5 is controlled based on the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2, it is possible to produce star twinkling that is close to natural. In other words, lighting device 100 separately has data specifying fluctuations in brightness and data specifying the light emission duration of the brightness, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of control and expressing more natural blinks. Increasing the degree of freedom of control specifically means, for example, increasing the degree of freedom in selecting the brightness and the light emission duration itself, as well as increasing the degree of freedom in selecting the frequency of occurrence described above.

The plurality of brightness data are configured to satisfy the condition that the smaller the absolute value of the amount of change in brightness before and after the change in brightness, the higher the frequency of occurrence of "change in brightness with that amount of change" in the brightness fluctuation data. Also, the plurality of brightness data are configured to satisfy the condition that the greater the absolute value of the change amount, the lower the frequency of occurrence of "brightness change of that change amount" in the brightness fluctuation data. In other words, with respect to brightness, the illumination device 100 reproduces brightness fluctuations by reducing the frequency of occurrence of "the change in brightness" as the absolute value of the change in brightness of the light source unit 5 before and after the change is smaller, and by decreasing the frequency of occurrence of the "change in brightness" as the absolute value of the change in brightness of the light source unit 5 before and after the change is greater.

The plurality of light emission duration data are configured to satisfy the condition that the longer the light emission duration data, the higher the occurrence ratio of the light emission duration data in the time fluctuation data. In other words, with respect to the light emission duration, the illumination device 100 reproduces fluctuations in the light emission duration by increasing the frequency of occurrence of the duration of light emission as the duration of light emission in the light source unit 5 increases, and decreasing the frequency of occurrence of the duration of light emission as the duration of light emission of the light source unit 5 decreases.

As described above, in the illumination device 100 of Embodiment 1, not only does the brightness fluctuate and change at a constant timing, but also the timing of the change fluctuates to simulate fluctuations in the atmosphere through which starlight passes, and as a result, it is possible to simulate the twinkling of a star. Thus, according to the illumination device 100 of Embodiment 1, it is possible to produce more natural twinkling of stars.

Embodiment 2.
Next, a lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. FIG. Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with a focus on the differences from the first embodiment, and the configurations not described in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 2. As shown in FIG.
In the illumination device 100 of Embodiment 2, the light source unit 5 has two light emitting points 51 and 52, as shown in FIG. In the light source unit 5, the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52 are arranged at a small arcmin, for example, within 3.3 arcmin, in order to reproduce one star. The minute angle will be explained again. As described above, the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52 are light emitting elements such as surface mount type LED elements, COB type LED modules, solid state laser elements, semiconductor laser elements or organic EL elements, or various light emitters such as incandescent lamps.

The drive control unit 1 includes a brightness control data holding circuit 3 and a light source drive control circuit 4 corresponding to each of the two light emitting points 51 and 52 . Although FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration in which the light source unit 5 has two light emitting points, the number of light emitting points may be three or more. The brightness control data holding circuits 3 and the light source drive control circuits 4 are provided in the same number as the light emitting points.

Further, hereinafter, for convenience, of the two brightness control data holding circuits 3, the brightness control data holding circuit 3 corresponding to the light emitting point 51 will be referred to as the first brightness control data holding circuit 31, and the brightness control data holding circuit 3 corresponding to the light emitting point 52 will be referred to as the second brightness control data holding circuit 32. The operations of the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 are the same as those of the brightness control data holding circuit 3 of the first embodiment. Among the two light source drive control circuits 4, the light source drive control circuit 4 corresponding to the light emitting point 51 is called a first light source drive control circuit 41, and the light source drive control circuit 4 corresponding to the light emitting point 52 is called a second light source drive control circuit 42. The operations of the first light source drive control circuit 41 and the second light source drive control circuit 42 are the same as those of the light source drive control circuit 4 of the first embodiment.

The drive control unit 1 further includes a brightness control data distribution circuit 6 that distributes the brightness fluctuation data D1 to the light emitting points 51 and 52 of the light source unit 5 based on the distribution ratio of the barycentric fluctuation data D3, which will be described later. The brightness control data distribution circuit 6 distributes the brightness fluctuation data D1 to the same number as the number of light emitting points and outputs the data to each brightness control data holding circuit 3 .

