KR20110043810A - Illumination apparatus and illumination method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An illumination apparatus and an illumination method are provided to maintain the illumination of an indoor regardless of surroundings by selectively turning on/off an LED which is installed in a window frame. CONSTITUTION: An illumination apparatus comprises a sensor unit(500), a lighting unit, and an illumination controller. A plurality of LEDs(300) and sensors(505, 510) are installed in a window frame. The sensor which is installed in the interior of the window measures the color temperature and illuminance of indoor illumination The sensor which is installed in the exterior of the window measures the color temperature and illuminance of natural light. The illumination controller controls the lighting unit based on the information from the sensors.

Description

Lighting device and lighting method {ILLUMINATION APPARATUS AND ILLUMINATION METHOD}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to lighting devices and methods, and more particularly to lighting devices and methods for maintaining constant light distribution.

In general, a lighting device is used to illuminate a dark place, such as a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp, and has been used to illuminate an interior, particularly by being installed on a ceiling of an interior. Therefore, such a lighting device illuminates the room by emitting a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp when power is applied using a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp as a light source.

However, such a general lighting device has a problem in that the life of the lamp, which is a light source, is limited and the lamp needs to be replaced, and a certain space is required to install the lighting device.

Recently, lighting devices use LED lamps as light sources. The LED lamp has a semi-permanent advantage and can emit light in various colors. The LEDs that can represent various colors are RGB LEDs. R stands for Red (Red), G for Green (Green), and B for Blue (Blue). The combination of RGB colors has the characteristic of representing all colors theoretically. RGB LEDs have three red, green, and blue pins that can be selectively applied to these pins to create a variety of colors. However, the combined colors do not occur, and when the colors are combined, it looks as if one color is generated.

Accordingly, the lighting device has an advantage that it is suitable for use in applications such as indoor interior lighting by slimming its volume and emitting light in various colors.

On the other hand, the illumination device generally illuminates a certain area, so that the light distribution representing the spatial distribution of light emitted from the light source is also constant. Although the light distribution according to such an illumination device is almost uniform, it is difficult for the overall indoor light distribution to remain almost uniform due to natural light.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting apparatus and method for providing almost uniform indoor light distribution.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the lighting device includes a sensor unit for measuring and providing a color temperature of natural light, an illumination unit including a plurality of LEDs installed on the frame of the window, and the color temperature of the natural light from the sensor and When the illuminance is provided, the solar altitude is calculated based on the color temperature, and based on the calculated solar altitude, it is determined that the present time is sunrise, sunset, or day time, and the plurality of LEDs included in the lighting unit according to the determination result. It includes a lighting controller to selectively emit light.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an illumination method of an illumination device including an illumination unit including a plurality of LEDs installed on a frame of a window comprises the steps of measuring the color temperature of natural light, and calculating the sun altitude based on the color temperature And determining that the current time point is a sunrise, sunset, or day time zone based on the calculated sun altitude, and selectively emitting a plurality of LEDs included in the lighting unit according to the determination result.

According to the lighting apparatus and method of the present invention, indoor light distribution can be kept constant regardless of sunrise, sunset or day time by selectively emitting the LEDs installed in the window frame and adjusting the illuminance thereof.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The terms first, second, A, B, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing an LED provided in the lighting apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, according to the present invention, a plurality of LEDs 300 are installed on a frame of a window. The LED can be a monochromatic LED or an RGB LED. Preferably the LED is an LED obtainable from Cree. The number of LEDs may also be determined depending on the size of the window or other reasons.

The LEDs 300 selectively emit light by a lighting controller not shown in FIG. 1.

Specifically, the present invention controls the plurality of LEDs to selectively emit whenever natural light changes, so as to provide a constant light distribution regardless of the change in natural light. For example, natural light varies approximately at sunrise, sunset, and day time. At sunrise and sunset, the sun's altitude is low, thus the color temperature of natural light is low. During the day, the sun's altitude is high and the color temperature of natural light is high. At sunrise and sunset, the sun's altitude is low, so light shines deep into the room, but its illumination is weak. In addition, the light shines briefly into the room during the day, but its illumination is strong.

The present invention determines whether the current sunrise and sunset time or day time to maintain a constant indoor light distribution based on the color temperature of the natural light, and at the time of sunrise and sunset more than a predetermined number of LEDs of the plurality of LEDs installed on the window frame It emits light to increase its illuminance. In addition, the present invention emits LEDs installed in the lower part of the frame of the plurality of LDEs installed on the frame of the window so that light shines deep into the room during the day time.

