JPH0927205A - Lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the degree of freedom in installation of luminaires and switches, change of lay-out, or the like by composing information signals from information sensors to include predetermined information including group designating information and lighting load control information. SOLUTION: Luminaires L1, L2,..., Lm, Ln,..., Lk, switches Sw1, Swk, Swm, Swn, sensors S1, S2,..., Sm, Sn,..., Sk, and a remote control signal receiving part Rc are connected by special signal lines W, and a remote control signal transmitting part Rc1 is provided. By composing information signals from each sensor are composed to include predetermined information including group designating information and lighting load control information, need of addresses of sensors is eliminated, and each luminaire can be set to belong to plural groups. By supplying control information from each sensor to each group, need of a separate address for each luminaire is also eliminated. Signal transmission efficiency is thus improved, and the degree of freedom in lighting system layout can be improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lighting system using a plurality of lighting fixtures such as offices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An outline of a conventional lighting system is shown in FIG. In the figure, S1, S2, ..., Sm, Sn, ..., Sk are sensors, Sw1, Sw2, ..., Swn are switches, and L1, L2, ..., Lm, Ln ,. This system requires one controller Cn for controlling the whole. In addition, the controlled lighting fixtures, switches, and sensors require unique addresses to indicate their presence. For example, in FIG. 2, the lighting fixtures L1, L2, ...
When trying to turn on m, it is necessary to send information that the switch Sw1 is turned on to the controller Cn, and the controller Cn receives the information and receives the information.
A control procedure of sending a signal for instructing lighting to 1, L2, ..., Lm is required, and at this time, each lighting fixture, switch, sensor, etc. are identified by a unique address.

As described above, in the conventional lighting system, a unique address is required, and a dual signal transmission of signal transmission from the switch or sensor to the controller and signal transmission from the controller to the luminaire is required. It becomes necessary, and since there is no direct signal transmission from the switch or sensor to the lighting equipment, there is a problem that the signal traffic increases and the transmission efficiency deteriorates.
The transmitted signals are also concentrated on the controller. In addition, since the controller is always required, there is a problem that the entire system becomes expensive. further,
When adding lighting equipment, it is necessary to assign addresses individually and change the controller program, and also set addresses individually for the switches and sensors to determine where the controller is from. It was very inconvenient.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to freely install, relocate or add lighting fixtures, switches and sensors. It is to provide a lighting system that is highly flexible and can be freely set by the user.

[0005]

According to the invention of claim 1, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, at least one arbitrary
A lighting system in which a plurality of independent lighting load parts assigned to one group and an information sensor for outputting environmental information of the plurality of lighting load parts are provided, and the lighting load is controlled based on the information signal of the information sensor. The information signal from the information sensor is characterized by including predetermined information including group designation information and lighting load control information. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above lighting system, a priority means is provided for discriminating and controlling overlapping information signals based on predetermined priority information. Here, as the information sensor, any of a human body detection sensor, an infrared remote control receiver, a wall switch, an illuminance sensor, and the like may be used, or these may be mixed. Further, the information sensor may be integrated with the lighting load unit. Further, it is preferable that the lighting load unit includes a high frequency lighting device. Next, the priority means of claim 2 is one of the overlapping information signals,
Higher illuminance may be prioritized over lower illuminance, or low illuminance may be prioritized over higher illuminance. Further, the earlier time may be prioritized over the later one, or the heavier abnormality may be prioritized over the lighter one. The priority unit may be provided in the lighting load unit or the information sensor.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the individual lighting load sections are assigned to arbitrary groups, the information sensors are installed at necessary places, and the lighting load sections are controlled based on the information signals of the respective information sensors. In the system, the information signal from the information sensor includes group designation information and lighting load control information, and is configured to include predetermined information. Regardless of that, the control information is sent out by designating a group of lighting load parts. In addition, each lighting load unit is concerned with only the control information of the group to which it belongs and not the control information of the group to which it does not belong, regardless of the arrangement of the individual information sensors. Therefore, assuming that the relationship between the information sensor and the lighting load section in the conventional lighting system is tightly coupled,
The system of the present invention can be said to be loosely coupled, and it is not necessary to change the configuration of the information sensor when the lighting load unit is added, and it is not necessary to change the configuration of the lighting load unit when the information sensor is added. . It suffices to simply set to which group the lighting load unit belongs, and to set to the information sensor how much control information is output to which group. Therefore, the flexibility of the lighting system is increased, and the user can freely layout the layout.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, since the priority means for discriminating and controlling the overlapping information signals on the basis of the predetermined priority information is provided, for example, by giving priority to the higher illuminance, the user It is possible to eliminate an uncomfortable feeling and anxiety that the illuminance at a location where is suddenly lowered due to the influence of the control information of another group. Further, by giving the highest priority to the control information corresponding to an emergency situation such as a fire, it is possible to immediately switch to the lighting environment suitable for evacuation. In addition, in an environment where external light can be used such as at the window, it is possible to provide a comfortable lighting environment with minimum energy by controlling the illuminance from multiple illuminance sensors to always exceed the target illuminance. .

