JPH05251187A - Memory light dimming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To store the operation contents so far in the case where a trouble occurs in a light dimming device so as to facilitate investigation of a cause of the trouble. CONSTITUTION:In a lighting load 10, a control means 12 controls light dimming according to the operation of an operating means 11. The control means 12 encodes to store the operating contents into a storing memory 13 in sequence. In the case of abnormality of operation of the control means 12, the control means 12 is reset, the contents stored in the storing memory 13 is read out in sequence, whereby operation of the operating means 11 is carried out again.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dimmer for dimming and controlling a lighting of a stage or a hall.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional dimmer, a microcomputer or the like is used to store data for dimming control for a plurality of scenes in a memory in advance, and the dimming control is performed while reading the stored contents. Things are being done. Since it takes a lot of time to set new data in the memory each time the dimmer is used, the memory is configured to be backed up even if the power supply voltage to the dimmer is cut off. Often.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a structure for backing up the memory. The memory 1 is supplied with power from the DC power source 2 of the dimmer. The DC power supply 2 rectifies a commercial AC power supply and is supplied with power. When the power to the dimmer is cut off, the output voltage of the DC power supply 2 via the line L1 also drops. The power supply voltage monitoring circuit 3 monitors the voltage of the line L1 and derives a signal for inhibiting writing to the memory 1 via the line L2 when the voltage becomes less than a predetermined voltage. By the signal transmitted through the line L2, the memory 1
The power supply of the electric power given through the line L3 of the above is also switched from the DC power supply 2 to the battery 4. Changeover switch 5
The common contact 6 is switched from the individual contact 7 connected to the output of the DC power supply 2 to the individual contact 8 connected to the output of the battery 4. That is, when the abnormal decrease in the output voltage of the DC power supply 2 is detected, the power supply voltage monitoring circuit 3 puts the memory 1 into the write-inhibited state by this detection signal, and switches the power supply of the memory 1 to the battery 4 to store the memory data. Is protected.

However, in the configuration of FIG. 7, protection of memory data against runaway of a program of a microcomputer is not considered. When data is written to the memory 1 due to a program runaway, the memory data stored in the memory is undesirably cleared,
It may be overwritten with incorrect data.

The program runaway of the microcomputer occurs when the program itself has a problem (bug) or due to external noise such as static electricity. A problem in programming occurs when a specific condition such as a combination of operations for dimming operation is satisfied. Therefore, it is important to reproduce the operation contents in pursuing the cause. If the contents stored in the memory are rewritten due to a program runaway, it is difficult to pursue the cause of the runaway and improve the program. In addition, even if a runaway occurs due to external noise or the like, if the stored contents of the memory are rewritten, the preset data will be lost and it will be necessary to reset the data.

[0006] With the development of computer technology, a device for dimming control has become more and more complicated due to the pursuit of higher functionality. Under such circumstances, there are problems such as insufficient program verification (debugging) of the device, troubles due to inadequacies, troubles due to operation mistakes due to operator's unfamiliarity, troubles due to external noise, and the like. Most of such troubles are not reproducible, and it may not be possible to find the cause. In such a problem, there is also a problem that the data input over a long time is erased in an instant.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a memory dimmer capable of storing an operation for dimming control and reproducing the content of the operation when an abnormal operation occurs. That is.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a lighting load,
Operation means for performing an operation for dimming control of the lighting load,
In response to the output from the operating means, the control means for dimming the lighting load according to the operation, and in response to the output from the operating means, when the operation is performed, generate a signal representing a code predetermined according to the operation content. Code generating means, storage means for sequentially storing signals from the code generating means,
A storage dimmer comprising: a reproduction unit that reads out the stored contents of the storage unit according to the operation order of the operation unit and reproduces the operation contents when an abnormality occurs in the operation of the control unit.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the control means performs the dimming control of the illumination load according to the operation of the operating means. The code generator is
A signal representing a predetermined code is generated according to the operation content, and the storage means sequentially stores the signal. When an abnormality occurs in the operation of the control means, the reproduction means reads the stored contents of the storage means according to the operation order of the operation means and reproduces the operation contents. As a result, the process of the operation leading to the occurrence of the operation abnormality of the control means is reproduced, and the cause of the operation abnormality can be easily pursued.

