WO2016199685A1

WO2016199685A1 - Illumination device

Info

Publication number: WO2016199685A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/066490
Authority: WO
Inventors: 代工　康宏
Original assignee: 株式会社オルタステクノロジー
Priority date: 2015-06-10
Filing date: 2016-06-02
Publication date: 2016-12-15
Also published as: JP2017004750A; JP6575156B2

Abstract

This illumination device 1 includes: a light source 13; a light control element 15 that is disposed between the light source 13 and an observer and that receives light from the light source 13; a camera 16 that detects the position of the observer; and a control unit 18 that determines a light blocking region, of the light control element 15, through which an optical path connecting the light source 13 and the observer passes and a transmission region, of the light control element 15, other than the light blocking region and that causes a light quantity in the light blocking region to be less than a light quantity in the transmission region.

Description

Lighting device

The present invention relates to a lighting device.

The environment in which the observer views the TV or personal computer screen is, for example, a room with a lighting device on the ceiling. When the light source of the lighting device enters the observer's field of view while the observer is looking at the screen, the psychological discomfort due to glare is memorized. That is called recognizing glare. If this glare lasts for a long time, secondary harm such as eye pain, stress, or headache may occur.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-89841

The present invention provides an illuminating device capable of suppressing glare recognized by an observer.

An illumination device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a light source, a light control element that is disposed between the light source and the observer, receives light from the light source, a camera that detects the position of the observer, A control unit that determines a light-blocking region through which an optical path connecting the light source and the observer passes and a light-transmitting region other than the light-blocking region among light control elements, and reduces a light amount of the light-blocking region to a light amount of the light-transmitting region It comprises.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an illumination device that can suppress glare recognized by an observer.

The figure explaining the human visual field range. The figure explaining a viewer watching television indoors. The figure which shows the structure of the illuminating device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the light control element according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the light control element along the line AA ′ shown in FIG. 4. The perspective view explaining the coordinate for pinpointing an observer's position. The figure explaining an example of the positional relationship of an observer and an illuminating device. The figure explaining an example of an observer's inclination | tilt angle and azimuth. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of a region that is shielded by a light control element. The figure explaining operation | movement of the light control element in an OFF state. The figure explaining operation | movement of the light control element in an ON state. The block diagram of the control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The flowchart explaining operation | movement of the control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the light control element which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the light control element which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic or conceptual, and the dimensions and ratios of the drawings are not necessarily the same as the actual ones. Further, even when the same portion is represented between the drawings, the dimensional relationship and ratio may be represented differently. In particular, the following embodiments exemplify an apparatus and a method for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention depends on the shape, structure, arrangement, etc. of components. Is not specified. In the following description, elements having the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be given only when necessary.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a human visual field range. FIG. 1A is a side view, and FIG. 1B is a top view.

When the person is facing the front in front, the field of view is about 60 ° up and 75 ° down for each eye. Incidentally, the field of view in the horizontal direction is about 60 ° on the nose side and about 100 ° on the ear side.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining how an observer (human, person) 2 is watching the television 3 in the room. If the observer 2 watches the television 3 in front of the front and the elevation angle α is in the range of 0 ° or more and 60 ° or less, the light of the illumination device 1 directly enters the observer's 2 eye. 2 recognizes glare.

In this embodiment, glare is reduced by controlling the light from the illumination device 1 entering the eyes of the observer 2.

[1] Configuration of Lighting Device 1 FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the lighting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a side view, and FIG. 3B is a plan view.

The lighting device 1 includes a power cord 10, a lighting body (lighting fixture) 11, a socket 12, a light source 13, a cover 14, a light control element 15, two

cameras

16A and 16B, a driver 17, a control device (control unit) 18, And wirings 19-21.

The power cord 10 supplies external power to the lighting device 1. The illumination main body (lighting fixture) 11 is a general fixture having a function of turning on and off the light source 13.

The socket 12 is connected to the light source 13 and has a function of supplying power to the light source 13. The socket 12 is formed of an insulating resin and includes a power supply terminal connected to the light source 13.

The light source 13 is composed of, for example, a fluorescent lamp having a ring shape (also called a circular shape, a ring shape, or a donut shape). Various types of light sources 13 can be used, and in addition to fluorescent lamps, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) or incandescent lamps may be used. The shape of the light source 13 is not limited to the ring shape, and a straight tube shape (bar shape), a light bulb shape (ball shape), or the like may be used.

