TW202102060A - Load control device, load control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a load control device that can prevent the power supply voltage supplied by the output voltage of a buffer portion from dropping below a predetermined voltage. A load control device (1) is equipped with: a switch portion (2); a switch control portion (4); a rectifier circuit (10); a wireless portion (5); a buffer portion (14); and a control portion (17). The switch portion (2) is configured to connect and disconnect an AC power supply (B1) and a load (Q1). The switch control portion (4) controls the switch portion (2). The conversion portion (10) converts the AC power supplied by the AC power supply (B1) into DC power. The wireless portion (5) is actuated by using the DC power converted by the rectifier circuit (10) and then wireless communication is performed between the wireless portion (5) and an external communication device. The buffer portion (14) is charged in a dischargeable manner by using the DC power converted by the rectifier circuit (10) and then can discharge the stored power to the wireless portion (5) as DC power. The control portion (17) controls the wireless portion (5) based on the output voltage (V4) of the buffer portion (14).

Description

Load control device, load control method and program

The present invention generally relates to a load control device, a load control method, and a program, and more specifically, relates to a load control device, a load control method, and a program that control power supply from an AC power source to a load.

Document 1 (Patent No. 4620773) discloses a two-wire dimming device (load control device) that controls the lighting load. This two-wire dimming device is equipped with: two FETs which open and close the power supply path from the AC power supply to the lighting load; a diode (conversion section) which generates DC power from the AC power supplied by the AC power supply; and a capacitor (buffer section) ), which smoothes the aforementioned DC power; and a control circuit, which operates by the DC power smoothed by a capacitor, and then controls the FET to turn on and off. In this two-wire dimming device, the power supply voltage is supplied by the output voltage of the capacitor.

In the aforementioned two-wire dimming device, if the power supply voltage supplied by the output voltage of the capacitor is lower than a predetermined voltage, the control circuit may be reset. If the control circuit is reset, the control circuit becomes unusable until the control circuit restarts, and the load control device becomes unusable.

[The problem to be solved by the invention]

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a load control device, a load control method, and a program that can prevent the power supply voltage supplied by the output voltage of the buffer unit from falling below a predetermined voltage. [Means used to solve the problem]

The load control device in one aspect of the present invention includes: a switch unit; a switch control unit; a conversion unit; a wireless unit; a buffer unit; and a control unit. The switch unit conducts and cuts off the AC power source and the load, thereby controlling the supply of electric power from the AC power source to the load, and operating and stopping the load. The switch control unit controls the switch unit. The conversion unit converts AC power supplied from the AC power source into DC power. The wireless unit operates using the DC power converted by the conversion unit, and then performs wireless communication with an external communication device. The buffer unit is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the conversion unit, and then the stored power can be discharged to the wireless unit as the DC power. The control unit controls the wireless unit based on the output voltage of the buffer unit.

The load control method in one aspect of the present invention is a load control method for controlling a load control device. The aforementioned load control device includes: a switch unit; a switch control unit; a conversion unit; a wireless unit; and a buffer unit. The switch unit conducts and cuts off the AC power source and the load, thereby controlling the supply of electric power from the AC power source to the load, and operating and stopping the load. The switch control unit controls the switch unit. The conversion unit converts AC power supplied from the AC power source into DC power. The wireless unit operates using the DC power converted by the conversion unit, and then performs wireless communication with an external communication device. The buffer unit is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the conversion unit, and then the stored power can be discharged to the wireless unit as the DC power. The load control method includes a control process of controlling the wireless unit based on the output voltage of the buffer unit. [Invention Effect]

The program in one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing the computer system to execute the load control method of the above aspect.

Hereinafter, the load control device in the embodiment will be described. The following embodiments are only examples of various embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the following embodiments may be modified in various ways as long as the purpose of the invention can be achieved.

(Implementation Type 1) Referring to Fig. 1, the load control device 1 in the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in Fig. 1, the load control device 1 is a two-wire type load control device. The load control device 1 is connected in series between the AC power source B1 and the load Q1, and controls the power supplied from the AC power source B1 to the load Q1. The load control device 1 is operated by electric power from the AC power supply B1. That is, the load Q1 and the load control device 1 are operated by the electric power from the AC power supply B1.

The load control device 1 can be controlled by a control signal generated by a wireless signal from the remote control device 20, for example. That is, the load control device 1 is controlled by the operation from the remote control device 20, and the operation of the load Q1 can be controlled.

The load Q1 is, for example, a lighting fixture. The lighting fixture is, for example, a lighting fixture that is installed in a building and illuminates the interior. The load Q1 has two power supply terminals. Input AC power from AC power supply B1 to the two power supply terminals.

The AC power source B1 is, for example, a commercial AC power source. The AC power supply B1 has two output terminals. One output terminal is connected to one of the power supply terminals of the load Q1 through the circuit H1, and the other output terminal is connected to the other power terminal of the load Q1 through the circuit H2.

The load control device 1 includes: a switch unit 2; a drive circuit 3; a switch control unit 4; a wireless unit 5; and a power supply unit 6.

The switch unit 2 conducts and disconnects the AC power source B1 and the load Q1. Thereby, the supply of electric power from the AC power supply B1 to the load Q1 is controlled, and the load Q1 is operated and stopped. To operate the load Q1 means to turn on the load Q1 when the load Q1 is a lighting appliance, and to stop the load Q1 means to turn off the load Q1 when the load Q1 is a lighting appliance. The switch unit 2 is connected in series between the AC power source B1 and the load Q1. That is, the switch unit 2 is connected in series to the circuit H1.

The switching part 2 has two switching elements M1 and M2. The two switching elements M1 and M2 are, for example, semiconductor switching elements, more specifically, an enhanced N-channel MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor). The drain of a switching element M1 is electrically connected to an output terminal of the AC power supply B1. also. The drain of the other switching element M2 is electrically connected to the other output terminal of the AC power source B1 through the load Q1. Further, the sources of the two switching elements M1 and M2 are electrically connected to each other. The connection point NP3 of the sources of the two switching elements M1 and M2 is connected to the ground point. The gates of the two switching elements M1 and M2 are electrically connected to the driving circuit 3. The driving circuit 3 cooperates with the control of the switch control unit 4 to turn on and off the two switching elements M1 and M2.