Moreover, the illumination device 100 of the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3, which will be described later, is output from the control unit 2 to the brightness control data distribution circuit 6. FIG. The lighting device 100 of the second embodiment is configured in the same manner as the lighting device 100 of the first embodiment described above, except for the above configuration. The illumination device 100 of the second embodiment uses the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 in addition to the brightness fluctuation data D1 and the time fluctuation data D2 of the first embodiment to reproduce the change in the center of gravity of light emission of one star, thereby producing more natural star blinking.

The barycenter fluctuation data D3 is data for simulating fluctuations in the direction of arrival of light due to changes in the light emission barycenter within one star as seen from the observer. The center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 has a plurality of distribution ratio data specifying distribution ratios for distributing the brightness determined by the brightness fluctuation data D1 to the light emitting points 51 and 52, respectively. In this way, the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 has a plurality of distribution ratio data, and the fluctuation of the center of gravity of brightness is reproduced by the plurality of distribution ratio data. That is, the barycenter fluctuation data D3 is data for reproducing changes in the light emission barycenter within one star. The center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 has a plurality of distribution ratio data, and may represent the fluctuation of the center of gravity of brightness when viewed as a whole. In this specification, the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 is described as having distribution ratio data c ₁ , c ₂ , c ₃ , . . . , _cn .

FIG. 6 is a graph for explaining center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 used in illumination device 100 according to the second and third embodiments. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis is the brightness distribution ratio specified by the brightness data. The vertical axis is the frequency of occurrence of the distribution ratio specified by the horizontal axis in the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3. For example, the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 is configured to satisfy the condition that the frequency of occurrence of the distribution ratio of 50:50 (1:1) for equally distributing the brightness to each of the light-emitting points 51 and 52 is the highest in the center-of-gravity fluctuation data. Further, the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3 is configured to satisfy the condition that the occurrence frequency of the distribution ratio for distributing the brightness specified by the brightness data to the light-emitting point 51 and the light-emitting point 52 in the center-of-gravity fluctuation data decreases as the distribution ratio increases. By configuring each distribution ratio data of the barycenter fluctuation data D3 so as to satisfy these conditions, the light source unit 5 repeats light emission with small fluctuation of the barycenter of brightness, and occasionally emits light with large fluctuation of the barycenter, thereby expressing the fluctuation of the barycenter.

Based on the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3, the brightness control data distribution circuit 6 determines the distribution ratio to the light emitting points 51 and 52 arranged at a minute angle (when there is one light source, the minute angle is 0 minute angle) so small that it can be regarded as one star at the distance from the observer. It should be noted that the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52, which are the constituent elements for realizing the change in the light emission center of gravity, may not be the light emitting elements themselves. The light-emitting point 51 and the light-emitting point 52 include, for example, a scratch on the light guide plate or the emission surface of the light guide rod. In other words, the light emitting point also includes a virtual light source element that is positionally different from the actual light source element.

In the following description, the degree of light emission at one light emitting point included in the light source unit 5 is referred to as "luminous intensity". The degree of brightness of the light source unit 5 as a whole, which is obtained by combining light emitted from a plurality of light emitting points included in one light source unit 5, is referred to as "brightness." Accordingly, the two will be distinguished in the following description. Here, since the light source unit 5 is a unit of a group of luminous points simulating one star, the "brightness" can also be said to be an index indicating the degree of brightness of one star reproduced by the light source unit 5. That is, the brightness assigned to the light source unit 5 by the brightness fluctuation data D1 is the "brightness". The "luminous intensity" is the brightness obtained by distributing and assigning this "brightness" to each light emitting point based on the distribution ratio.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the arcuate angles of the plurality of light source units 5 according to the second embodiment.
In the light source unit 5 having the light emitting points 51 and 52, the value of the minute angle can be controlled by the dimension between the light emitting centers of the light emitting points 51 and 52 shown in FIG.
For example, at a distance of 5 [m], a two-minute angle is 2×5000 [mm]×Sin (1/60)≈2.9 [mm]. Here, visual acuity 1 is the ability to recognize 1 arcmin, which is the reciprocal of visual acuity 1. An average person's visual acuity is 0.3, which is necessary for obtaining a driver's license, for example, and a person with a visual acuity of 0.3 is considered to have the ability to recognize the reciprocal of 3.3 arcmin. When visually recognizing the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52 that respectively emit light, considering that light blurs due to flare in the non-illuminating portion between the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52, it is considered that if the distance between the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52 is 3.3 arc minutes or less, it is viewed as one light emitter. Therefore, the luminous point 51 and the luminous point 52 are arranged at a small arcmin, for example within 3.3 arcmin, in order to reproduce one star.