The cover 14 is connected to the illumination main body 11 and is configured to cover the upper and side portions of the light source 13. The cover 14 is made of a material having translucency, for example. The cover 14 having translucency is made of, for example, polycarbonate resin or acrylic resin having translucency and diffusibility. The planar shape of the cover 14 is, for example, a quadrangle, but may be another shape such as a circle. Further, the cover 14 may include a reflection member that reflects light on the inside.

The light control element 15 is disposed below the light source 13 and attached to the cover 14. About the attachment method of the light control element 15, it can select suitably according to the structure of the cover 14, For example, you may use a some attachment metal fitting. The light control element 15 controls the amount of light reaching the observer from the light source 13 by controlling the transmittance of light from the light source 13. A specific configuration of the light control element 15 will be described later.

The

cameras

16A and 16B are attached to the lower part of the light control element 15. The cameras 16 A and 16 B are arranged at both ends of the light control element 15 in the X direction passing through the center of the light source 13. When the light source 13 is annular as shown in FIG. 3, the center of the light source 13 is the center of the outer circumference of the light source 13. The cameras 16 A and 16 B take images toward the lower side of the lighting device 1 and detect an observer present near the lighting device 1.

The driver 17 is a drive circuit for the light control element 15, and drives the light control element 15 based on a control signal from the control device 18. The control device 18 controls the operation of the entire lighting device 1.

Each of the wirings 19 to 21 includes a signal line and a power supply line. The wiring 19 connects the driver 17 and the control device 18. The wiring 20 connects the camera 16 A and the control device 18. The wiring 21 connects the camera 16B and the control device 18.

[2] Configuration of Light Control Element 15 Next, the configuration of the light control element 15 will be described. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the light control element 15. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the light control element 15 along the line AA ′ shown in FIG. The light control element 15 according to the first embodiment is composed of a liquid crystal element. The display method of the light control element 15 is a dot matrix method, and the drive method of the light control element 15 is a TN (Twisted nematic) method.

The light control element 15 includes

substrates

30 and 31, a liquid crystal layer 32, a sealing material 33, a plurality of lower electrodes 34, a plurality of upper electrodes 35, and

polarizing plates

36 and 37. The

substrates

30 and 31 are arranged to face each other and are made of a transparent substrate (for example, a glass substrate). In the top view of FIG. 4, the substrate 31 and the polarizing plate 37 are not shown for easy understanding of the configuration of the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35, but the planar shape of the substrate 31 is It is the same as the substrate 30, and the planar shape of the polarizing plate 37 is the same as that of the polarizing plate 36.

The liquid crystal layer 32 is sandwiched between the

substrates

30 and 31. The liquid crystal layer 32 is composed of TN liquid crystal. That is, the liquid crystal molecules contained in the liquid crystal layer 32 are twisted by 90 ° above and below the liquid crystal layer 32 in the initial state (no electric field). The alignment of the liquid crystal is controlled by an alignment film (not shown) provided so as to sandwich the liquid crystal layer 32. The liquid crystal material constituting the liquid crystal layer 32 is sealed by a sealing material 33 that bonds the

substrates

30 and 31 together. In the liquid crystal layer 32, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is manipulated according to the electric field applied thereto, and the optical characteristics change.

A plurality of lower electrodes 34 are provided on the liquid crystal layer 32 side of the substrate 30. The plurality of lower electrodes 34 each have a line shape extending in the Y direction, and are arranged side by side in the X direction. The lower electrode 34 is composed of a transparent electrode, and for example, ITO (indium tin oxide) is used. The plurality of lower electrodes 34 are arranged at a predetermined interval from each other and are electrically insulated from each other.

A plurality of upper electrodes 35 are provided on the liquid crystal layer 32 side of the substrate 31. Each of the plurality of upper electrodes 35 has a line shape extending in the X direction, and is arranged side by side in the Y direction. The upper electrode 35 is composed of a transparent electrode, and for example, ITO is used. The plurality of upper electrodes 35 are arranged at a predetermined interval from each other and are electrically insulated from each other.