The switching elements M1 and M2 are connected in series to the circuit H1, and the circuit H1 is turned on and off. One switching element M1 is turned on during the positive half cycle of the AC power source B1, and the other switching element M2 is turned on during the negative half cycle of the AC power source B1. In short, the load control device 1 controls the phase of the AC voltage supplied from the AC power supply B1 to the load Q1, that is, the lighting equipment, by turning on and off the respective switching elements M1 and M2, and lights and dimming the lighting equipment. For example, each switching element M1, M2 cooperates with the control of the switch control unit 4, and turns on (conducts) at the beginning of each half cycle of the AC power supply B1, and matches the desired brightness of the load Q1 at a certain time during the half cycle Close (cut off). In addition, the respective switching elements M1 and M2 can be turned on (conducted) in a desired phase within a half cycle of the AC power supply B1 in accordance with the control of the switch control unit 4, and closed (disconnected) at the end of the half cycle.

The drive circuit 3 cooperates with the control of the switch control unit 4 to drive the switch unit 2. In more detail, the driving circuit 3 applies a driving voltage between the gates and sources of the two switching elements M1 and M2 of the switch section 2, thereby turning the two switching elements M1 and M2 on (conducting state) and off. (Off state) to switch between.

The wireless unit 5 communicates with the remote control device 20 (external communication device) by wireless signals (wireless communication). The wireless unit 5 receives control signals caused by wireless signals from the remote control device 20. The wireless unit 5 outputs the received control signal to the switch control unit 4. With this output, the wireless unit 5 controls the switch control unit 4. The signal medium of the wireless signal is infrared or electric wave. The wireless unit 5 is controlled by the control unit 17 described later. The wireless unit 5 may be any of Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and specific low-power wireless, for example.

When the wireless unit 5 has a transmission request (transmission request) to an external wireless device (for example, the remote control device 20), it performs carrier sensing before performing the transmission to determine whether the carrier sensing has succeeded. Carrier sensing refers to detecting whether the wireless channel used by the wireless unit 5 during transmission is being used by other wireless devices when the wireless unit 5 is about to transmit. The wireless unit 5 transmits when it is determined that the carrier sensing is successful, and stops transmitting when it is determined that the carrier sensing has failed. At this time, the wireless unit 5 performs transmission again after a certain time has passed. Moreover, the success of carrier sensing means that it is detected that the wireless channel to be used by the wireless section 5 in transmission is not in use by other wireless devices. The failure of carrier sensing refers to detecting that the wireless channel to be used by the wireless part 5 in transmission is being used by other wireless devices. In addition, the period during which this carrier sensing is performed is called CCA (Clear Channel Assessment). The transmission request may be generated by a predetermined processing unit in the wireless unit 5 or generated by the control unit 17 described later, for example.

In addition, when there is a transmission request, the wireless unit 5 inserts a back-off period (a standby time of random length) between the transmission request and the CCA, but does not perform reception during the back-off period. Thereby, the wireless unit 5 can sleep (temporarily stop the function) during the backward period, and can restore the charge (charging power) of the buffer unit 14 described later.

The switch control unit 4 cooperates with the control of the wireless unit 5, and controls the switch unit 2 via the drive circuit 3 to turn on and off. In this way, the lighting, extinguishing and dimming of the load Q1 are controlled.

More specifically, the switch control unit 4 controls the length of the on period in each half cycle of the AC power from the AC power source B1. The on period refers to the period from when the switch part 2 is turned on to when it is turned off. For example, the switch control unit 4 controls the switch unit 2 to turn on at the beginning of each half cycle of the AC power from the AC power source B1 (zero-crossing point of the AC power), and turns off the switch unit 2 at a desired time within the half cycle. In other words, the switch control unit 4 controls the length of the open time of the switch unit 2 by controlling the timing of closing the switch unit 2. By controlling the turn-on time to be zero or a desired length other than zero, the load Q1 is switched between off and on. In addition, the load Q1 is dimmed by controlling the length of the turn-on time.

The switch control unit 4 can control the length of the ON time by controlling the switch unit 2 to be turned on at a desired timing of the half cycle of the AC power from the AC power source B1, and turn off the switch unit 2 at the end of the half cycle.

The power supply unit 6 converts the AC power supplied from the AC power supply B1 into DC power, and then supplies the converted DC power to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5. That is, the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 are operated by AC power from the AC power supply B1.

The power supply unit 6 includes: a rectifier circuit 10 (conversion unit); a constant voltage circuit 11; a constant current circuit 12; a DC-DC converter 16 (a step-down circuit); smoothing capacitors C1 and C3; a buffer unit 14;

The rectifier circuit 10 converts AC power supplied from the AC power source B1 into DC power. In other words, the rectifier circuit 10 generates DC power from AC power to be supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5. The rectifier circuit 10 has two rectifier elements D1 and D2. The anodes of the rectifying elements D1 and D2 are connected to branch points NP1 and NP2 on both sides of the switch section 2 in the circuit H1. The cathodes of the rectifying elements D1 and D2 are connected to each other and connected to the input end of the constant voltage circuit 11.

The rectifier circuit 10 inputs AC power from the AC power supply B1 at the branch points NP1 and NP2, and then converts the input AC power into DC power. In more detail, the rectifier circuit 10 inputs AC power from the branch point NP1 when the cycle of the AC power from the AC power supply B1 is a positive half cycle, and converts the input AC power into DC power by the rectification element D1. When the cycle of the AC power from the AC power source B1 is a negative half cycle, the rectifier circuit 10 inputs AC power from the branch point NP2, and converts the input AC power into DC power by rectification by the rectifier element D2. The rectifier circuit 10 outputs a pulsating voltage (direct current voltage) obtained by full-wave rectification of the alternating voltage supplied from the alternating current power source B1 to the constant voltage circuit 11.

The constant voltage circuit 11 converts the pulsating voltage supplied from the rectifier circuit 10 into a stable direct current voltage (for example, a direct current voltage of 80V) to make the voltage constant. Thereby, the constant voltage circuit 11 stabilizes the DC voltage supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5. In more detail, the constant voltage circuit 11 converts the voltage value of the voltage V1 of the DC power from the rectifier circuit 10 into a predetermined voltage value and outputs it, and maintains the voltage value of the output voltage V2 at the predetermined voltage value. The constant voltage circuit 11 is composed of, for example, a Zener diode, a resistor, a semiconductor switch, and the like.

In the subsequent stage of the constant voltage circuit 11, a smoothing capacitor C1 is provided. In more detail, the smoothing capacitor C1 is connected between the branch point of the circuit between the output terminal of the constant voltage circuit 11 and the input terminal of the constant current circuit 12 and the ground point.

