JPH037320B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention controls equipment such as lighting fixtures, air conditioning equipment, and electrical equipment connected to indoor wiring by using control signals superimposed on power lines. This relates to a remote control system for equipment in a building.

<Prior art> In the past, the lighting means for equipment installed in buildings, such as lighting equipment, used to be built into the lighting equipment itself, or installed on a branch line branching into the side wall of the room. ), but remote control is not possible with this, and the idea is to control the lighting of lighting equipment wirelessly. In this case, radio waves, light waves, ultrasonic waves, etc. are used as wireless methods, but among these, light waves and ultrasonic waves are highly directional, and the equipment must be aimed at the equipment to be controlled, making the equipment cumbersome. and shipping/
This has disadvantages such as the signal not being able to reach the receiver if there is an obstacle between the receivers. In addition, if the directionality of radio waves is strengthened, it will be easier to aim, and it will not be affected by some obstacles, but if the output is increased so that the radio waves can reach very long distances, they will be able to reach building structures. The first problem with increasing the output is that radio waves can be reflected or interfered with by the interior walls and can easily cause unexpected malfunctions, and the first problem with increasing the output is that it also violates the Radio Law, making long-distance control virtually impossible. ing.

In recent years, energy saving measures have been called for, and even lighting equipment is required to turn on and off in a precise manner. However, with this type of commonly used light on/off operation, the switch is turned on and off manually (by the user), so even if you use the remote control, you may forget the actual operation, which is a problem. remains.

<Object of the Invention> In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides a remote control system in which the power supply line is used as a control signal line, compensates for the weaknesses of the wireless system, and allows remote equipment to be controlled using low-power wireless communication. It is something to do.

<Structure of the Invention> The present invention uses a power line wired in a building for each predetermined area as a control signal line, and connects a driving transmitter base unit with a wireless signal superimposed with a control signal to the base of the power line. , a receiver is installed in front of an appropriate number of devices to be controlled placed on the power line, and a control signal from a transmitter base unit is outputted from a separately placed transmitter or relayed by a repeater placed midway through the power line. The control signal of the transmitting base unit that receives the signal and is output is conveyed to the power line, this is received by the receiver to control the power supply of the device to be controlled, and this operation confirmation signal is transmitted to the transmitting base unit. It is something that will be done. In this case, the repeater is driven in response to a relay signal from a presence/absence confirmation sensor such as an infrared detection sensor placed on furniture in the user's work area.

<Example> Fig. 1 shows a configuration in which a transmitting base unit placed in a control room or the like is directly operated. 1 is a power line, and the base end of this line is a transmitter for receiving a wireless signal and superimposing the signal on the power line. The base unit 2 is connected to the terminal end of the power line 1, and an appropriate number of controlled devices 3 such as lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, electrical equipment, etc. are connected in parallel, and the position in front of the controlled device 3 is connected in parallel. A receiver 4, which serves as a receiving end that receives the signal superimposed on the power supply line, is interposed therebetween.

To explain this effect now, first, the transmitter 5 is placed separately near the transmitter base unit 2 (for example, in the same room).
The wireless control signal a is generated using the wireless control signal a.

Here, the transmitting base unit 2 that has received the wireless control signal a converts it to a predetermined frequency so that the control signal b can be superimposed on the power line 1, and retransmits it (in this case, the transmitting base unit 2 (processing for complex control content instructions). Next, the control signal b carried on this power line 1 is decoded by the receiver 4 serving as the receiving end, gives an instruction of control contents to the controlled device 3, and turns off the power of the controlled device 3 (for example, , turn off the light fixtures). in this case,
The operation confirmation signal c of the controlled object is similarly fed back from the power line 1 to the transmitter base unit 2 through the receiver 4, and is confirmed on a panel display (not shown) placed at the position of the transmitter base unit 2. be.

In addition, FIG. 2 shows a configuration in which the control transmitter and the transmitter are located far away (separate rooms, etc.), and in this case, a repeater 6 that receives the wireless control signal a of the transmitter 5 is installed in the middle of the power line 1. It is something that connects. That is, a repeater 6 is installed on the power line 1 that links the transmitter 2 and the receiver 4, and the repeater 6 first receives the wireless control signal a from the transmitter 5, and then transmits the wireless control signal a. The signal is once returned to the transmitting base unit 2 using the power line 1, and the control signal b is emitted from the transmitting base unit 2 for the first time and superimposed on the power line 1,
The receiver 4 at the end of the power line 1 is controlled, and the device 3 to be controlled is substantially remotely controlled.