2 is a view for explaining the installation position of the sensor according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sensors 505, 510 may be installed, for example, in a frame of a window. A sensor 505 mounted on the inner side of the window is used to measure the color temperature and illuminance of the room light. In addition, the sensor 510 provided on the outer surface is used to measure the color temperature and illuminance of natural light. The sensors 505, 510 measure the color temperature and illuminance of the light and provide the measured color temperature and illuminance to the illumination controller (FIG. 3).

3 is a block diagram of the lighting apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lighting apparatus includes a sensor unit 500, an lighting unit 300, and a lighting controller 600.

The sensor unit 500 measures and provides a color temperature and illuminance of the detected light to the lighting controller 600. The sensor unit 500 may be composed of one or more sensors. In detail, the sensor unit 500 may include a first sensor measuring color temperature and illuminance of natural light and a second sensor measuring color temperature and illuminance of room light. As shown in FIG. 2, the first sensor may be installed at any position capable of receiving natural light, and the second sensor may be installed at any position capable of receiving indoor light. The sensor unit 500 essentially measures the color temperature or illuminance of natural light, and optionally measures the color temperature and illuminance of room light. As such, the second sensor is not an essential component of the present invention.

The lighting controller 600 receives the color temperature and illuminance of natural light from the sensor unit 500, and controls the lighting unit 300 according to the color temperature or illuminance of the natural light.

In detail, the lighting controller 600 includes a storage unit 610, a solar elevation calculator 620, and a controller 630. When the sun altitude calculation unit 620 receives the color temperature and illuminance of natural light from the sensor unit 500, the sun altitude calculation unit 620 determines the current sun altitude based on the color temperature.

The color temperature of natural light is about 2000 ~ 3000K (Kelvin) at sunrise and sunset, and about 5000K or more at day time. Accordingly, the sun altitude calculation unit 620 detects the sun altitude according to the color temperature of natural light. At this time, the sun altitude calculation unit 620 calculates the sun altitude according to the color temperature of the natural light with reference to the seasonal altitude and regional sun altitude data stored in the storage unit 610.

The storage unit 610 stores solar altitude data for each season and region according to the color temperature of natural light. The color temperature of natural light during sunrise, sunset and daytime varies according to the season and region. Accordingly, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sun altitude calculation unit 620 may calculate another sun altitude even with the same color temperature according to the current season and region with reference to the storage unit 610. The sun altitude calculator 620 provides the calculated sun altitude to the controller 630.

The controller 630 determines whether the sun altitude is higher than a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold is used to determine whether the current sun altitude is at sunrise or sunrise, or during daytime. If the current sun altitude is higher than the predetermined threshold, the controller 630 determines that the present time is the daytime time. If the current sun altitude is less than the predetermined threshold, the controller 630 determines that the current time is the sunrise or sunset time.

Subsequently, if it is determined that the current time is during the daytime, the controller 630 turns on the LED of the first group of the LEDs included in the lighting unit 300 and adjusts the illumination. As described above, in the daytime time, the natural light shines short into the room during the daytime time, but its illuminance is strong. Therefore, in order to maintain a constant indoor light distribution, during the day time, the illumination light should be deeply reflected similarly to the sunrise and sunset. Accordingly, the LEDs of the first group are installed in the lower frame of the frame of the window, and when light is emitted, the light shines deep into the room. At this time, the illuminance of the LEDs of the first group is controlled to be similar to the illuminance of the indoor illuminance at sunrise or sunset.

That is, the controller 630 turns on the LED of the first group among the LEDs included in the lighting unit 300, for example, the LED installed in the lower frame of the window frame and sets the illumination at sunrise or sunset when the current time is the day time zone. Adjust it to be similar to the indoor illuminance of the.

Similarly, the controller 630 determines that the current time point is a sunrise or sunset time zone when the current sun altitude is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

Subsequently, if it is determined that the current time point is the sunrise or sunset time zone, the controller 630 determines whether the current time point is the sunrise time zone or the sunset time zone. Specifically, the control unit 630 compares the previously calculated sun altitude and the current sun altitude. The sun's altitude changes with time as the sun rises at sunrise, and it changes with time as the sun sets at sunset. Therefore, the controller 630 determines the sunrise time zone when the current sun altitude is higher than the previous sun altitude, and determines the sunset time zone when the current sun altitude is lower than the previous sun altitude.

If the current time is the sunrise or sunset time zone, the controller 630 turns on the LED of the second group or the LED of the third group, respectively, and adjusts the illumination of the LEDs included in the lighting unit 300. As described above, since the sun altitude is low at sunrise and sunset, the light shines deep into the room, but its illumination is weak. Therefore, in order to keep the indoor light distribution constant, it is not necessary to shine the light deeply into the room at sunrise or sunset time. Accordingly, the LEDs of the second and third groups are installed in the side frame or the upper frame of the frame of the window, and when light is emitted, the light is shortened to the room. At this time, the illuminance of the LEDs of the second and third groups is controlled to be high so as to be similar to the indoor illuminance of the day time zone.