The constant current circuit 12 controls the current I2 of the DC power from the constant voltage circuit 11 (that is, the DC power controlled by the constant voltage circuit 11) to a predetermined current value. That is, the constant current circuit 12 converts the DC current to be supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 into a constant current. In more detail, the constant current circuit 12 converts the current value of the current I2 of the DC power from the constant voltage circuit 11 into a predetermined current value and outputs it, and maintains the current value of the output current I3 at the above-mentioned predetermined current value.

The constant current circuit 12 matches the operation state and the stop state of the switch unit 2 (that is, when the load Q1 is on and when it is off), and uses the current value of the output current I2 of the constant voltage circuit 11 as a predetermined current value. Switch between the current value (for example, 0.5 mA) and the second current value (for example, 3.0 mA). The operation state of the switch unit 2 refers to a state in which the switching elements M1 and M2 are controlled to be turned on and off, the phase of the AC voltage supplied from the AC power supply B1 to the load Q1 is controlled, and the load Q1 is operated (lit). The stop state of the switch unit 2 refers to a state in which the switching elements M1 and M2 are controlled to turn off, the power supply from the AC power supply B1 to the load Q1 is stopped, and the load Q1 is stopped (extinguished). The second current value is larger than the first current value. In more detail, the constant current circuit 12 converts the current value of the output current I2 of the constant voltage circuit 11 into a first current value and outputs it when the switch unit 2 is stopped (that is, when the load Q1 is off), and the output current The voltage value of I3 is maintained at the first current value. In addition, the constant current circuit 12 converts the current value of the output current I2 of the constant voltage circuit 11 into a second current value in the operating state of the switch section (that is, when the load Q1 is lit) and outputs the current value of the output current I3 The value is maintained at the second current value. The constant current circuit 12 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor switch, a bias resistor, a shunt resistor, a shunt regulator, and the like.

The buffer unit 14 is provided in the subsequent stage of the constant current circuit 12. In more detail, the buffer unit 14 is connected between the branch point NP4 of the circuit between the output terminal of the constant current circuit 12 and the input terminal of the DC-DC converter 16 and the ground point. The buffer unit 14 is composed of a capacitor C2 for buffering. The buffer unit 14 is charged by the output voltage V3 of the constant current circuit 12. That is, the buffer unit 14 stores the output power (output current I3) of the constant current circuit 12 as a chargeable and dischargeable energy source. In addition, the output power of the constant current circuit 12 is generated by the DC power converted by the rectifier circuit 10. In other words, the buffer unit 14 is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the rectifier circuit 10. When the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 is insufficient, the buffer unit 14 can discharge the charging charge (charging power) as the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12. Thereby, the shortage of the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 is supplemented. In addition, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is used as a power supply voltage and is supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 via the DC-DC converter 16. The output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is proportional to the stored charge (stored power) of the buffer unit 14.

The DC-DC converter 16 steps down the voltage value of the DC power voltage V3 output from the constant current circuit 12 to a predetermined voltage value (for example, 3.3V), and supplies the stepped down DC power to the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 and drive circuit 3. In other words, the switch control unit 4, the wireless unit 5, and the drive circuit 3 operate using the output power of the DC-DC converter 16. The output power of the DC-DC converter 16 is generated by the direct current power converted by the rectifier circuit 10. In other words, the switch control unit 4, the wireless unit 5, and the drive circuit 3 are operated by the direct current power converted by the rectifier circuit 10 . The above-mentioned predetermined voltage value (for example, 3.3V) is an example of the required voltage required by the switch control unit 4, the wireless unit 5, and the drive circuit 3.

A smoothing capacitor C3 is provided in the subsequent stage of the DC-DC converter 16. In more detail, the smoothing capacitor C3 is connected between the output terminal of the DC-DC converter 16 and the ground point.

The control unit 17 controls the wireless unit 5 based on the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14. That is, the control unit 17 determines the operation content of the wireless unit 5 based on the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14. In addition, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 refers to the voltage between the two electrodes of the buffer unit 14.

In more detail, the control unit 17 controls the wireless unit 5 so as to reduce the power consumption of the wireless unit 5 as the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 decreases. In more detail, the control unit 17 detects (that is, monitors) whether the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage Vs1. In addition, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is proportional to the charge charge of the buffer unit 14. Therefore, the output voltage V4 of the detection buffer 14 is equivalent to the stored charge of the detection buffer 14.

Then, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the control unit 17 operates the wireless unit 5 in a normal operation. The normal operation means that the operation of the wireless unit 5 is not restricted, and the wireless unit 5 can be operated by both the transmitting and receiving parties. In addition, the control unit 17 restricts the operation of the wireless unit 5 when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs1. The control unit 17 prohibits the transmission of the wireless unit 5 as an example of restriction on the operation of the wireless unit 5. The prohibition of transmission is an example of the restriction of transmission by the wireless unit 5.

The threshold voltage Vs1 is a threshold voltage for determining whether to prohibit the transmission of the wireless unit 5. The threshold voltage Vs1 is, for example, a voltage higher than the respective reset voltages of the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5. The reset voltage of the switch control unit 4 refers to the voltage at which the microcontroller (microcomputer) in the switch control unit 4 is reset and restarted. That is, the microcontroller in the switch control unit 4 restarts when the supplied voltage becomes equal to or lower than the reset voltage. Similarly, the reset voltage of the wireless unit 5 refers to the voltage at which the microcontroller in the wireless unit 5 is reset and restarted. That is, the microcontroller in the wireless unit 5 restarts when the supplied voltage becomes equal to or lower than the reset voltage.

In addition, in this embodiment, the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 are each constituted by a microcontroller, for example. The switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 automatically reset and restart when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 drops and the voltage of the power supplied to the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 is lower than the reset voltage.

In this embodiment, as described above, the control unit 17 prohibits the transmission of the wireless unit 5 when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs1. The reason is that when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs1, the stored charge of the buffer unit 14 is not sufficient, so there is a high possibility that the transmission of the wireless unit 5 cannot be completed until the end. That is, in the present embodiment, the control unit 17 allows the wireless unit 5 to transfer only when the stored charge in the buffer unit 14 is a charge amount that enables the transfer of the wireless unit 5 to proceed to the end. Thereby, the transmission of the wireless unit 5 can be stopped, and the responsiveness of transmission is improved.