[0008]

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the illumination system of the present invention. This system uses a dedicated signal line W, and each lighting fixture L1, L2, ..., Lm, Ln ,.
k, the switches Sw1, Swk, Swm, Swn, the sensors S1, S2, ..., Sm, Sn, ..., Sk, and the remote control receiver Rc are connected to each other by a dedicated signal line W.
Rc1 is a remote control transmission unit. No conventional controller is required, and each luminaire, switch, sensor, etc., need not be assigned a unique address. Each luminaire has only information about which zone it belongs to, regardless of the conventional address. The zone to which each lighting fixture belongs is not limited to a single zone, and may be a plurality of zones. Further, each sensor does not know its own position and outputs a signal only to a zone that it affects, and the same applies to the switch and the remote control receiver.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of a lighting fixture. The communication interface section 11 receives communication information from the dedicated signal line W, interprets the received information and its own group information, and outputs a control signal for the lighting load. Outputting operation unit 12,
Further, the storage unit 13 stores which group the user belongs to, and the operation unit 12 turns on / off the lighting load.
It outputs a signal and, if necessary, a dimming signal.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of a sensor. It shows a sensor section 20 for detecting human body, fire, illuminance, etc., and a signal which affects which zone and to what extent according to the detection result. A storage unit 23 for storing information indicating whether to output, and a calculation unit 22 for calculating the information.
And a communication interface unit 21 for outputting communication information to the dedicated signal line W.

Next, the actual operation will be described. For example, consider an illumination system having an arrangement as shown in FIG. In the figure,
The long thin rectangles indicate the lighting fixtures A, B, C, ..., And the white circles s1 to s13 indicate sensors or switches. Here, the luminaire A belongs to the zone 2 and the zone 5. At this time, when the lighting of the zone 2 is instructed by any switch or sensor, the lighting fixture A belonging to the zone 2 is turned on. Similarly zone 5
When the lighting of the light is instructed, the lighting device A is turned on. In this way, the lighting loads A belonging to the zones can be turned on by instructing a plurality of zones. Further, at this time, even if the lighting of the zone 3 is instructed, since the lighting fixture A does not belong to the zone 3, it does not participate in the lighting signal to the zone 3. On the contrary, when the light is off, zone 5
Even if is turned off, if zone 2 is on, lighting fixture A will not be turned off. If you give a priority order that gives priority to the setting on the bright side, it will be turned off accidentally even if there are people. It does not cause any discomfort.