[0010]

1 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of an embodiment of the present invention. An operation for dimming the lighting load 10 is performed by an operator such as an operator on the operation means 11 including a push button switch or the like. The control means 12
In response to the output from the operation means 11, the lighting load 10 is dimming-controlled according to the operation. The control means 12 is realized by including a microcomputer or the like, converts the operation content of the operation means 11 into a code determined in advance for each operation content,
The data is sequentially stored in the memory 13 for storage which is a storage means. The storage memory 13 is backed up by a battery and is protected so that the stored contents are not rewritten when the operation of the control means 12 is abnormal. The control means 12 operates as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM) that constitutes a microcomputer.
Is done using.

FIG. 2 shows an operation surface of a push button switch provided in the operation means 11 shown in FIG. The push button switches include numeric keys 20 to 29 and symbol keys 30 to 35. The push button switches 20 to 29 and 30 to 35 are arranged in a matrix and read by the control means 12 to generate a signal representing a corresponding code.

FIG. 3 shows pushbutton switches 20-29, 30-.
35 shows the relationship between 35 and the corresponding code. The push button switch is represented by hexadecimal numbers from 0 to 7 in the upper order and 0 to F in the lower order.

FIG. 4 shows an operation in which the control means 12 codes the operation content of the operation means 11. In steps a1 and a2, the output from the operating means 11 is read. In the next step a3, the operation in which the corresponding code is defined is performed to determine whether or not there is a coded signal. When there is a coded signal, the code corresponding to the operation content of the operation means 11 is stored in the memory 13 for storage in step a4. Memory 13 for storage
The code is stored in accordance with the sequence of operations performed by the operator or the like on the operation means 11. Step a
3 there is no coded signal, or step a
When step 4 is completed, the process is completed at step a5.

In the memory dimmer shown in FIG. 1, the lighting load to be controlled is a lighting device such as an incandescent lamp. The brightness is set for each control system (channel). The operation for setting is as follows.

Channel numbers are set by pressing the numeric keys 20 to 29. One or more lighting loads are connected to one channel. The memory dimmer controls the brightness of one or more lighting loads for each channel.

Press the "@" key 33. The number pressed by this is handled as a channel number.

The brightness level for each channel is set with the numeric keys 20 to 29.

Press the "*" key 32. by this,
The number set in is treated as the brightness level.

The operation of setting channels 1, 4, and 7 to level 80 according to the above-described operating method will be described below.

The operation sequence of the push button switches 20 to 29 and 30 to 35 is as follows.

Press the "1" key 21.

Press the "+" key 35.

Press the "4" key 24.

Press the "+" key 35.

Press the "7" key 27.

Press the "@" key 33.

Press the "8" key 28.

Press the "0" key 20.

Press the "*" key 32.

In the above operation, a signal representing the code "31" of the "1" key 21 is generated. In each of the following steps, a signal representing a code is generated according to the correspondence relationship of FIG. 3 and stored in the memory 13 for storage in the order of operations. The "C" key 31 is for correction.

FIG. 5 shows the state of the code stored in the memory 13 for storage as a result of the above-mentioned operations (1) to (3). Figure 5
(1) indicates that the code corresponding to the operation content is stored in the operation order from address 0. Figure 5
(2) shows the display of the push button switch corresponding to the code.

Since the operation content of the operation means 11 is stored in the storage memory 13 at sequentially different addresses in accordance with the order of the operation, it is stored by prohibiting other than such sequential writing of data. You can protect the contents. For example, when the program of the control means 12 goes out of control and tries to rewrite the stored contents of the memory 13 for storage, the rewrite addresses are randomly generated. Therefore, by monitoring the address signal and the control signal representing the distinction between writing and reading in the memory 13 for storage, when the address is sequentially changed and writing is not performed, the memory 13 for storage is
It is possible to provide a protection circuit that prohibits writing to the memory.