During the prohibition of transmission by the wireless section 5, if the wireless section 5 intends to perform transmission, the control section 17 prohibits the wireless section 5 from transmitting by forcibly determining that the carrier sensing has failed. At this time, the wireless unit 5 does not perform carrier sensing and determines that carrier sensing has failed. In other words, if the wireless unit 5 does not perform carrier sensing, it is deemed that the carrier sensing has failed. Thereby, the carrier sensing function of the wireless unit 5 (that is, the existing function) can be used, and the transmission of the wireless unit 5 is prohibited. In addition, the power consumption for prohibiting transmission can be reduced. When the control unit 5 makes the wireless unit 5 forcibly determine that the carrier sensing has failed, it maintains this determination until the transmission of the wireless unit 5 is permitted (that is, until the prohibition of transmission is released and transmission is made possible).

When the transmission of the wireless unit 5 is prohibited during the transmission of the wireless unit 5, the control unit 17 does not stop the transmission during the transmission, but ends until the end. After the end, the transmission of the wireless unit 5 is prohibited ( That is the new transmission). In this way, the waste of power resulting from the suspension of transmission is eliminated, and the responsiveness of transmission is also improved.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, the operation of the load control device 1 will be described. In this load control device 1, the AC power from the AC power source B1 is input to the power supply unit 6. Then, the AC power input to the power supply unit 6 is rectified by the rectifier circuit 10 and converted into DC power. Then, the converted direct current power is maintained at a predetermined voltage value (for example, 80V) by the constant voltage circuit 11, and maintained at a predetermined current value (first current value or second current value) by the constant current circuit 12, and the DC-DC The converter 16 steps down to a predetermined voltage value (for example, 3.3V). Then, the DC power stepped down by the DC-DC converter 16 is supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5. With this power supply, the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 operate. In addition, the buffer unit 14 is charged by the output voltage V3 of the constant current circuit 12. Then, the current consumption of the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 increases, and if the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 is insufficient, the charging charge (charging power) of the buffer unit 14 is used as the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 Release to make up for the insufficient amount. Then, the discharge current is supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 as the output current I3. In this way, insufficient power supplied to the drive circuit 3, the switch control unit 4, and the wireless unit 5 can be avoided.

In this embodiment, the first current value (the current value of the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 when the load Q1 is off) is set to 0.5 mA as an example. The premise of this setting is that when the load Q1 is off, when the current consumption of the circuit for controlling the power supply to the load Q1 (such as the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5) is 0.7 mA or less, the load Q1 will not light up by mistake. Then, in order to maintain a slight margin in this case, set the first current value to 0.5 mA.

When the first current value is 0.5 mA, if the output voltage of the constant current circuit 12 is set to 50V, the output power of the constant current circuit 12 is 25 mW (=0.5mA×50V). Then, if the efficiency of the DC-DC converter 16 is set to 80%, the output power of the DC-DC converter 16 is 20 mW (=25 mW×80%). At this time, the current consumption that the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 can consume is approximately 6 mA. At this time, when the current consumption of the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 exceeds 6 mA momentarily, the charge of the buffer unit 14 is discharged, and the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 is maintained at the first current value (0.5 mA).

In the present embodiment, as an example, the second current value (the current value of the output current I3 of the constant current circuit 12 when the load Q1 is on) is set to a relatively low current value, namely 5.0 mA, as an example. Thereby, when the load Q1 is lit, the impedance viewed from the load Q1 becomes smaller. As a result, when the current consumption of the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 is large, even if the current consumption of the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 fluctuates, the load Q1 can be maintained in a stable lighting state without unevenness.

In the load control device 1, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the control unit 17 does not restrict the operation of the wireless unit 5 (that is, the normal operation) and causes the wireless unit 5 to operate. In addition, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is less than or equal to the threshold voltage Vs1, the control unit 17 restricts (for example, prohibits) the transmission of the wireless unit 5. Thereby, the power consumption of the wireless unit 5 is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the output voltage V4 of the buffer section 14 from falling below the reset voltage (predetermined voltage). Then, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the control unit 17 causes the wireless unit 5 to operate in a normal operation.

Next, a specific example of the operation of the load control device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

The upper part of FIG. 2 shows a timing chart of the operation of the wireless unit 5, the middle part of FIG. 2 shows the time change of the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14, and the lower part of FIG. 2 shows that the wireless unit 5 is in a transmission prohibited state or a transmission permitted state. The transmission prohibited state of the wireless unit 5 is a state in which the control unit 17 prohibits the transmission of the wireless unit 5. The transmission permitted state of the wireless section 5 is a state in which the control section 17 permits transmission of the wireless section 5 (that is, a state where transmission is not prohibited). In addition, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the control unit 17 permits (that is, does not prohibit) the transmission of the wireless unit 5, and when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is below the threshold voltage Vs1, the control unit 17 The transmission of the wireless section 5 is prohibited.

At time t0, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is the maximum voltage Vmax of the output voltage range, and the state of the wireless unit 5 is the transmission permitted state.

At time t1, when a transmission request occurs, the wireless unit 5 performs carrier sensing (CCA period) through the fallback period. Then, in the example of FIG. 2, the wireless unit 5 determines that the carrier sensing is successful (time t2). At this determination time point t2, the state of the wireless unit 5 is the transmission permitted state. That is, the control unit 17 allows the wireless unit 5 to transmit because the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1. Therefore, the wireless unit 5 starts transmission at time t2. By this transfer, the charged charge of the buffer unit 14 is consumed, so that the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 decreases.

Then, at time t3, if the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is lower than the threshold voltage Vs1, the state of the wireless unit 5 becomes the transmission prohibited state. That is, the control unit 17 prohibits the transmission of the wireless unit 5 because the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is below the threshold voltage Vs1. At time t3, the state of the wireless section 5 changes from the transmission permitted state to the transmission prohibited state. However, since the wireless section 5 is transmitting, the control section 17 does not stop the transmission of the wireless section 5 but continues the transmission until the transmission ends.

Then, when the transmission of the wireless unit 5 ends at time t4, the wireless unit 5 maintains the standby state until the next transmission request occurs. The wireless unit 5 performs intermittent reception in the standby state. The intermittent reception is a reception mode that avoids power consumption by switching between a receivable state in which the wireless unit 5 can receive and a non-receivable state in which the wireless unit 5 does not receive at regular intervals. The wireless unit 5 performs reception during the receivable period of intermittent reception. When the reception exceeds the receivable period, it switches to non-intermittent reception and performs reception. When the reception ends, it returns to intermittent reception again. Here, the receivable period refers to the receivable state period. In addition, when the transmission of the wireless unit 5 ends at time t4, if the power consumption of the wireless unit 5 is reduced, charging has an advantage over the discharge of the buffer unit 14, and the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 increases.