Next, an illumination system using a human body detection sensor will be described. It is assumed that the sensors s1 to s13 are arranged in the system as shown in FIG. In the figure, pay attention to the human body detection sensors s4 and s5. Here, when the sensor s5 is turned on, for example, 80% for zone 1 and 10% for zone 2.
0%, 70% for zone 3, 60 for zone 4
%, The control information is output to each zone so that the zone 5 is turned on at a rate of 80%. In addition, when the sensor s4 is turned on, for example, control is performed so that it lights up at a rate of 100% for zone 1, 80% for zone 2, 60% for zone 3, and 100% for zone 5. Information is output to each zone and nothing is output to zone 4. For example, if only the sensor s5 is turned on, the control information to turn on at the above-mentioned rate is output from the sensor s5 to each zone. At this time, the luminaire only needs to look at the signals of its own zone and does not participate in the signals of other zones. For example, in the case of the luminaire B, since it belongs only to the zone 2, it reacts only when the lighting signal of the zone 2 comes. For example, when the sensor s5 is turned on, the luminaire B Lights up at 100%. On the other hand, in the case of the luminaire A, since it belongs to the zones 2 and 5, there are two dimming amounts (100% in the zone 2 and 80% in the zone 5), but in this case, there is a person in the room. In consideration of this, the control information of the zone 2 having the highest illuminance instruction is adopted and the light is turned on at 100%. Further, even if the sensor s5 remains on and the sensor s4 remains on, it does not affect the luminaire B. In this case, this control information can be ignored. Further, in the case of the lighting fixture C, since it belongs only to the zone 3, for example, when the sensor s4 is turned on, the illuminance instruction for the zone 3 is 60%, and accordingly, it is turned on at 60% according to this control information. It will be.

Next, in this system, when a lighting fixture is added, the dedicated signal line is connected to the added lighting fixture, and information about which group the added lighting fixture belongs to is provided. You only have to set it up, so it's very easy to add more. Also, when adding sensors etc., it is sufficient to set the information for instructing how much dimming for which zone,
This can also be easily added. For example, in the arrangement of FIG. 5, when setting information to the sensor at the position of s1, for example, 100% for zone 1 and zone 2
80% for Zone 3, 30% for Zone 3, 60% for Zone 4, 80% for Zone 5, and so on.
Since it suffices to set the control amount for each zone and it is not necessary to consider other matters, the setting work can be performed very easily.

As described above, each luminaire has the information of one or more groups to which it belongs, knows only the information of the group to which it belongs, and the sensors affect from it. By outputting group information and information on the degree of influence on each group, a lighting system with a high degree of freedom can be configured with a simple configuration. That is, unlike the conventional system, it is not necessary to assign a unique address to each lighting fixture or sensor,
A controller for controlling the whole is also unnecessary. Further, the amount of signal transmission on the transmission line is reduced, and efficient transmission can be performed.

The correspondence between the sensors and the lighting equipment may be arbitrary, and may be one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many. Further, it is more preferable to use a high-frequency lighting device as a light source of the lighting fixture, because comfortable lighting can be performed without causing a feeling of strangeness such as flicker during lighting.

[0016]

[Table 1]

With respect to the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the degree of control influence on the zones 1 to 5 is set as shown in Table 1 for each of the human body detection sensors s1 to s6.
In the table, numbers such as 100, 80, 60, 40, 30 indicate the dimming ratio with respect to all lighting in%. Further, the setting "-" of the sensors s1 and s3 for the zone 5 means that there is no influence. Here, for example, consider a case where only the sensor s1 is turned on. In this case, a lighting signal having a predetermined dimming ratio is given to each zone, and the zone 1 is 100% and the zone 2 is
Is 80%, zone 3 is 40%, and zone 4 is 60%. Next, it is assumed that the sensor s3 is turned on. At this time, since the zone 1 is already lit at 100%, it is lit as it is. 80% for zone 2
Since the instruction of 100% was given to the place where the dimming was turned on in, the light is turned on by increasing the intensity to 100%. Similarly, the zone 3 is lit at 40% and the zone 4 is lit up to 100%. It should be noted that the zone 5 does not affect the sensors s1 and s3, and therefore the state before that is maintained. Here, when the sensor s6 is further turned on, all zones are set to 1 by the same idea.
It will be lit at 00%. In this way, by giving priority to the setting with the higher illuminance, it is possible to perform control so as not to give discomfort or anxiety to a person who has previously used the illumination.