By the way, the control signal b from the transmitter base device 2 to the receiver 4, which is the terminal device, and the control signal b from the relay device 6 to the receiver 4, and the operation confirmation signal c, which is returned, are made by transmitting real data consisting of 2 bits twice. It operates based on the results of repeated transmissions, validation checks, and confirmation of the signal. The carrier frequency is 120KHz, the modulation method is PCM modulation, and a single base unit controls 16 channels of end units. Also, the base unit can be used without a filter for up to 64 stations. Furthermore, wireless transmission from transmitter 5 to repeater 6 uses 370MHz UHF radio waves, and data is transmitted in the same 20-bit 2 format as the power line transmission method.
Send serial data once. The range of radio waves is approximately 10 meters.

Figure 3 shows an energy-saving type configuration.
In this case, the repeater 6 arranged on the power line 1 is an absence confirmation repeater that operates in response to the wireless control signal a' of the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 that confirms presence/absence. The wireless control signal a' of the device 6 is once returned to the transmitter base unit 2 in the same manner as described above, and the control signal b converted by the transmitter base unit 2 is conveyed to the receiver 4 of the desired controlled device 3 (lighting equipment). It is something. At this time, the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 uses an infrared type object presence/absence confirmation sensor.

To explain this operation, first, the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 is set at the lower front edge of the desk 8, and the transmitter 5 is installed at the rear end of the desk 8.

Here, infrared rays 7a emitted from the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 are reflected by the human body (not shown) and enter the light receiving section to detect "presence". At this time,
The wireless control signal a' of the transmitter 5 is not emitted and the lighting fixture remains lit. Next, when there is no human body in front of the desk 8 because the person is away from the desk, such as going out, there is no reflected light of the infrared rays 7a, and the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 detects "absence". Upon receiving this absence detection, the transmitter 5 issues a wireless control signal a' and sends the signal to the repeater 6 located on the ceiling. ). The radio control signal a' that has entered the repeater 6 in this way is sent to the transmitter base unit 2, and the control signal b converted from the transmitter base unit 2 controls the receiver 4 at a predetermined position. This is to turn off the power to the controlled device 3, which is a lighting fixture in the room, and eliminates the so-called forgetting to turn off the lights.

Although the repeater operation means for emitting the detection signal of the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 is wireless, the transmitter 5
It is possible to directly guide the detection signal of the presence/absence confirmation sensor 7 to the relay device 6 and operate the relay device 6 without using the relay device 6.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the remote control system for equipment in a building according to the present invention uses a carrier line that superimposes control signals as a power supply line serving as indoor wiring, and transmits signals operated by a transmitter. By combining a wireless method and a wired method, in which the receiver is placed in the controlled device attached to the base unit and the power line, remote equipment can be controlled by wireless control using weak radio waves. Easy handling without causing malfunction is possible. Moreover, since each of these equipment is operated wirelessly, it goes without saying that the wiring for wall switches that correspond to the equipment, such as traditional indoor wiring, can be omitted.
Equipment (lighting equipment) in each room can be adjusted simply by moving the transmitter.
The power supply can be opened and closed freely, and there is no need to change the wiring every time the partition is moved. Furthermore, when using this repeater, if a presence/absence confirmation sensor is combined, the wiring can be used as an energy-saving measure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment using a repeater, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment using a presence/absence confirmation sensor. It is an explanatory diagram of an example. 1... Power line, 2... Transmitting master device, 3... Controlled device, 4... Receiver, 5... Transmitter, 6... Relay machine, 7... Presence/absence confirmation sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transmitter unit driven by a wireless signal that superimposes a control signal on the power line is connected to the base of the power line for each predetermined area that is wired in the building, and an appropriate number of control objects are installed on the power line. A facility in a building, characterized in that a receiver is provided at a position in front of each device, the control signal is transmitted from a transmitting master device, and the control signal is received by the receiver to control the power supply opening/closing of the device to be controlled. Equipment remote control system.