Here, the light emission center interval is defined using the distance between the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52 and the eyes of the observer who visually recognizes these light emitting points in the light source unit 5 that simulates a star when the lighting device 100 is installed, and the minute angle. For example, in a building with a height of 31 [m] or more, the height dimension in the elevator car interior that must be installed is 2300 [mm] or more, and the average height of a person is about 1650 [mm]. Therefore, when the height difference between the height in the elevator car and the average height is 650 [mm] and the difference is 3.3 minutes, the distance between the light emission centers of the light emitting points 51 and 52 is 0.6 [mm]. In reality, the light emitted by the light emitting points 51 and 52 dazzles the human eye, so the distance between the light emitting centers is considered to be more relaxed.

Next, the processing when lighting device 100 of the second embodiment simulates a starry sky will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a processing example of the lighting device 100 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 8, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Illumination device 100 performs the same processing as in FIG. 4 except that steps ST11 and ST12 for distributing brightness fluctuation data D1 and barycentric fluctuation data D3 to light emitting points 51 and 52 are included between steps ST1 and ST2.

As shown in FIG. 8, in step ST1 of the lighting device 100, first, the control unit 2 determines brightness data at that constitutes brightness fluctuation data _D1 that defines the brightness with fluctuation, which is the brightness assigned to the light source unit 5 that reproduces one star. Preset data may be used as the brightness data _a1 , which is the initial value of the brightness fluctuation data D1. The determined brightness data _a1 is input to the brightness control data distribution circuit 6. FIG.

Next, in step ST11, the control section 2 determines distribution ratio data _Ct that specifies a distribution ratio for distributing the brightness specified by the brightness _data at to the light emitting points 51 and 52. FIG. Preset data may be used as the distribution ratio data _ct , which is the initial value of the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3. The determined distribution ratio data _Ct is input to the brightness control data distribution circuit 6 .

Then, in step ST12, the brightness control data distribution circuit 6 generates brightness fluctuation data D1-1 and _brightness fluctuation data D1-2 for distributing the brightness specified by the brightness data at to the light emitting point 51 and the light emitting point 52 based on the distribution ratio data _Ct , and outputs the brightness fluctuation data D1-2 to the brightness control data holding circuit 3. Specifically, the brightness control data distribution circuit 6 generates brightness data a1t specifying the brightness to be assigned to the light emitting point 51 as the brightness fluctuation data _D1-1 , and outputs it to the first brightness control data holding circuit 31. The brightness control data distribution circuit 6 also generates brightness data _a2t specifying the brightness to be assigned to the light emitting point 52 as the brightness fluctuation data D1-2, and outputs it to the second brightness control data holding circuit 32. FIG. For example, when the brightness data is the amount of current [A _] , the brightness specified by the brightness data at is 10 [A], and the distribution ratio is 50:50, both the luminous intensity data _a1t and the luminous intensity data _a2t are 5 [A].

Next, in step ST2, the control unit 2 determines the light emission duration data _bt , which is the light emission duration of the brightness specified by the brightness data at and constitutes the time fluctuation data _D2 that defines the light emission duration having fluctuation. Preset data may be used for the light emission duration data _b1 , which is the initial value of the time fluctuation data D2. The time fluctuation data D2 is output to the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the control section 2 outputs the light emission duration data _bt forming the time fluctuation data D2 to the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 .