Next, the control at the off time will be described. In the sensor settings shown in Table 1 above, when the human body detection sensor is turned off, for example, a signal for directing 30% dimming to all zones is output. Here, consider a case where the sensors s1, s2, s3, s4, and s5 are on. In this case, since the control information of the maximum illuminance is prioritized as described above, the zones 1, 2, 3, 4 are lit at 100% and the zone 5 is lit at 80%. From this state, when the sensor s3 is turned off, 30% for all zones from the sensor s3
When the control is performed by faithfully reflecting this signal, all the zones are turned on by 30% even if there is a person, which causes discomfort or discomfort. Therefore, in such a case, as one control method for eliminating discomfort and discomfort, it is conceivable to preferentially control the highest illuminance in each zone. Also,
As another control method, it is conceivable to eliminate the unpleasant sensation and discomfort described above by using the control information previously designated in time series.

Next, the setting of the control amount when the sensor is off will be described. In Table 1, only the control amount when the sensor is on has been described, but similarly, the control amount when the sensor is off can be weighted by the zone. For example, for the sensor s3, the control amount at the time of turning on is 100% for zone 1 and 10 for zone 2.
0%, 40% for zone 3, 60 for zone 4
%, And 60% for zone 5, and the control amount when off is 40% for zone 1, 40% for zone 2, 20% for zone 3, and 4 for zone 4. 60% for zone 5 and 40% for zone 5. By setting in this way, when there is no person, it is possible to dimm each zone by a predetermined control amount by turning off the human body detection sensor, and it is possible to provide illumination without discomfort.

Next, control by combining a plurality of sensors will be described. For example, considering zone 3 in FIG. 5, this zone 3 includes sensors s6-s13 and encloses a relatively large area. Each sensor has a narrow detection area and cannot detect the entire area. Therefore, if even one of the sensors s6 to s13 is detected, the lighting control information is output to the entire area. When all the sensors in the area are not detected, the control information for turning off the entire area or for setting a predetermined dimming state is output. This makes it possible to easily realize a sensor with a wide detection area by using a sensor with a narrow detection area.

Next, a control method for giving priority to the illuminance of the passage will be described. In an office or the like, a passage is generally required. For example, in the layout of FIG.
Zone 4 corresponds to the passage. Considering a case where one person is left working in a certain space (for example, only the place of the lighting fixture C) in this office, there are no people around it, so the surrounding lighting fixtures are turned off. . Therefore, when the worker exits, the passage portion may be dark and anxious. Therefore, in this case, since it is considered that the sensor s10 is turned on, this sensor gives an instruction for 100% lighting to the zone 3. Thereby, the illuminance is secured in the work environment. Also, since there is no other person in the zones 1 and 2, the signal for turning off or a large dimming is issued and the zone 4 of the passageway is used.
In response to this, by giving an instruction to perform dimming lighting of about 50%, it is possible to notify the worker of the passage when leaving the worker, and perform energy-saving lighting without making the worker feel uneasy. be able to. In this way, it is preferable to allocate the zones for the passages and perform the illumination with the higher priority of the illuminance of the passage portions.

Next, control by a plurality of illuminance sensors will be described. In the illumination system having the arrangement shown in FIG. 6, the sensors s1 to s13 are illuminance sensors, and the upper side in the figure is considered to be the window side. Each sensor detects illuminance and outputs control information corresponding to the detected illuminance.
For example, for zone 1, 3 of s1, s6, and s11
There are two sensors. Here, each sensor s1, s6
It is assumed that s11 detects illuminances of 700 lx, 900 lx, and 600 lx, respectively. At this time, if the target illuminance on the desk surface is 700 lx, the sensor s1 gives an instruction to keep the illuminance as it is, and the sensor s6 gives 7
It is assumed that an instruction to decrease the light intensity to 00lx is issued, and an instruction to increase the light intensity to 700lx is issued from the sensor s11.
In this case, in consideration of the control range of zone 1, in order to exceed the target illuminance of 700 lx at all points, it is preferable that the sensor s11 give priority to the light increase instruction to 700 lx. This enables stable operation in the entire range of zone 1. Further, if this zone is set smaller and finer, finer control becomes possible. The same can be considered for zones 2 and 3, and among the multiple illuminance sensors, the control that gives priority to the reading from the sensor with the lowest illuminance provides comfortable lighting for all users. This can be achieved by energy saving, and it is possible to eliminate the user's anxiety and distrust of the system.