The orientation of the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35 may be reversed. 4 and 5, the adjacent electrodes are shown in contact with each other in order to avoid complication of the drawings. However, as described above, these adjacent electrodes have a predetermined interval. They are arranged in a space and are electrically insulated from each other. That is, the plurality of lower electrodes 34 and the plurality of upper electrodes 35 can be individually voltage controlled.

The light control element 15 has a dot matrix composed of a plurality of dots 38 that are intersecting regions of the plurality of lower electrodes 34 and the plurality of upper electrodes 35. The light control element 15 can control the transmittance of the dots 38 by controlling the voltage between the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35.

The

polarizing plates

36 and 37 are disposed so as to sandwich the

substrates

30 and 31. The

polarizing plates

36 and 37 have a transmission axis and an absorption axis orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the light traveling direction. The

polarizing plates

36 and 37 transmit linearly polarized light (linearly polarized light component) having a vibration surface parallel to the transmission axis out of light having vibration surfaces in random directions, and have a vibration surface parallel to the absorption axis. Absorbs linearly polarized light (linearly polarized light component). The

polarizing plates

36 and 37 are arranged so that their transmission axes are orthogonal to each other, that is, in an orthogonal Nicol state.

[3] Operation of Lighting Device 1 The operation of the lighting device 1 configured as described above will be described.

(Identification of observer position)
First, an operation for specifying the position of the observer will be described. Each of the

cameras

16A and 16B captures an image below the lighting device 1. The images of the

cameras

16A and 16B are sent to the control device 18. The control device 18 detects the position of the observer using the images of the

cameras

16A and 16B, subsequently detects the position of the face of the observer, and subsequently detects the position of the eyes of the observer. Hereinafter, the position of the observer means the position of the face of the observer, but may be the position of the eyes of the observer (either the right eye or the left eye).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining coordinates for specifying the position of the observer. The center of the light control element 15 (the center of the light source 13) is the center C of the coordinates. The X axis is an axis connecting the

cameras

16A and 16B, and the Y axis is an axis orthogonal to the X direction. The center C, the X axis, and the Y axis are defined within a plane including the bottom surface of the light control element 15. The Z axis is an axis extending vertically downward from the center C.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of the positional relationship between the observer 2 and the lighting device 1. The inclination angle θ _A of the face position of the observer 2 with respect to the camera 16A is assumed to be the inclination angle θ _B of the face position of the observer 2 with respect to the camera 16B. The inclination angle θ is an angle with respect to the perpendicular from the camera. The distance d (cm) between the

cameras

16A and 16B is assumed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the tilt angle and azimuth angle of the observer. FIG. 8A is a diagram centering on the camera 16A, and FIG. 8B is a diagram centering on the camera 16B. The azimuth angle φ _A of the observer position with respect to the camera 16A and the azimuth angle φ _B of the observer position with respect to the camera 16B are assumed. The circle shown in FIG. 8 represents an example of the position of the observer. A line connecting azimuth angles from 0 ° to 180 ° corresponds to the X axis. As a range in which the observer recognizes glare, the inclination angles θ _A and θ _B are each 30 ° or more and less than 90 °, and the azimuth angles φ _A and φ _B are each 0 ° or more and 360 ° or less.

The coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the observer are expressed by the following equations (1) to (3). The coordinate Z may be calculated from equation (4).

X = {− sin (φ _A + φ _B ) / 2 sin (φ _A −φ _B )} · d (1)

Y = {sin φ _A · sin φ _B ) / sin (φ _A −φ _B )} · d (2)

Z = {sin φ _B / tan θ _A · sin (φ _A −φ _B )} · d (3)

Z = {sin φ _A / tan θ _B · sin (φ _A −φ _B )} · d (4)

As an example, d = 34 (cm), φ _A = 330 °, φ _B = 320 °, θ _A = 40 °, and θ _B = 33.1 °. In this case, the coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the observer are X = 92 (cm), Y = 62.9 (cm), and Z = 149.99 (cm). As described above, the control device 18 can detect and specify the position of the observer using the images of the

cameras

16A and 16B.

(Operation of Light Control Element 15)
Next, the operation of the light control element 15 will be described. As described above, the light control element 15 has a dot matrix composed of a plurality of dots 38. The light control element 15 can control the transmittance of each dot matrix. The transmittance is controlled by the control device 18.