As described above, the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 is supplied with the light intensity data _a1t forming the brightness fluctuation data D1-1 and the light emission duration data _bt forming the time fluctuation data D2. The second brightness control data holding circuit 32 receives the light intensity data a2t forming the brightness fluctuation data _D1-2 and the light emission duration data _bt forming the time fluctuation data D2. The operations of the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 to which the brightness fluctuation data D1-1 and the time fluctuation data D2 are input are the same as those of the brightness control data holding circuit 3 of the first embodiment. That is, the control section 2 performs steps ST3 and ST4 similar to those described above.

In step ST3, the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 generates brightness control data E-1 and outputs it to the first light source drive control circuit 41 at appropriate timing. The brightness control data E-1 here includes luminous intensity data a _1t and light emission duration data b _t . The second brightness control data holding circuit 32 also generates brightness control data E-2 and outputs it to the second light source drive control circuit 42 at appropriate timing. The brightness control data E-2 here includes luminous intensity data a _2t and light emission duration data b _t .

Then, in step ST4, the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 determine whether or not the light emission duration of the brightness currently being controlled has expired. When the light emission duration has not expired (step ST4: NO), the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 return to step ST3. Then, the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 continue to output the brightness control data E-1 and E-2 specifying the current brightness and the light emission duration to the first light source drive control circuit 41 and the second light source drive control circuit 42.

The first light source drive control circuit 41 outputs a light source drive signal F-1 to the light emitting point 51 based on the brightness control data E-1 input from the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 to control the light emitting state of the light emitting point 51. The second light source drive control circuit 42 outputs a light source drive signal F-2 to the light emitting point 52 based on the brightness control data E-2 input from the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 to control the light emitting state of the light emitting point 52.

As a result, the light emitting point 51 emits light with the light intensity specified by the light intensity data _a1t for the light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _bt . Further, the light emitting point 52 performs an operation of emitting light with a light intensity specified by the light intensity data _{a2t for} a light emission duration specified by the light emission duration data _bt . As a result, the light source unit 5 as a whole emits light with the brightness specified by the brightness data _at for the light emission duration. Here, since the light emitting points 51 and 52 emit light with the luminous intensity assigned based on the distribution ratio specified by the distribution ratio data _Ct , the light source unit 5 emits light so that the center of gravity of brightness is at a specific position determined according to the distribution ratio.

In step ST4, when the light emission duration has expired (step ST4: YES), the control unit 2 shifts control to step ST1 and enters the next control timing t+1. When the light emission duration expires, the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 stop outputting the brightness control data E-1 and C-2 to the first light source drive control circuit 41 and the second light source drive control circuit 42.

Then, at the next control timing t+1, the control unit 2 returns to ST1 and repeats the same routine as above. In this way, the illumination device 100 performs the above light emission processing while the control unit 2 repeatedly updates the brightness data a _t , the distribution ratio data C _t , and the light emission duration data b _t .

In the lighting device 100 of Embodiment 2, as described above, the drive control unit 1 changes the brightness, the light emission duration, and the distribution ratio on the time axis. In the illumination device 100, three types of fluctuation characteristics are independent: brightness fluctuation on the time axis by the brightness fluctuation data D1, light emission duration fluctuation on the time axis by the time fluctuation data D2, and light emission barycenter fluctuation (light arrival direction fluctuation) on the time axis within one star by the barycenter fluctuation data D3. By combining these three types of fluctuation characteristics, lighting device 100 can variously simulate starlight visually recognized by humans. Therefore, lighting device 100 can produce more natural twinkling of stars.

In addition, with respect to brightness, the illuminating device 100 reproduces fluctuations in brightness by reducing the frequency of occurrence of "the change in brightness" as the absolute value of the amount of change in brightness of the light source unit 5 decreases, and decreasing the frequency of occurrence of the "change in brightness" as the absolute value of the amount of change in brightness of the light source unit 5 increases. In addition, the illumination device 100 reproduces the fluctuation of the light emission duration by increasing the frequency of occurrence of the duration of light emission as the duration of light emission increases, and regarding the duration of light emission, the shorter the duration of light emission in the light emitting state of the light source unit 5, the less frequently the duration of light emission occurs. Furthermore, with respect to the center of gravity of light emission in one star, the lighting device 100 reproduces fluctuations in the center of gravity of brightness within a single star by changing the center of gravity of light emission more frequently as the distribution ratio of brightness to each light emission point approaches equal distribution, and decreasing the frequency of change in the center of gravity of light emission as the distribution ratio becomes more biased.