Here, the LEDs of the second group and the third group have similar installation positions, but differ in emission color. For example, a person recognizes natural light as approximately blue at sunrise, and recognizes natural light as approximately red at sunset. Accordingly, in order to make a person feel that the light distribution is constant, the lighting apparatus of the present invention controls the illumination light to exhibit a red emission color at sunrise, and controls the illumination light to exhibit a blue emission color at sunset. Therefore, at sunrise, blue natural light and red luminous light combine to create an indoor light, and at sunset, red natural light and blue luminous light combine to create an indoor light, so that a person can distribute light regardless of sunrise or sunset. Feel constant

Accordingly, the second group of LEDs turned on at sunrise may include LEDs emitting red color, and the third group of LEDs turned on at sunset may include LEDs emitting blue color.

According to another embodiment, the controller 630 does not determine that the current time is the sunrise or sunset time zone. This is because the sun altitude is similar in the sunrise and sunset time zones, and thus the LDEs of the lighting unit 300 are controlled at the same time at sunrise and sunset.

The operation of such a lighting device will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a lighting method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the lighting apparatus determines whether a sensor detection value is input in step 710. Subsequently, when the sensor detection value is input, the lighting device detects the color temperature and illuminance of natural light based on the sensor detection value.

When the lighting device is provided with the color temperature and illuminance of natural light in step 730, it calculates the current solar altitude based on the color temperature. The color temperature of natural light during sunrise, sunset and daytime varies according to the season and region. Therefore, it is preferable that the lighting device calculates the solar altitude based on the seasonal altitude and regional altitude data according to the color temperature of natural light.

The lighting device calculates the sun altitude and then determines whether the sun altitude is higher than a predetermined threshold in step 740. As mentioned above, the predetermined threshold is used to determine whether the current sun altitude is at sunrise or sunrise or at daytime sun elevation. If the current solar altitude is higher than the predetermined threshold value, the lighting device determines that the present time point is the day time zone and proceeds to step 750. The lighting device turns on the LED of the first group of LEDs provided in step 750 and adjusts its illumination. The LEDs of the first group are installed in the lower frame of the frame of the window, and when the light is emitted, light shines deep into the room. In addition, the lighting device controls low illuminance of the LEDs of the first group.

If the lighting device is below the predetermined threshold, the lighting device determines that the present time is the sunrise or sunset time zone and proceeds to step 760. The lighting device determines at step 760 whether the current sun altitude is greater than the previously calculated sun altitude. As described above, the sun altitude changes to increase with time because the sun rises at sunrise, and changes with time due to the sun setting at sunset.

Therefore, the lighting apparatus determines the sunrise time when the current sun altitude is higher than the previous sun altitude, and determines the sunset time when the current sun altitude is lower than the previous sun altitude.

The lighting device proceeds to step 770 if the current solar altitude is higher than the previous solar altitude, turns on the LED of the second group of LEDs provided and adjusts its illuminance.

In addition, the lighting device proceeds to step 780 if the current solar altitude is lower than the previous solar altitude, turn on the LED of the third group of LEDs provided and adjust the illumination.

As described above, the LEDs of the second group and the third group are installed on the side frame or the upper frame of the frame of the window, and when light is emitted, the light is shortened to the room. The LEDs of the second group and the third group are similar in their installation positions, but differ in emission color. As described above, the second group of LEDs that are turned on at sunrise may include LEDs that emit red luminous colors, and the third group of LEDs that are turned on at sunset may include LEDs that emit blue luminous colors. .

5 to 7 is a view showing the indoor light distribution according to the lighting device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a view illustrating indoor light distribution at sunrise, FIG. 6 is a view showing indoor light distribution at day time, and FIG. 7 is a view showing indoor light distribution at sunset.

5 to 7, according to the lighting device according to the invention it can be seen that the indoor light distribution is constant regardless of whether the sunrise, sunset or day time. That is, as can be seen from the office space illuminance distribution shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the light distribution showing the illuminance distribution is almost similar at sunrise, sunset and day time periods.

As such, the lighting apparatus according to the present invention selectively maintains the light distribution of the indoor light regardless of sunrise, sunset, or day time by selectively emitting the provided LEDs and adjusting the illuminance thereof.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

1 is a view showing an LED provided in the lighting apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view for explaining the installation position of the sensor according to the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of the lighting apparatus according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a lighting method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view showing the indoor light distribution at sunrise according to the lighting device of the present invention.