Then, at time t5, the next transmission request will occur. At this occurrence time t5, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is below the threshold voltage Vs1, so the state of the wireless unit 5 is the transmission prohibited state. Therefore, the control unit 17 makes the wireless unit 5 forcibly determine that the carrier sensing has failed, and the wireless unit 5 prohibits transmission. Thereby, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 can be prevented from being lower than the reset voltage. Then, the control unit 17 maintains this determination (forced failure determination) until the time point when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1 (time point t6 in the example of FIG. 2).

Then, at time t6, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the state of the wireless unit 5 becomes the transmission permitted state, and the control unit 17 stops the wireless unit 5 forcibly determining as a failure. In this way, the wireless unit 5 performs carrier sensing. In the example of FIG. 2, the carrier sensing is successful, and the transmission starts for the transmission request at time t5.

Then, in the example of FIG. 2, at the subsequent time point t7, the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs1. Thereby, the state of the wireless unit 5 becomes the transmission prohibited state. However, since the transmission of the wireless unit 5 is in transmission, the control unit 17 does not stop the transmission of the wireless unit 5 but continues the transmission until the transmission ends. Then, at time t8, when the transmission of the wireless unit 5 ends, the wireless unit 5 maintains the standby state until the next transmission request occurs. The wireless unit 5 performs intermittent reception in the standby state.

Next, the operation of the load control device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

When the transmission request does not occur (S1: No), the wireless unit 5 maintains the standby state until the transmission request occurs (S11). In addition, when a transfer request occurs (S1: YES), the control unit 1 determines whether the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1 (S2). As a result of this determination, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is less than or equal to the threshold voltage Vs1 (S2: No), the control unit 17 makes the wireless unit 5 forcibly determine that the carrier sensing has failed (S3). Thereby, the control unit 17 prohibits the wireless unit 5 from transmitting. That is, the control unit 17 does not make the wireless unit 5 perform new wireless. From now on, the above-mentioned determination will be described as a mandatory determination that carrier sensing has failed. Then, the process returns to step S2. Then, in step S2, until the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the process flow of S2→S3→S2 is continuously repeated, thereby continuing the compulsory determination of carrier sensing as failed in step S3.

Then, as a result of the determination in step S2, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1 (S2: Yes), the control unit 17 allows the wireless unit 5 to transmit. Thereby, the wireless unit 5 performs carrier sensing through the back-off period as usual (S4). In addition, the wireless unit 5 does not perform reception during the buffer off period. Thereby, during the retreat period, the sleep state (temporary stop function) can be entered, and the charge of the buffer unit 14 can be restored.

Then, when the carrier sensing in step S4 fails as a result of carrier sensing (S5: No), after a certain period of time has passed (S6), the process returns to step S2 to repeat the above-mentioned processing. In addition, when carrier sensing is successful (S5: YES), the wireless unit 5 starts transmission in response to the transmission request of step S1 (S7). During this transmission, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1 (S8: Yes), the wireless unit 5 continues the transmission to the end, and then ends (S10). When the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs1 (S8: No), the wireless unit 5 does not stop the transmission (S9) but continues until the end of the transmission (S10). Then, after the transmission of the wireless unit 5 is completed, the wireless unit 5 maintains the standby state until the next transmission request occurs (S11). Then, the process returns to step S1.

As described above, according to the load control device 1 of this embodiment, the wireless unit 5 operating on the discharge charge (output current) of the buffer unit 14 is controlled based on the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the power supply voltage supplied from the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 from falling below a predetermined voltage (for example, a reset voltage).

(Modifications of implementation type 1, and other implementation types) Embodiment 1 is only one of various embodiments of the present invention. As long as the purpose of the invention can be achieved, the first embodiment can be modified in various ways according to the design. Furthermore, the aspect of Embodiment 1 does not need to be specifically presented by the load control device 1. For example, the aspect of the first embodiment can be specifically presented by a load control method, a computer program, or a storage medium that stores the program. The modification of Embodiment 1 described below and other embodiments (including modification examples) can be appropriately combined and applied.

The above-mentioned load control method is a load control method for controlling the load control device 1. The load control device 1 includes a switch unit 2; a switch control unit 4; a rectifier circuit 10 (conversion unit); a wireless unit 5; a buffer unit 14; and a control unit 17. The switch unit 2 controls the supply of electric power from the AC power source B1 to the load Q1 by turning on and cutting off the AC power source B1 and the load Q1, thereby operating and stopping the load Q1. The switch control unit 4 controls the switch unit 2. The rectifier circuit 10 converts AC power supplied from the AC power source B1 into DC power. The wireless unit 5 operates using the DC power converted by the rectifier circuit 10, and performs wireless communication with an external communication device. The buffer unit 14 is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the rectifier circuit 10, and can discharge the wireless unit 5 by using the stored power as the aforementioned DC power. The aforementioned load control method includes a control process of controlling the wireless unit 5 based on the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14.

(Modification 1) In the first embodiment, the constant voltage circuit 11, the constant current circuit 12, and the DC-DC converter 16 are provided, but as shown in FIG. 4A, all the circuits 12, 13, and 16 may not be provided. In the case of the example of FIG. 4A, the buffer portion 14 is directly charged in a dischargeable manner by the output current of the rectifier circuit 10. Then, the discharged power of the buffer unit 14 is directly supplied to the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5. In addition, only one or both of the circuits 12, 13, and 16 may be provided. For example, when only the constant current circuit 12 among the circuits 12, 13, and 16 is provided, the configuration is as shown in FIG. 4B. In the case of the example of FIG. 4B, the output current of the rectifier circuit 10 is directly input to the constant current circuit 12. Then, as in the case of FIG. 4A, the discharged power of the buffer unit 14 is directly supplied to the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5.

(Modification 2) In the first embodiment, the wireless unit 5 prohibits transmission when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is less than or equal to the threshold voltage Vs1. In the prohibition of transmission, it is assumed that all transmissions are prohibited. However, the wireless unit 5 may not prohibit all transmissions uniformly, but allow specific transmissions, and only prohibit transmissions other than the specific transmissions. In this way, it is possible to avoid prohibiting all the transmission functions of the wireless unit 5.

The aforementioned specific transmission refers to a transmission with high necessity (for example, transmission of a fire detection signal or transmission of ACK).