Therefore, in the illumination device 100 of Embodiment 2, not only does the brightness fluctuate and change at a constant timing, but also the timing of the change and the center of gravity of the brightness fluctuate, thereby simulating the fluctuation of the atmosphere through which the light of the star is transmitted, and as a result, simulating the twinkling of the star. Thus, according to the illumination device 100 of the second embodiment, it is possible to produce more natural twinkling of stars.

(Other examples)
In the illumination device 100 of Embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. 5, the first light source drive control circuit 41 and the second light source drive control circuit 42 are used to cause the light emission point 51 and the light emission point 52 to emit light, respectively. However, the configuration of the illumination device 100 is not limited to this. Here, another example of the configuration of the lighting device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 9 . FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the light source drive control circuit 4 of the illumination device 100 according to the second embodiment.

In the lighting device 100 of Embodiment 2, as shown in FIG. 9, one light source drive control circuit 4 may be used to control a plurality of light emitting points 51 and 52 . In this case, the light source drive control circuit 4 may output the light source drive signal F-1 to the light emitting point 51 and the light source drive signal F-2 to the light emitting point 52. FIG.

As described above, in Embodiment 2, the brightness assigned to the light source unit 5 is distributed to a plurality of light emitting points, and each of the plurality of light emitting points is caused to emit light at each luminous intensity that is the brightness after distribution. In this way, the lighting device 100 has a configuration in which the brightness of the light source unit 5 corresponding to one star is distributed to a plurality of light emitting points to emit light, so that it is possible to express changes in the light emission barycenter within one star according to the distribution ratio, and to produce more natural twinkling of the star.

Further, in the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment described above, the combination of three types of fluctuation data, namely the brightness fluctuation data D1, the time fluctuation data D2, and the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D3, makes it possible to simulate the light of various stars visually recognized by humans. Moreover, not only does the brightness fluctuate at a constant timing, but also the timing of the change fluctuates, so that the illumination device 100 can simulate the fluctuation of the atmosphere through which the light of the star is transmitted, and as a result, can simulate the twinkling of the star. Furthermore, the illumination device 100 not only changes the brightness with fluctuation at a constant timing, but also makes it possible to obtain the effect of simulating the twinkling of a star more by making it appear as a fluctuation in the direction of arrival of light due to the change in the light emission barycenter within one star.

The illumination device 100 also simulates the light of stars visually recognized by humans using three independent changes: fluctuations in brightness on the time axis based on the brightness fluctuation data D1, fluctuations in the duration of light emission on the time axis based on the time fluctuation data D2, and fluctuations in the light emission barycenter on the time axis (fluctuations in the direction of arrival of light) within one star based on the barycenter fluctuation data D3. However, it is possible to simulate the starlight seen by humans without using all three types of changes by using the ambiguous part of human recognition, such as the cognitive level due to the resolution of the human eye or the illusion of twinkling stars based on memory.

Embodiment 3.
Next, a lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG. The following description will focus on the differences of the third embodiment from the first and second embodiments, and the configurations not described in the third embodiment are the same as those of the first and second embodiments.

The first and second embodiments described above focus on one star and disclose a configuration for reproducing the natural blinking of that star, but the third embodiment relates to a configuration for reproducing the blinking of a plurality of stars. Embodiment 3 further has a delay circuit and delay fluctuation data D4 for sharing and using each data used to reproduce one star. A specific configuration will be described below. Although an example in which the third embodiment has the configuration of the second embodiment will be described below, the configuration may have the configuration of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of lighting device 100 according to the third embodiment.
The illumination device 100 of the third embodiment is the same as the second embodiment in that the drive control section 1 controls the driving of the light source unit 5 using the brightness fluctuation data D1, the time fluctuation data D2, and the barycenter fluctuation data D3. Further, the lighting device 100 of Embodiment 3 is the same as the lighting device 100 of Embodiment 2 described above shown in FIG. Also, the processing of the lighting device 100 according to the third embodiment is the same as the processing of the lighting device 100 of the second embodiment shown in FIG.