When the voltage difference between the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35 sandwiching an arbitrary first dot is made substantially zero, the electric field applied to the first dot becomes substantially zero. The case where this electric field is approximately zero is called an off state. In the off state, the light is transmitted through the first dot (however, since the polarizing plate is used, the transmittance is about 50%). The transmittance in the off state is not limited to 50% and can be arbitrarily set.

On the other hand, when the voltage difference between the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35 sandwiching an arbitrary second dot is positive (for example, 5 V), an electric field is applied to the second dot. The case where this electric field is applied is called an on state. In the on state, light cannot pass through the second dot, and the transmittance of the second dot is approximately 0%. That is, the second dot is in a light shielding state.

In the present embodiment, the light control element 15 shields light from a region through which a straight line connecting the light source 13 and the observer passes (transmittance 0%), and transmits light in other regions.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a region where the light control element 15 blocks light. A distance t from the center in the vertical direction of the light source 13 to the bottom surface of the light control element 15 is assumed. FIG. 9B is a plan view at z = −t. FIG. 9A is a side view corresponding to FIG.

The radius r of the inner circle of the light source 13 and the radius R of the outer circle are set. The light source 13 is represented by the following formulas (5) and (6). (X, y) is the coordinates of the light source 13.

x ² + y ² = r ² (5)

x ² + y ² = R ² (6)

FIG. 9C is a plan view showing the light shielding region 13A where the light control element 15 shields light. FIG. 9C is a plan view at z = 0.

The light shielding region 13A is a region through which a straight line connecting the light source 13 and the observer passes. When the light source 13 is a ring (ring), the light shielding region 13A is also a ring. The light shielding region 13A is expressed by the following equations (7) and (8). Equation (7) represents the inner circle of the light shielding region 13A, and equation (8) represents the outer circle of the light shielding region 13A. (X, Y, Z) are the coordinates of the observer described above, and (x, y, z) are the coordinates of the light shielding region 13A.

{X− [t / (t + Z)] X} ² + {y− [t / (t + Z)] Y} ² = {rZ / (t + Z)} ²
... (7)

{X− [t / (t + Z)] X} ² + {y− [t / (t + Z)] Y} ² = {RZ / (t + Z)} ²
... (8)

Then, the light control element 15 shields the dots included in the light shielding region 13A sandwiched between the inner circumference circle of Expression (7) and the outer circumference circle of Expression (8) (transmittance is 0%).

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the light control element 15 in the off state. FIG. 10A is a plan view of the light control element 15, and FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the light control element 15 along the line AA ′ in FIG. 10A.

In the off state, all the lower electrodes 34 and all the upper electrodes 35 are set to the same voltage (for example, 0 V). In this case, the light control element 15 is in a transmissive state in the entire region. Therefore, the light from the light source 13 passes through the light control element 15 and is irradiated downward over the entire region of the light control element 15.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the light control element 15 in the ON state. FIG. 11A is a plan view of the light control element 15, and FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the light control element 15 along the line AA ′ in FIG. 11A.

In the ON state, a positive voltage difference is given between the predetermined number of lower electrodes 34 and the predetermined number of upper electrodes 35 for controlling the plurality of dots included in the light shielding region 13A. For example, all the lower electrodes 34 are set to 0 V, and a positive voltage (for example, 5 V) is applied to a predetermined number of upper electrodes 35 for controlling a plurality of dots included in the light shielding region 13A. Thereby, the light from the light source 13 does not transmit in the light shielding region 13A, and the light from the light source 13 transmits in a region (transmission region) other than the light shielding region 13A.

Note that it is desirable that the width of the light shielding region 13A is substantially the same as the width of the light source 13 but slightly larger.

(Operation of the control device 18)
Next, a series of operations of the control device 18 will be described. FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the control device 18. The control device 18 includes a video analysis unit 18A, a position detection unit 18B, a glare determination unit 18C, a light shielding region calculation unit 18D, and a voltage control unit 18E. The functional blocks provided in the control device 18 are realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory in which software for executing a corresponding function is stored.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control device 18. The video analysis unit 18A receives video signals from the

cameras

16A and 16B (step S100). Subsequently, the video analysis unit 18A analyzes the video signals received from the

cameras

16A and 16B, recognizes the observer, and further recognizes the face of the observer (step S101). Subsequently, the video analysis unit 18A analyzes the video signals received from the

cameras

16A and 16B and recognizes the eyes of the observer (step S102). Note that step S102 may be omitted. That is, in the following steps, processing may be performed based on the face of the observer instead of the observer's eyes.