The above-mentioned fire detection signal is a signal for transmitting the message to the outside when a fire in the wireless unit 5 or the load control device 1 is detected. When the fire detection signal is excluded from the object of prohibition of transmission, the premise is that the load control device 1 is equipped with the wireless unit 5 or the fire detection unit in the load control device 1.

The above-mentioned ACK (acknowledgement) is, for example, like unicast transmission, when the wireless unit 5 receives data from the transmission destination, it is a signal transmitted to notify the transmission destination that the data has been correctly received. And, unicast refers to specifying a single transmission target and then transmitting data. If the transmission of ACK is prohibited by prohibiting the transmission, even if the transmission is successful, the transmission target will judge that the transmission has failed, and transmit again. As a result, power is wasted and the responsiveness of transmission is reduced. Therefore, it is preferable to exclude ACK from the object of prohibition of transmission.

(Modification 3) In the first embodiment, the period of intermittent reception performed by the wireless unit 5 in the standby state can be made shorter than the AC period of the AC power of the AC power source B1. The intermittent reception is a reception mode that switches between a receivable state in which the radio unit 5 can receive and a non-receivable state in which the radio unit 5 does not receive at regular intervals, as described above. The period of intermittent reception refers to the period from the beginning of the receivable period of intermittent reception to the end of the next non-receivable period of the receivable period. In other words, the period of intermittent reception refers to the length of the period that sums up a set of receivable periods and unreceivable periods that are adjacent in sequence. In addition, the unreceivable period refers to the period of the unreceivable state, and the receivable period refers to the period of the receivable state.

According to this modification, the receivable period in the intermittent reception cycle can be sufficiently shortened. As a result, since the power consumption of reception in one receivable period can be reduced, it is possible to avoid the reduction of the stored charge of the buffer unit due to the power consumption of the reception by the wireless unit 5. As a result, it is possible to prevent the power supply voltage supplied by the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 from falling below a predetermined voltage (for example, the reset voltage).

(Modification 4) In the first embodiment, the control unit 17 may be constituted by, for example, a microcomputer mainly composed of a processor and a memory. In other words, the control unit 17 can be realized by a computer system having a processor and a memory. At this time, the processor executes an appropriate program, so that the computer system functions as the control unit 17. The program can be pre-stored in the memory, and can also be stored in a non-temporary recording medium such as a memory card via a network and other electrical communication lines. Similarly, the switch control unit 4 and the wireless unit 5 (additional function unit) may be composed of, for example, a microcomputer mainly composed of a processor and a memory.

(Implementation Type 2) The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the following points: when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is below the threshold voltage Vs2 (the second threshold voltage), the control unit 17 prohibits the reception of the wireless unit 5, and the buffer unit When the output voltage V4 of 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs2, reception by the wireless unit 5 is not prohibited. Here, the threshold voltage Vs2 is smaller than the threshold voltage Vs1.

In addition, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the following point: the control unit 17 cancels the prohibition of reception by the wireless unit 5 when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes the threshold voltage Vs3 (third threshold voltage) or higher . That is, when the wireless unit 5 temporarily prohibits reception when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs2, as long as the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold voltage Vs3, reception is not prohibited. In addition, the threshold voltage Vs3 is greater than the threshold voltage Vs2. In addition, the threshold voltage Vs3 has the same voltage as the threshold voltage Vs1 as an example.

With reference to Fig. 5, a specific example of the main operation of the second embodiment will be described.

The uppermost part of FIG. 5 shows a timing chart of the operation of the wireless unit 5. The second segment from the upper part of FIG. 5 shows the time change of the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14, and the third segment from the upper part of FIG. 5 shows the wireless part. 5 is the transmission prohibited state or the transmission permitted state. The transmission prohibited state of the wireless unit 5 is a state in which the control unit 17 prohibits the transmission of the wireless unit 5. The transmission permitted state of the wireless section 5 is a state in which the control section 17 permits transmission of the wireless section 5 (that is, a state where transmission is not prohibited). The lowermost part of FIG. 5 shows that the wireless unit 5 is in the reception prohibited state or the reception prohibited state is released. The reception prohibition state of the wireless unit 5 is a state in which the control unit 17 prohibits reception by the wireless unit 5. The reception prohibition release state of the wireless section 5 is a state where the control section 17 releases the reception prohibition state of the wireless section 5.

The period from time t0 to time t4 is the same as the period from time t0 to time t4 in FIG. 2, so the description is omitted. The following description starts from time t4.

At time t4, the wireless unit 5 enters a standby state and starts intermittent reception. In the example of FIG. 5, the wireless unit 5 receives data multiple times (for example, twice) from an external wireless device in the standby state. The first data reception is carried out between time t10 and t11, and the second data reception is carried out between time t12 and t13. During the reception of the wireless unit 5, the stored charge of the buffer unit 14 is consumed by the reception of the wireless unit 5, so the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 decreases.

Then, if the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs2 at time t13, the control unit 17 prohibits the reception by the wireless unit 5. In other words, the control unit 17 forcibly prohibits reception by the wireless unit 5. In addition, the prohibition of reception by the wireless unit 5 also includes the prohibition of intermittent reception by the wireless unit 5. As a result, the transmission and reception of the wireless unit 5 are prohibited, so that the charging of the buffer unit 14 is more advantageous than the discharge, and the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 increases.

Then, at time t14, if the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1, the state of the wireless unit 5 becomes the transmission permitted state. In addition, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs3 (=Vs1) at the time t14, the state of the wireless unit 5 becomes the reception prohibited state.

Then, at time t15, when a transmission request occurs, the wireless unit 5 performs carrier sensing (CCA period) through the fallback period. During this backward period, the wireless unit 5 does not perform reception. Then, in the example of FIG. 5, the wireless unit 5 determines that the carrier sensing is successful (time t16). At this determination time t16, the state of the wireless unit 5 is the transmission permitted state. That is, the control unit 17 allows the wireless unit 5 to transmit because the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs1. Therefore, the wireless unit 5 starts transmission at time t16. By this transfer, the stored charge of the buffer unit 14 is consumed, so that the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 decreases. Then, the wireless unit 5 ends the transmission at time t17 and enters the standby state. The wireless unit 5 performs intermittent reception in the standby state.

Next, the operation of the load control device 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

Steps S1 to S11 in FIG. 6 are the same as steps S1 to S11 in FIG. 3. Therefore, in the following description, the description starts from step S12 in FIG. 6.