Specifically, lighting device 100 has two light source units 5 . Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the drive control unit 1 of the lighting device 100 includes two sets of control circuits having the brightness control data distribution circuit 6, the first brightness control data holding circuit 31, the second brightness control data holding circuit 32, the first light source drive control circuit 41, and the second light source drive control circuit 42 in the lighting device 100 of Embodiment 2 described above. That is, the drive control section 1 has two sets of control circuits corresponding to the two light source units 5 . Hereinafter, for convenience, the two light source units 5 are referred to as a first light source unit 5A and a second light source unit 5B. Also, the two sets of control circuits are referred to as a first control circuit 11 and a second control circuit 12 . Here, the illumination device 100 includes two light source units 5 and two sets of control circuits.

Moreover, the lighting device 100 includes a delay circuit 7 in addition to the configuration of the lighting device 100 of the second embodiment described above. The delay circuit 7 commonly holds various data such as brightness fluctuation data D1, time fluctuation data D2, and barycenter fluctuation data D3 in a plurality of light source units 5. FIG. The delay circuit 7 sequentially delays the light emission timing of each light source unit 5 by delaying the timing of giving various data to the control circuit of each light source unit 5 based on the delay time fluctuation data D4. Various data held by the delay circuit 7 are input from the control section 2 .

Here, the delay time fluctuation data D4 is data for simulating the delay time fluctuation when causing the second light source unit 5B to emit light similar to the light emitted by the first light source unit 5A after delaying the light emitted by the first light source unit 5A. The delay time fluctuation data D4 has a plurality of delay time data, and the delay time fluctuation is reproduced by the plurality of delay time data. The delay fluctuation data D4 has a plurality of pieces of delay time data, and it is sufficient that the fluctuation of the delay time is represented when viewed as a whole. In this specification, the delay time fluctuation data D4 is described as having delay time data _d1 , _d2 , _d3 , . . . , _dn .

FIG. 11 is a graph for explaining delay time fluctuation data D4 used in lighting device 100 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis is the delay time, and the vertical axis is the occurrence frequency of the delay time specified by the horizontal axis in the delay fluctuation data D4. As shown in FIG. 11, the delay time fluctuation data D4 is data having fluctuation such that the shorter the delay time, the lower the frequency of occurrence of the delay time, and the longer the delay time, the higher the frequency of occurrence of the delay time.

The delay circuit 7 operates to delay the timing (update timing) of giving various data such as the brightness fluctuation data D1, the time fluctuation data D2, and the center of gravity fluctuation data D3 input from the control unit 2 to the second control circuit 12 based on the delay time fluctuation data D4 input from the control unit 2. The brightness fluctuation data D<b>1 and the center-of-gravity fluctuation data D<b>3 among the various data whose update timing is delayed are input to the brightness control data distribution circuit 6 of the second control circuit 12 . Also, the time fluctuation data D2 whose update timing is delayed is input to the first brightness control data holding circuit 31 and the second brightness control data holding circuit 32 of the second control circuit 12 .

Note that the first control circuit 11 and the second control circuit 12 perform processing similar to that of the lighting apparatus 100 of the second embodiment described above, except that the update timing described above is delayed.

Next, the processing when the illumination device 100 of the third embodiment simulates a starry sky will be described with reference to FIG. 12 . FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a processing example of the delay circuit 7 used in the lighting device 100 according to the third embodiment.

First, the control unit 2 outputs various data to the first control circuit 11, namely, the brightness data at forming the brightness fluctuation data D1, the light _emission duration data _bt forming the time fluctuation data D2, and the distribution ratio data _ct forming the center of gravity fluctuation data D3. As a result, in the first control circuit 11, the routine of steps ST1, ST11, ST12, ST2, ST3, and ST4 shown in FIG. 8 is performed in the same manner as in the second embodiment. That is, the first light source unit 5A emits light based on the brightness data a _t , the light emission duration data b _t and the distribution ratio data c _t .