6 is a view showing the interior light distribution during the day time zone according to the lighting device of the present invention.

7 is a view showing the interior light distribution at sunset according to the lighting device of the present invention.

Claims (11)

In the lighting device, A sensor that measures and provides a color temperature of natural light, An illumination unit including a plurality of LEDs installed on a frame of the window; When the color temperature and illuminance of the natural light are provided from the sensor, the solar altitude is calculated based on the color temperature, and it is determined that the present time is the sunrise, sunset, or day time zone based on the calculated solar altitude, and the lighting unit according to the determination result. And a lighting controller for selectively emitting a plurality of LEDs included in the lighting device. The method of claim 1, wherein the lighting controller A storage unit for storing seasonal altitude and solar altitude data according to color temperature of natural light; A sun altitude calculator for calculating a sun altitude according to the color temperature of the natural light with reference to the storage unit; It is determined whether the calculated solar altitude is higher than a predetermined threshold value, and when the calculated solar altitude is higher than the predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the present time point is a daytime time, and the illumination of the first group of LEDs installed in the lower frame of the window frame is sunrise or And a controller which emits light so as to be similar to indoor illuminance at sunset. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller determines that the current time point is a sunrise or sunset time when the calculated solar altitude is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, and is installed on a side frame or an upper frame of a frame of the plurality of LEDs of the lighting unit. And illuminating the LED so that its illuminance is high such that the illuminance is similar to the indoor illuminance at the time of day. The method of claim 3, Among the LEDs of the lighting unit, the second group of LEDs installed in the side frame or the upper frame of the frame of the window includes LEDs emitting red emission colors. The controller determines whether the sun altitude is higher than a previous sun altitude if the sun altitude is less than a predetermined threshold value, and determines the sunrise time zone if the sun altitude is higher than the previous sun altitude, and determines the illuminance of the second group of LEDs. Illuminates so as to be high so as to be similar to the indoor illuminance at day time. The method of claim 3, Among the LEDs of the lighting unit, the second group of LEDs installed on the side frame or the upper frame of the frame of the window includes LEDs emitting blue emission colors. The controller determines whether the sun altitude is higher than the previous sun altitude if the sun altitude is less than a predetermined threshold value, and determines the sunset time zone if the sun altitude is lower than the previous sun altitude, and determines the LED of the third group. An illuminating device characterized by emitting light such that its illuminance is high so as to be similar to the indoor illuminance during the daytime period. In the lighting method comprising a lighting unit including a plurality of LEDs provided on the frame of the window, Measuring the color temperature of natural light; Calculating a sun altitude based on the color temperature; Determining that the current time is a sunrise, sunset, or day time zone based on the calculated sun altitude, and selectively emitting a plurality of LEDs included in the lighting unit according to the determination result. Way. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein calculating the sun altitude is And calculating the sun altitude according to the color temperature of the natural light based on seasonal and regional altitude data according to the color temperature of the natural light. The method of claim 6, wherein the light emitting step Determining whether the calculated sun altitude is higher than a predetermined threshold value, and determining that the current time point is a daytime time when it is higher than a predetermined threshold value; And illuminating the first group of LEDs installed in the lower frame of the window so that its illuminance is as low as indoor illuminance at sunrise or sunset. The method of claim 8, wherein the light emitting step Determining that the current time point is a sunrise or sunset time zone when the calculated sun altitude is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value; And illuminating the LEDs installed in the side frame or the upper frame of the frame of the window among the plurality of LEDs of the lighting unit so that their illuminance is high so as to be similar to the indoor illuminance during the daytime period. The method of claim 6, wherein the light emitting step Determining if the sun elevation is higher than a previous sun elevation if the sun elevation is below a predetermined threshold; Determining the sunrise time when the sun elevation is higher than the previous sun elevation, Among the LEDs of the lighting unit is installed on the side frame or the upper frame of the window frame, the step of emitting the LED light of the second group including the LED emitting a red light emitting color so that its illumination intensity is similar to the indoor illumination of the day time Illumination method comprising a. The method of claim 6, wherein the light emitting step Determining, by the controller, whether the sun altitude is higher than a previous sun altitude if the sun altitude is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value; Determining the sunset time when the sun altitude is lower than the previous sun altitude; And emitting a third group of LEDs installed on a side frame or an upper frame of a frame of the LED of the lighting unit and including a LED emitting blue light, such that the illumination is high so that the illumination is similar to the indoor illumination at the time of day. Illumination method characterized in that.

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