In the standby state of the wireless unit 5 (S11), the wireless unit 5 is not in the reception prohibited state (S12: No), and the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs2 (S13: Yes), the process returns to step S1. In this way, in the state where the reception of the wireless unit 5 is not prohibited, it is possible to respond to the operation when the transmission request has occurred.

In addition, in the standby state of the wireless section 5 (S11), the wireless section 5 is not in the reception prohibited state (S12: No), and the output voltage V4 of the buffer section 14 is below the threshold voltage Vs2 (S13: No), the control section 17 prohibits Receive by the wireless unit 5 (S14). With this prohibition, charging of the buffer unit 14 is more advantageous than discharging, and the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 increases. Then, when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 exceeds the threshold voltage Vs3 (S15: Yes), the control unit 17 cancels the prohibition of reception by the wireless unit 5 (S16). Then, the process returns to step S1. With this, in the state where the reception prohibition of the wireless unit 5 has been released, it is possible to correspond to the operation when the transmission request has occurred.

In addition, in the reception prohibited state of the wireless unit 5 (S14), when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs3 (S15: No), the process returns to step S1. With this, in the reception prohibited state of the wireless unit 5, it is possible to respond to the operation when the transmission request has occurred. At this time, when the process returns to step S1, step S12 is reached via any processing path between steps S1 to S12. In step S12, the reception prohibited state of step S14 described above continues (S12: YES), so the processing proceeds to step S15, and processing is performed in the same manner as described above.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the control unit 17 prohibits reception by the wireless unit 5 when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage Vs2. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the power supply voltage supplied from the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 from falling below a predetermined voltage (for example, a reset voltage).

In addition, the control unit 17 cancels the prohibition of reception by the wireless unit 5 when the output voltage V4 of the buffer unit 14 becomes greater than or equal to the threshold voltage Vs3. Therefore, before and after the threshold voltage Vs2, the prohibition of reception by the wireless unit 5 and prohibition of reception can be avoided Repeat the removal several times.

In addition, since the threshold voltage Vs3 has the same voltage as the threshold voltage Vs1, the receiving function and the transmitting function of the wireless unit 5 can also be restored (effect 1). In addition, in the present embodiment, the threshold voltage Vs3 is the same as the threshold voltage Vs1, but the threshold voltage Vs3 may be a voltage smaller than the threshold voltage Vs1 or a voltage larger than the threshold voltage s1. As long as the threshold voltage Vs3 is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage s1, the same effect as the above-mentioned effect 1 can be obtained.

(to sum up) The load control device (1) of the first aspect includes: a switch section (2); a switch control section (4); a conversion section (10); a wireless section (5); a buffer section (14); and a control section (17) . The switch part (2) conducts and cuts off the AC power supply (B1) and the load (Q1), thereby controlling the supply of power from the AC power supply (B1) to the load (Q1), and operating the load (Q1) And stop. The switch control part (4) controls the switch part (2). The conversion unit (10) converts AC power supplied from the AC power supply (B1) into DC power. The wireless part (5) operates using the DC power converted by the conversion part (10), and then performs wireless communication with an external communication device. The buffer unit (14) is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the conversion unit (10), and then the stored power can be discharged to the wireless unit (5) as DC power. The control unit (17) controls the wireless unit (5) based on the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14).

According to this configuration, the wireless unit (5) activated by the discharge power of the buffer unit (14) is controlled in accordance with the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the power supply voltage supplied from the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14) from falling below a predetermined voltage (for example, a reset voltage).

The load control device (1) of the second aspect is the same as the first aspect, wherein the control unit (17) controls the wireless unit (5) so as to reduce the wireless unit as the output voltage (V1) of the buffer unit (14) decreases (5) Power consumption.

According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the power supply voltage supplied from the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14) from falling below a predetermined voltage (for example, a reset voltage).

The load control device (1) of the third aspect is the same as the first or second aspect, wherein the control section (17) when the output voltage (V4) of the buffer section (14) is below the first threshold voltage (Vs1), Restrict the operation of the wireless unit (5).

According to this configuration, when the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14) is below the threshold voltage, the operation of the wireless unit (5) is restricted, so the power supplied by the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14) can be avoided The voltage dropped below the specified voltage.

The load control device (1) of the fourth aspect is the same as the third aspect, in which the control section (17) restricts the transmission of the wireless section (5) as a limitation of the operation of the wireless section (5).

According to this structure, the receiving function of the wireless unit (5) can be maintained when the operation of the wireless unit (5) is restricted. In this way, responsiveness to control signals transmitted from the outside can be ensured.

The load control device (1) of the fifth aspect is the same as the fourth aspect, in which the wireless unit (5) determines the success or failure of carrier sensing before transmitting, transmits when determining the success of carrier sensing, and determines the carrier Stop transmission when sensing fails. The control unit (17) prohibits the wireless unit (5) from transmitting by making the wireless unit (5) determine that the carrier sensing has failed.

According to this configuration, it is possible to prohibit the transmission of the wireless unit (5) by the processing of the carrier sensing of the wireless unit (5).

The load control device (1) of the sixth aspect is the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the control section (17) prohibits the wireless section (5) from starting a new transmission as a restriction on the action of the wireless section (5) .

According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid stopping the transmission in the middle of the transmission, and as a result, it is possible to improve the transmission response of the wireless unit (5).

The load control device (1) of the seventh aspect is the same as any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, wherein the control part (17) allows the wireless part (5) to perform specific transmission.

According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid stopping all transmission functions of the wireless unit (5).

The load control device (1) of the eighth aspect is the same as any one of the second to seventh aspects, wherein the output voltage (V4) of the control section (17) in the buffer section (14) is higher than the first threshold voltage When (Vs1) is lower than the second threshold voltage (Vs2), reception by the wireless unit (5) is prohibited.

According to this configuration, when the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14) is below the second threshold voltage (Vs2), reception by the wireless unit (5) is prohibited. Therefore, it is possible to further prevent the power supply voltage supplied from the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14) from falling below a predetermined voltage (for example, a reset voltage).

The load control device (1) of the ninth aspect is the same as the eighth aspect, wherein the output voltage (V4) of the control section (17) in the buffer section (14) is the third greater than the second threshold voltage (Vs2) When the threshold voltage (Vs3) or higher, the reception prohibition of the wireless unit (5) is released.

According to this configuration, before and after the second threshold voltage (Vs2), it is possible to prevent the wireless unit (5) from being prohibited from receiving and canceling the prohibition of receiving from repeating several times.

The load control device (1) of the tenth aspect is the eighth aspect, wherein the third threshold voltage (Vs3) is equal to or greater than the first threshold voltage (Vs1).