Further, the control unit 2 outputs to the delay circuit 7 the brightness data at forming the brightness fluctuation data D1, the light emission duration data _bt forming the _time fluctuation data, and the distribution ratio data _ct forming the barycenter fluctuation data D3. Various data a _t, b _{t, and} c _t constituting these various fluctuation data D1 to D3 are input to the delay circuit 7 as shown in step ST10. The delay circuit 7 holds the input various data a _t, b _{t, and} c _t . Further, as shown in step ST20, the control section 2 determines the delay time data _dt forming the delay time fluctuation data D4 and outputs it to the delay circuit 7. FIG. The delay time data _dt is input to the delay circuit 7 . The delay circuit 7 holds the input delay time data _dt . As a result, the delay circuit 7 holds various data at _, bt _, ct _{, and dt} .

As shown in step ST30, the delay circuit 7 determines whether or not the delay time specified by the held delay time data _dt has elapsed. If the delay time has not elapsed (step ST30: NO), the delay circuit 7 returns to step ST30. When the delay time has elapsed (step ST30: YES), the delay circuit 7 outputs to the second control circuit 12 various data a _t, b _{t, and} c _t constituting the held various fluctuation data D1 to D3. As a result, in the second control circuit 12, the routine of steps ST1, ST11, ST12, ST2, ST3, and ST4 shown in FIG. 8 is performed as in the second embodiment. That is, the second light source unit 5B emits light in the same manner as the first light source unit 5A with a delay time specified by the delay time data _dt from the light emission of the first light source unit 5A.

After the processing of step ST40, the control unit 2 returns to step ST10 and repeats the same routine as above. As described above, in the illumination device 100, after one of the two stars blinks, the other star blinks in the same manner with a delay. Then, in the illumination device 100, the other star similarly blinks with a delay, and the delay time is determined based on the delay time fluctuation data. Therefore, in the illumination device 100, while the phenomenon in which the other star blinks after a relatively long time delay is repeated, light emission is occasionally performed in which the phenomenon in which the other star blinks after a relatively short time delay is performed, and fluctuations in the delay time can be expressed.

As described above, the third embodiment has the following effects in addition to the effects of the first and second embodiments. The illumination device 100 of Embodiment 3 has various data such as brightness fluctuation data D1, time fluctuation data D2, and barycentric fluctuation data D3 in common for a plurality of light source units 5 forming a plurality of stars. The illumination device 100 can simulate a starry sky by driving a plurality of light source units 5 by combining these various data, the delay circuit 7, and the delay fluctuation data. Therefore, since the lighting device 100 can avoid a complicated circuit configuration, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

(others)
According to the press release of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in April 1998, ``When the light blinking frequency was increased from 3 [Hz], 77 [%] of the subjects underwent a blinking stimulus of 9 [Hz] to 15 [Hz]. Therefore, in the processing shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, it is preferable to set the range of the time fluctuation data D2 in advance so that the duration of the light emission state of the light source unit 5 is longer than the time during which the human photosensitivity affects. That is, it is preferable that the light emission duration of the light source unit 5 set by the time fluctuation data D2 is set longer than the light emission period set in advance as the period that makes people feel uncomfortable. By limiting in this way, the effect of suppressing the influence of photosensitivity on humans can be obtained.

1 drive control section 2 control section 3 brightness control data holding circuit 4 light source drive control circuit 5 light source unit 5A first light source unit 5B second light source unit 6 brightness control data distribution circuit 7 delay circuit 11 first control circuit 12 second control circuit 31 first brightness control data holding circuit 32 second brightness control data holding circuit 41 first light source drive control circuit 42 second light source drive control circuit 51 Light emitting point 52 Light emitting point 100 Lighting device D1 Brightness fluctuation data D1-1 Brightness fluctuation data D1-2 Brightness fluctuation data D2 Time fluctuation data D3 Gravity fluctuation data D4 Delayed fluctuation data E Brightness control data E-1 Brightness control data E-2 Brightness control data F Light source drive signal F-1 Light source drive signal F-2 Light source drive signal, a₁ Brightness data, a_1t Luminous data, a₂ Brightness data, a_{2 tons} Luminous data, a₃ Brightness data, a_t brightness data, b₁ luminescence duration data, b₂ luminescence duration data, b₃ luminescence duration data, b_t luminescence duration data, c₁ Distribution ratio data, c₂ Distribution ratio data, c₃ Distribution ratio data, c_t Distribution ratio data, d₁ delay time data, d₂ delay time data, d₃ delay time data, d_t Latency data.