Next, the control by the wall switch will be described. In the lighting system having the arrangement shown in FIG. 7, unlike the above-described example, the wall switch Sw is used instead of the sensor.
1 and Sw2 are provided. The conventional switch only turns ON / OFF the lighting fixture under the control of the switch, but in the lighting system of the present invention, the wall switch Sw1,
As with the above-mentioned sensor, Sw2 outputs control information having a weight for each zone. For example,
Turning on the wall switch Sw1 shown in FIG. 7 not only turns on the lighting fixtures belonging to zone 1, but also performs control such as issuing a 50% lighting instruction to the lighting fixtures belonging to zone 2. It is possible to provide a certain degree of illuminance to the surrounding environment, and an energy-saving lighting system can be configured without giving the worker a sense of anxiety.

Further, it is clear that the same function can be realized by arranging the remote control receiver instead of the wall switch, and the portable remote control transmitter allows more flexible control. Becomes

Next, the priority control in an emergency will be described. For example, in the lighting system having the arrangement shown in FIG.
It is assumed that all or part of the sensors s1 to s13 also serve as a sensor for fire notification. Until the fire is detected, it is assumed that the lights are on according to the algorithm set for each group. Here, when a fire is detected by any of the sensors, for example, the sensor s1, it is assumed that the sensor s1 outputs a signal of a zone meaning that a fire has occurred. All luminaires shall control the anomaly information with priority over other normal signals, lighting all zones except the aisle at 80% and illuminating the aisle at 100% for clarity. I will output such a signal. By providing such a function for all sensors, it is possible to easily and instantly respond to an emergency. In this case, priority may be given to the signals entering the device, and signals with higher priority may be preferentially accepted. For example, in an emergency>passage>
It is sufficient to give a priority order such as switch> sensor in advance.

Next, an embodiment in which the sensor and the lighting equipment are integrated will be described. In the lighting system having the arrangement shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that a sensor is attached to each lighting fixture. In this case, since a sensor is attached to each lighting fixture, the control signal for each zone is also complicated, but basically the same function can be achieved by performing the same control as in the above example. Is. Further, in this case, the human body detection sensor attached to the luminaire detects only the luminaire by the detection output.
It is also possible to control by lighting with%, and giving instructions to the luminaires in the same zone to dimm a little, which means that it made a zone containing only one luminaire integrated with a sensor. Has the same effect.

[0027]

According to the invention of claim 1, since the sensor is provided with the group designation information and the lighting load control information,
Since the address of the sensor is not necessary, and each lighting fixture can belong to multiple groups, and each sensor sends control information to each group, it is necessary to give each lighting fixture an individual address. This eliminates the need for a large controller, enables direct signal transmission from the sensor to the luminaire, and improves signal transmission efficiency. Further, since it is not necessary to assign a unique address, it is only necessary to give group information to the lighting equipment, and the setting at the time of construction becomes very easy. Therefore, it is possible to easily add or change, the layout of the lighting system can be freely set, and the wiring can be simplified.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of control information are duplicated, the control is performed according to the predetermined priority information. Therefore, the predetermined operation is faithfully reproduced by receiving various information. Only by doing so, there is an effect that a predetermined function as a system can be exhibited.

According to the invention of claims 3 to 6, by using various information sensors such as a human body detection sensor, an infrared remote control receiver, a wall switch, and an illuminance sensor,
It is possible to provide an appropriate lighting environment according to the presence and operation of the user, the presence or absence of external light, and the like.