Subsequently, the position detection unit 18B calculates the position of the observer's eyes using the analysis result of the video analysis unit 18A (step S103). That is, the position detection unit 18B calculates the inclination angles θ _A and θ _B and the azimuth angles φ _A and φ _B between the

cameras

16A and 16B and the position of the observer's eyes. Then, using the above-described equations (1) to (4), the position of the observer's eyes (the coordinates of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis) is calculated.

Subsequently, the glare determination unit 18C determines whether or not the condition for the observer to recognize the glare is satisfied (step S104). Specifically, the glare determination unit 18C determines whether or not the inclination angles θ _A and θ _B are in the range of 30 ° or more and less than 90 °, respectively. When the inclination angles θ _A and θ _B are within this range, the observer recognizes glare, and when the inclination angles θ _A and θ _B are outside this range, it is determined that the observer does not recognize glare.

When the glare condition is satisfied in step S104, the light shielding region calculation unit 18D calculates the light shielding region 13A of the light control element 15 (step S105). That is, the light shielding area calculation unit 18D calculates the light shielding area 13A by setting the area where the straight line connecting the light source 13 and the position of the eyes of the observer intersects the light control element 15 as the light shielding area 13A. For example, the light shielding region calculation unit 18D calculates the light shielding region 13A of the light control element 15 using the position of the observer's eyes calculated in step S103 and the above-described equations (7) and (8).

Subsequently, the voltage control unit 18E reduces the voltages of the plurality of lower electrodes 34 and the plurality of upper electrodes 35 so that light does not pass through the light shielding region 13A (that is, the light shielding region 13A is turned on). Control is performed (step S106). Thereby, it can suppress that an observer recognizes glare resulting from the light source 13 of the illuminating device 1.

On the other hand, when the glare condition is not satisfied in step S104, the voltage control unit 18E sets the entire region of the light control element 15 to the transmission state (off state) (step S107). Thereby, the light of the light source 13 of the illumination device 1 reaches the observer without being partially blocked.

[4] Effects As described in detail above, in the first embodiment, the illumination device 1 includes the light source 13, the light control element 15 that controls the amount of light from the light source 13, and the

cameras

16A and 16B that detect the position of the observer. With. Then, the light control element 15 calculates the light shielding region 13A through which the optical path connecting the light source 13 and the observer passes and the transmission region other than the light shielding region 13A, and makes the light amount of the light shielding region 13A smaller than the light amount of the transmission region. To control.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress glare recognized by the observer. Thereby, when an observer is watching television, for example, it can suppress that illumination feels dazzling.

Further, when the tilt angles θ _A and θ _B from the

cameras

16A and 16B are in the range of 30 ° or more and less than 90 °, the transmittance of the light shielding region 13A is lowered. For this reason, when the conditions for recognizing glare are not satisfied, the light from the light source 13 reaches the observer directly, so that the lighting device 1 can function as a normal lighting fixture.

[Second Embodiment]
The second embodiment is an example using polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) or polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC) as the liquid crystal layer.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the light control element 15 according to the second embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the display method of the light control element 15 according to the second embodiment is a dot matrix method.

As shown in FIG. 14A, a liquid crystal layer 32 is provided between the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35. In the light control element 15 according to the second embodiment, the polarizing plate and the alignment film are unnecessary.

The liquid crystal layer 32 is composed of PDLC or PNLC. The PDLC has a structure in which the liquid crystal 32B is dispersed in the polymer layer (polymer network) 32A. That is, the PDLC has a structure in which the liquid crystal 32B is phase-separated in the polymer layer 32A. Alternatively, the liquid crystal 32B in the polymer layer 32A may have a continuous phase.

Photopolymer resin can be used as the polymer layer 32A. For example, PDLC irradiates a solution in which liquid crystal is mixed with a photopolymerizable polymer precursor (monomer) by irradiating ultraviolet rays, polymerizes the monomer to form a polymer, and the liquid crystal is dispersed in the polymer network. . As the liquid crystal 32B, for example, nematic liquid crystal having positive (positive) dielectric anisotropy is used. That is, when no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 32, the liquid crystal molecules are randomly arranged in the polymer layer 32A, and when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 32, the liquid crystal molecules stand in the electric field direction. It becomes a state (a state in which the long axis of the liquid crystal molecules is oriented in the electric field direction).