Claims (14)

A lighting device that simulates the twinkling of a star,
a light source unit associated with one star and including a plurality of light emitting points;
a drive control unit that controls driving of the plurality of light emitting points included in the light source unit;
The driving control section distributes the brightness assigned to the light source unit to the plurality of light emitting points, and causes each of the plurality of light emitting points to emit light at each luminous intensity that is brightness after distribution. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the drive control section changes a distribution ratio of the brightness to the plurality of light emitting points on a time axis. 3. The lighting device according to claim 2, wherein the drive control unit distributes the brightness assigned to the light source unit based on the distribution ratio to determine each luminous intensity to be assigned to the plurality of light emitting points, and controls driving of the plurality of light emitting points so that each of the plurality of light emitting points emits light at each assigned luminous intensity during a light emission duration determined corresponding to the brightness assigned to the light source unit. 4. The lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the drive control unit determines each luminous intensity to be assigned to each of the plurality of light-emitting points based on center-of-gravity fluctuation data, which is data indicating the fluctuation of the center of gravity of the brightness and is set based on the distribution ratio of the center of gravity. The center of gravity fluctuation data is time-series data having a plurality of distribution ratio data specifying the distribution ratio,
The plurality of distribution ratio data are
5. The lighting device according to claim 4, wherein a distribution ratio for evenly distributing the brightness assigned to the light source unit to each of the plurality of light-emitting points occurs most frequently in the center-of-gravity fluctuation data, and a distribution ratio for distributing the brightness to each of the plurality of light-emitting points in a biased manner in the center-of-gravity fluctuation data decreases as the distribution ratio becomes more skewed. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the drive control section changes the brightness assigned to the light source unit on a time axis. The lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drive control section determines the brightness to be assigned to the light source unit based on brightness fluctuation data indicating the brightness fluctuation. The brightness fluctuation data is time-series data having a plurality of brightness data specifying the brightness,
The plurality of brightness data are
8. The lighting device according to claim 7, wherein a condition is satisfied such that the smaller the absolute value of the amount of change in brightness before and after the change in brightness, the more frequently the change in brightness of the amount of change occurs in the brightness fluctuation data, and the larger the absolute value of the amount of change, the less frequently the change in brightness of the amount of change in the brightness fluctuation data occurs. 9. The illumination device according to any one of claims 4 to 8, depending on claim 3, wherein the drive control unit changes the duration of light emission on a time axis. The lighting device according to claim 9, wherein the drive control section determines the light emission duration corresponding to the brightness assigned to the light source unit based on time fluctuation data indicating fluctuation of the light emission duration. The time fluctuation data is time-series data having a plurality of light emission duration data specifying the light emission duration,
The plurality of light emission duration data are
11. The lighting device according to claim 10, wherein the lighting device according to claim 10 is configured to satisfy a condition that the longer the length of the light emission duration, the higher the occurrence rate in the time fluctuation data, and the shorter the length of the light emission duration data, the lower the occurrence rate in the time fluctuation data. 12. The lighting device according to claim 10, wherein the light emission duration is set to be longer than a light emission period set in advance as a period that people feel uncomfortable. a plurality of the light source units;
Brightness fluctuation data having a plurality of brightness data specifying the brightness; time fluctuation data having a plurality of light emission duration data specifying a duration of light emission at the brightness; center of gravity fluctuation data having a plurality of distribution ratio data specifying a distribution ratio for distributing the brightness to a plurality of light emitting points; and a delay circuit for delaying,
The delay circuit is
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the delay time is determined based on delay time fluctuation data having a plurality of pieces of delay time data specifying the delay time. The plurality of delay time data are
14. The lighting device according to claim 13, wherein the delay time data having a shorter delay time has a lower occurrence frequency in the delay time fluctuation data, and the delay time data having a longer delay time has a higher occurrence frequency in the delay time fluctuation data.

Images