According to the invention of claim 7, since the information sensor is integrated with the illumination load section, the installation work can be easily carried out.

According to the invention of claim 8, the lighting load section is:
Since the high-frequency lighting device is included, a comfortable lighting environment with less flicker can be provided.

According to the invention of claim 9, since the priority means is provided in the lighting load part, even if a fire sensor, a human body detection sensor, an illuminance sensor or the like is mixed as an information sensor, the lighting load part has priority. It is possible to preferentially process control information having a high rank.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the priority means is provided in the information sensor, it is possible to reduce the overall cost in a system in which the number of installed lighting loads is larger than the number of installed information sensors. .

According to the inventions of claims 11 to 14, the priority is changed according to the high / low of the illuminance, the slow / fast of the time, the degree of abnormality, etc., among the overlapping information signals. A lighting environment that does not occur does not occur, and the necessary lighting environment can be reliably realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a lighting system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional lighting system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a lighting fixture used in the lighting system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an information sensor used in the lighting system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of zone division in the illumination system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of zone division in the illumination system of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of zone division in the illumination system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S1, S2, ..., Sk sensor L1, L2, ..., Lk Lighting fixture

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An illumination system, comprising: a plurality of independent lighting load sections assigned to at least one arbitrary group; and an information sensor for outputting environmental information of the plurality of lighting load sections, and lighting based on an information signal of the information sensor. In a lighting system in which a load section is controlled, the information signal from the information sensor is configured to include predetermined information including group designation information and lighting load control information. 2. An illumination system, comprising: a plurality of independent lighting load parts assigned to at least one arbitrary group; and an information sensor for outputting environmental information of the plurality of lighting load parts, and lighting based on an information signal of the information sensor. A lighting system in which a load part is controlled, comprising a priority means for discriminating and controlling overlapping information signals based on predetermined priority information. 3. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the information sensor includes a human body detection sensor that detects the presence of a human body. 4. The illumination system according to claim 1, wherein the information sensor includes an infrared remote control receiver. 5. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the information sensor includes a wall switch. 6. The illumination system according to claim 1, wherein the information sensor includes an illuminance sensor that senses illuminance. 7. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the information sensor is integrated with the lighting load unit. 8. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the lighting load unit includes a high frequency lighting device. 9. The lighting system according to claim 2, wherein the priority unit is provided in a lighting load unit. 10. The lighting system according to claim 2, wherein the priority unit is provided in an information sensor. 11. The illumination system according to claim 2, wherein the prioritizing unit prioritizes a higher illuminance of the overlapping information signals over a lower illuminance. 12. The illumination system according to claim 2, wherein the prioritizing unit prioritizes one having a lower illuminance than one having a higher illuminance among the overlapping information signals. 13. The illumination system according to claim 2, wherein the prioritizing means prioritizes earlier ones of overlapping information signals over later ones. 14. The illumination system according to claim 2, wherein the prioritizing means prioritizes a heavier abnormality level over a lighter one of the overlapping information signals. 15. A luminaire comprising: a plurality of independent luminaires assigned to any at least one group; and an illuminance sensor for outputting illuminance levels of the plurality of luminaires. In a controlled lighting system, an illuminance signal from an illuminance sensor is configured to include group designation information and dimming level information, and the overlapping illuminance signal having a higher illuminance level is preferentially controlled. A lighting system, characterized in that the lighting device is provided with a priority means for controlling the lighting device. 16. A human body of the human body detection sensor, comprising an independent lighting fixture assigned to at least one arbitrary group, and a human body detection sensor for outputting a state of a person around the plurality of lighting fixtures installed. In a lighting system in which a lighting fixture is controlled based on a detection signal, a human body detection signal from a human body detection sensor is configured to include group designation information and dimming level information, and among the overlapping illuminance signals. A lighting system, wherein a lighting device is provided with a priority means for preferentially controlling a higher illuminance level.