The operation means 11 shown in FIG.
There is also provided a push button switch for resetting the operation of the control means 12 when an abnormality occurs in 2. When such a reset switch is pressed, the control means 12 causes the FIG.
The operation according to the illustrated abnormality recovery processing flow is performed. Reset is performed in step b1. In step b2, the stored contents of the memory 13 for storage are sequentially read from the address 0 shown in FIG. Next, in step b3, it is determined whether or not the read store contents include a coded signal. If there is a coded signal, a process for dimming control corresponding to the code is performed in step b4. When the process of step b4 is completed, the stored contents of the memory 13 for storage from the next address are read again in step b2. If there is no coded signal in step b3, the process moves to step b5 and ends. As described above, the stored contents of the storage memory 13 are sequentially read, and the data of the stored contents is regarded as a code corresponding to the operation content of the operation means 11 and is operated by the operation means 11 similarly to the operation of the illumination load. The dimming control of 10 is performed. In this way, the operation is reproduced. In order to facilitate the determination of the presence or absence of the coded signal in step b3, a code indicating the end of the operation may be stored when the memory 13 for storage is initialized.

In the above embodiment, the operating means 11 is provided with the push button switches 20 to 29 and 30 to 35, but it is generally used for a device for dimming control such as a slide fader and an encoder wheel. Of course, a means for inputting the operation may be provided.
For example, the slide fader is a variable resistor that can linearly operate the operation knob, and is used to perform a dimming operation with a level that changes corresponding to the operation of the operation knob. The output of such a variable resistor is subjected to analog / digital conversion, and the converted value is stored in the storage memory 13 as 2-byte data with command data. As the command data, one byte of hexadecimal number, for example, "FA", indicates that the fader level is set. Therefore, when the fader level is 50%, "FA",
It becomes "80". The reason that 50% is a code of "80" is that the level corresponding to 100% is represented as "FF". The encoder wheel is used to increase or decrease the count value of the operation amount for dimming control according to the rotation direction of the wheel. The code corresponding to the operation of the encoder wheel is 2-byte data of the command data corresponding to the changing direction of the count value and the change amount of the count value. For example, when changing the count value by 10 counts in the increasing direction, "F
It can be coded as "B" or "0A". That is, as shown in FIG. 3, since the code corresponding to the operation content of the operation means 11 can be represented by 3 bits of 0 to 7, the upper 4 bits are added to the upper 4 bits.
1 bit of 4 bits and lower 4 bits, operating means 11
The operation content of can be represented. When the most significant bit of this 1-byte data is 0, it corresponds to the push button switch converted according to FIG. 3, and when the upper bit is 1 bit, it indicates that it is 2-byte data such as a slide fader operation.

In the above embodiment, the stored contents of the storage memory 13 are reproduced to perform the dimming control of the lighting load 10. However, the stored contents as shown in FIG. Of course, the corresponding operation may be displayed. By examining such a display, it is possible to distinguish between the operation up to the time when the operation abnormality occurs and the data stored in the memory 13 for storage due to the operation abnormality, and it can be useful in pursuit of the cause of the operation abnormality.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation contents of the operation means by the operator or the like are coded and stored in the storage means in the order of the operation, and when the operation of the control means is abnormal, the contents stored in the storage means are stored. Can be reproduced. By this, if there is a problem (bug) in the operation program of the control means, it can be reproduced reliably, so that the cause can be pursued and the program can be improved to improve reliability. ..

If the operator makes an operation error, the correct operation method can be acquired by reproducing the operation error, and the distrust of the memory dimmer can be eliminated.

If it is found that the external noise is the cause, the reliability of the device can be improved by taking measures to make it less susceptible to noise.

Since the data input over a long period of time remains as the contents of the storage means, there is no need to re-input.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an operating means 11 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a code corresponding to a push button key provided on the operation means 11 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of storing a code corresponding to an operation of an operation unit 11 in a memory 13 for storage in the embodiment shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing stored contents of a storage memory 13 shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

6 is a flowchart showing a recovery process in an abnormal operation of the control means 12 in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration for protecting a memory in a conventional dimmer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Lighting Load 11 Operating Means 12 Control Means 13 Memory for Storage 20-29 Numeric Keys 30-35 Symbol Keys

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A lighting load, operating means for performing an operation for dimming control of the lighting load, control means for responding to an output from the operating means, and dimming the lighting load according to the operation, and the operating means. When the operation is performed in response to the output of, the code generating means for generating a signal representing a predetermined code according to the operation content, the storing means for sequentially storing the signal from the code generating means, and the operation of the control means When an abnormality occurs in the storage means, the storage dimmer includes a reproduction means for reading the stored contents of the storage means in accordance with the operation order of the operation means and reproducing the operation contents.