The voltage control unit 18E (and the driver 17) applies an electric field to the liquid crystal layer 32 by applying a voltage to the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35. As shown in FIG. 14B, an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal layer 32, that is, a high voltage (for example, 5V) is applied to one of the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35, and a low voltage (for example, 0V) is applied to the other. The liquid crystal molecules are aligned in the electric field direction (direction perpendicular to the substrate). In this case, the liquid crystal layer 32 transmits light.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14C, when no electric field is applied to the liquid crystal layer 32, that is, when the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35 are set to the same voltage (for example, 0 V), the liquid crystal molecules are randomly arranged. . In this case, the light incident on the liquid crystal layer 32 is scattered and is observed as a cloudy state from the outside.

According to the second embodiment, the light from the light source 13 can be scattered in the light shielding region 13A. Thereby, it can suppress that an observer recognizes glare.

[Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment is an example in which an electrochromic element is used as the light control element 15.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the light control element 15 according to the third embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, the display method of the light control element 15 according to the third embodiment is a dot matrix method. The light control element 15 is composed of an electrochromic element. An electrochromic element is an element that utilizes a phenomenon called electrochromism in which a redox reaction occurs reversibly when a voltage is applied and is reversibly colored or colorless. Below, an example of an electrochromic element is demonstrated.

As shown in FIG. 15A, an electrochromic layer 40 is provided between the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35. The electrochromic layer 40 includes a solution layer 40A and a plurality of particles 40B dispersed in the solution layer 40A. The particle 40B is a charged particle. As the charged particle, for example, silver (Ag) having a positive charge is used.

As shown in FIG. 15B, when the lower electrode 34 and the upper electrode 35 are at the same potential, for example, when both are short-circuited, an electric field is not applied to the electrochromic layer 40, and the particles 40B are random in the solution layer 40A. Are distributed. In this case, the light incident on the electrochromic layer 40 is transmitted.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 15C, when a voltage lower than the lower electrode 34 is applied to the upper electrode 35 (for example, when a positive voltage is applied to the lower electrode 34 and 0 V is applied to the upper electrode 35), The particles 40 B having a positive charge are attracted to the upper electrode 35. In this case, the electrochromic layer 40 functions as a reflective layer (mirror) and is in a mirror state. Thereby, the light from the light source 13 is reflected by the electrochromic layer 40, and the amount of light reaching the observer is reduced.

According to the third embodiment, the light from the light source 13 can be reflected in the light shielding region 13A. Thereby, it can suppress that an observer recognizes glare.

In the present specification, a plate or a film is an expression illustrating the member, and is not limited to the configuration. For example, the polarizing plate is not limited to a plate-like member, and may be a film having other functions described in the specification or other members.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and are obtained by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in one embodiment or by appropriately combining constituent elements disclosed in different embodiments. Various inventions can be configured. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments, the problems to be solved by the invention can be solved and the effects of the invention can be obtained. Embodiments made can be extracted as inventions.

Claims

A light source;
A light control element disposed between the light source and an observer and receiving light from the light source;
A camera for detecting the position of the observer;
Control for determining a light-shielding region through which an optical path connecting the light source and the observer passes among the light control elements and a transmission region other than the light-shielding region, and making the light amount of the light-shielding region smaller than the light amount of the transmission region And a lighting device.
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light control element is a dot matrix type.
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light control element is a TN (twisted nematic) type liquid crystal element.
The lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit makes the transmittance of the light shielding region lower than the transmittance of the transmission region.
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light control element is a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal element.
The lighting device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit does not apply an electric field to the liquid crystal layer in the light shielding region, but applies an electric field to the liquid crystal layer in the transmission region.
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light control element is an electrochromic element.
The lighting device according to claim 7, wherein the control unit applies an electric field to the electrochromic layer in the light-shielding region and does not apply an electric field to the electrochromic layer in the transmissive region.
The illumination device according to claim 1, further comprising a cover that covers an upper portion and a side portion of the light source and supports the light control element.
The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light source has a ring shape.