According to this configuration, the receiving and transmitting functions of the wireless unit (5) can be restored.

The load control device (1) of the eleventh aspect is the same as any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein the wireless section (5) repeats the receivable state and the unreceivable state at regular intervals during standby Intermittent reception.

According to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the wireless unit (5) during reception during standby.

The load control device (1) of the twelfth aspect is the same as the eleventh aspect, wherein the period of intermittent reception is shorter than the AC period of AC power.

According to this configuration, the receivable period in the intermittent reception cycle can be sufficiently shortened. As a result, since the power consumption for reception in one receivable period can be reduced, it is possible to prevent the stored charge of the buffer unit from being reduced at a stretch due to the power consumption of the wireless unit (5) for reception.

The load control method of the 13th aspect is a load control method for controlling the load control device (1). The load control device (1) includes: a switch unit (2); a switch control unit (4); a conversion unit (10); a wireless unit (5); a buffer unit (14); and a control unit (17). The switch part (2) conducts and cuts off the AC power supply (B1) and the load (Q1), thereby controlling the supply of power from the AC power supply (B1) to the load (Q1), and operating the load (Q1) And stop. The switch control part (4) controls the switch part (2). The conversion unit (10) converts AC power supplied from the AC power supply (B1) into DC power. The wireless part (5) operates using the DC power converted by the conversion part (10), and then performs wireless communication with an external communication device. The buffer unit (14) is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the conversion unit (10), and then the stored power can be discharged to the wireless unit (5) as DC power. The load control method includes a control process of controlling the wireless unit (5) based on the output voltage (V4) of the buffer unit (14).

The program of the 14th aspect is a program for the computer system to execute the load control method of the 13th aspect.

According to this configuration, a program for causing the processor to execute the above-mentioned load control method can be provided.

1: Load control device 2: Switch part 3: drive circuit 4: Switch control part 5: Wireless Department (Additional Function Department) 6: Power supply department 10: Rectifier circuit (conversion part) 11: Constant voltage circuit 12: Constant current circuit 14: Buffer 16: DC-DC converter 17: Control Department 20: Remote control device B1: AC power C1, C2, C3: smoothing capacitor D1, D2: rectifier components H1, H2: Circuit I2, I3, I4: output current M1, M2: switching element NP1, NP2, NP3, NP4: branch point Q1: Load V1, V2, V3, V4: output voltage Vs1~Vs3: threshold voltage

[Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the load control device in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the same load control device. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the same load control device. [Fig. 4A] Fig. 4A is a schematic configuration diagram of a load control device in Modification 1 of Embodiment 1. [Fig. [FIG. 4B] FIG. 4B is a schematic configuration diagram of a modification of the load control device in modification 1. FIG. [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a timing chart explaining the operation of the control unit of the load control device in the second embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the same load control device.

1: Load control device

2: Switch part

3: drive circuit

4: Switch control part

5: Wireless Department (Additional Function Department)

6: Power supply department

10: Rectifier circuit (conversion part)

11: Constant voltage circuit

12: Constant current circuit

14: Buffer

16: DC-DC converter

17: Control Department

20: Remote control device

B1: AC power

C1, C2, C3: smoothing capacitor

D1, D2: rectifier components

H1, H2: Circuit

I2, I3, I4: output current

M1, M2: switching element

NP1, NP2, NP3, NP4: branch point

Q1: Load

V1, V2, V3, V4: output voltage

Claims (14)

A load control device including: A switch unit that conducts and cuts off the AC power source and the load, thereby controlling the supply of power from the AC power source to the load, and causing the load to operate and stop; The switch control unit, which controls the aforementioned switch unit; A conversion part, which converts the AC power supplied from the aforementioned AC power source into DC power; The wireless part, which operates using the aforementioned DC power converted by the aforementioned conversion part, and then performs wireless communication with an external communication device; A buffer part, which is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the conversion part, and then the stored power can be discharged to the wireless part as the DC power; and The control unit controls the wireless unit based on the output voltage of the buffer unit. Such as the load control device of claim 1, where The control unit controls the wireless unit so as to reduce the power consumption of the wireless unit as the output voltage of the buffer unit decreases. Such as the load control device of claim 1 or 2, where The control unit restricts the operation of the wireless unit when the output voltage of the buffer unit is equal to or lower than the first threshold voltage. Such as the load control device of claim 3, where The control unit restricts the transmission of the wireless unit as a restriction of the operation of the wireless unit. Such as the load control device of claim 4, wherein The aforementioned wireless unit determines whether the carrier sensing is successful or fails before transmitting, transmits when it determines that the carrier sensing is successful, and stops transmitting when it determines that the carrier sensing fails. The control unit prohibits the transmission of the wireless unit by making the wireless unit determine that the carrier sensing has failed. Such as the load control device of claim 4 or 5, where The control unit prohibits the wireless unit from starting a new transmission as a restriction of the operation of the wireless unit. Such as the load control device of claim 4 or 5, where The control unit allows the wireless unit to perform specific transmission. Such as the load control device of claim 3, where The control unit prohibits reception by the wireless unit when the output voltage of the buffer unit is equal to or lower than the second threshold voltage lower than the first threshold voltage. Such as the load control device of claim 8, wherein The control unit cancels the prohibition of reception by the wireless unit when the output voltage of the buffer unit is a third threshold voltage or higher than the second threshold voltage. Such as the load control device of claim 9, wherein The third threshold voltage is equal to or higher than the first threshold voltage. Such as the load control device of claim 1 or 2, where The aforementioned wireless unit performs intermittent reception in which the receivable state and the unreceivable state are repeated at regular intervals during standby. Such as the load control device of claim 11, wherein The aforementioned intermittent reception cycle is shorter than the aforementioned alternating current cycle of the alternating current power. A load control method, which controls a load control device, the load control device having: A switch unit that conducts and cuts off the AC power source and the load, thereby controlling the supply of power from the AC power source to the load, and causing the load to operate and stop; The switch control unit, which controls the aforementioned switch unit; A conversion part, which converts the AC power supplied from the aforementioned AC power source into DC power; The wireless part, which operates using the aforementioned DC power converted by the aforementioned conversion part, and then performs wireless communication with an external communication device; and The buffer part is charged in a dischargeable manner by the DC power converted by the conversion part, and then the stored power can be discharged to the wireless part as the DC power, The load control method includes a control process of controlling the wireless unit based on the output voltage of the buffer unit. A program for making a computer system execute the load control method described in claim 13.

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