JP7131069B2 - lighting control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to lighting control systems.

Paragraphs 0012 and 0052 of Patent Document 1 describe a lighting control system that compares the detected illuminance of an illuminance sensor with a preset illuminance level and generates illuminance monitoring data according to the illuminance level. is disclosed.

JP 2011-29034 A

The time required to reflect information from the illuminance sensor in control is the sum of the illuminance acquisition time, group control time, and fade time. This total time must be less than or equal to a certain sampling period. However, in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to the case where the illuminance value sampling period is longer than the total time of the illuminance collection time, the group control time, and the fade time. Depending on the configuration of the lighting control system, this total time may be longer than the illumination value sampling period. In such a case, there is a possibility that the dimming control cannot follow the illuminance level reflecting the information of the illuminance sensor.

A plurality of device groups each including a plurality of lighting fixtures and a plurality of illuminance sensors may be provided. A plurality of device groups are controlled for each device group by, for example, one lighting controller. It is necessary to collect each illuminance value, control each device group, and control the light output of each luminaire within the sampling period for measuring illuminance. However, when the lighting control range of one device group is wide, that is, when the number of connected devices is large, the sum of the time for collecting each illuminance value, controlling each device group, and controlling the light output of each lighting fixture is the sampling period. There is a problem that the collection of the next illuminance value is started before the dimming control of lighting by the illuminance value is completed.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems described above, and if the time from collecting the illuminance to completing the change in the dimming rate of the lighting fixture is longer than the sampling period, the next sampling period It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting control system that performs dimming control using an illuminance sensor without being affected by the number of devices connected to a lighting controller by waiting and collecting illuminance.

A lighting control system according to the invention of the present application comprises a lighting controller, a device group having a plurality of lighting fixtures group-controlled by the lighting controller, and a plurality of illuminance sensors, wherein the lighting controller controls the plurality of illuminance sensors. illuminance sensor information collection time for requesting illuminance values to the plurality of illuminance sensors and collecting illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors; and designated dimming rate and designated dimming rate fade time for the plurality of lighting fixtures based on the collected illuminance value information and the fade time required for the plurality of lighting fixtures to change to the specified dimming rate is longer than the sampling period, to the plurality of sensors in the next sampling period It is characterized by requesting an illuminance value.

Other features of the invention will become apparent below.

According to the present invention, by adjusting the sampling period for collecting illuminance, it is possible to perform dimming control using the illuminance sensor without being affected by the number of devices connected to the lighting controller.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of a lighting control system. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an arrangement example of a plurality of device groups; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing lengths of illuminance sensor information collection time, group control time, and fade time;

A lighting control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding components, and repetition of description may be omitted.

Embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a lighting control system according to an embodiment. This lighting control system has a setter 10 . The setting device 10 performs state monitoring and setting of the entire lighting control system. A lighting controller 13 is connected to the setting device 10 via a LAN 12 such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The setting device 10 and the lighting controller 13 can communicate with each other by connecting the LAN 12 or the like. A wired or wireless connection different from the LAN 12 may be used.

A plurality of device groups G1, G2, . . . Gn are connected to the lighting controller 13 . The aforementioned n and the subsequent n are positive integers. The number of device groups is not particularly limited, and may be one or more. The device group G1 includes multiple lighting fixtures 15 and multiple illuminance sensors 16 . FIG. 1 shows that the device group G1 includes n lighting fixtures 15 and n illuminance sensors 16 . The device group G2, . The lighting controller 13 and the device groups G1, G2, . . . Gn are connected by wire or wirelessly. A plurality of lighting fixtures 15 and a plurality of illuminance sensors 16 have a communication function, and two-way communication with the lighting controller 13 is possible. Lighting controller 13 also provides power to devices connected via wired communication line 14 .

A group of devices G1, G2, . . . FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an arrangement example of a plurality of device groups. In this example, the device group G1 includes 42 lighting fixtures 15 and 4 illuminance sensors 16 . The illuminance detection range of the illuminance sensor 16 is shown as an area surrounded by a circle with a dashed line. The device groups G2, . The components of the lighting control system are individually described below.

(1) Illuminance sensor 16
The illuminance sensor 16 communicates with the lighting controller 13 by wire or wirelessly. The illuminance sensor 16 receives a current illuminance value request command from the lighting controller 13 . In response to this, the illuminance sensor 16 transmits the measured illuminance value data to the lighting controller 13 . For example, if the illuminance sensor 16 self-issues an illuminance value at a constant cycle, the illuminance value is randomly input to the lighting controller 13, making it difficult to manage the illuminance value data. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the illuminance sensor 16 employs a passive alarm system in which the illuminance value is transmitted upon receiving a request from the lighting controller 13 .

Upon receiving a current illuminance value request command from the lighting controller 13, the illuminance sensor 16 may return the current illuminance value. In another variation, at least one of the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 transmits a value between the current illuminance value and the past illuminance value to the lighting controller 13 when requested for the illuminance value by the lighting controller 13. may be For example, the illuminance sensor 16 may periodically calculate a value between the current illuminance value and the past illuminance value, and return the calculation result in response to a request from the lighting controller 13 . As a specific example, every 0.5 seconds, the illuminance sensor 16 performs a weighted calculation with the ratio of the illuminance value of 0.5 seconds ago set to 6 and the ratio of the current illuminance value to 4, and the calculation result is used as the current illuminance value. Perform measurement processing. In this way, by using a value between the current illuminance value and the past illuminance value, it is possible to suppress sudden changes in the illuminance value.

Furthermore, the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 may set the sensitivity based on a predetermined reference dimming rate and the current incident illuminance value. Alternatively, the sensitivity may be set from an arbitrary designated dimming rate and the current incident illuminance value. Such sensitivity setting is performed so that the current illuminance incident on the illuminance sensor falls within the illuminance detectable range of the illuminance sensor 16 with respect to the reference dimming rate or any designated dimming rate. This is to enable detailed illuminance detection (resolution). As a result, even a small change in illuminance can be detected, and detailed illumination control becomes possible.

(2) Lighting controller 13
The lighting controller 13 has a first communication function as a communication function with the setter 10 connected by wire or wirelessly, and a communication function between a plurality of lighting fixtures 15 and a plurality of illuminance sensors 16 connected by wire or wirelessly. has a second communication function as The lighting controller 13 manages individual addresses of a plurality of lighting fixtures 15 and individual addresses of a plurality of illuminance sensors 16, assigns each individual address to one or more groups, and performs group control. Specifically, the device groups G1, G2, . . . Gn are individually group-controlled. The lighting controller 13 receives, for example, a target illuminance value for group control from the setting device 10, calculates the dimming rate of each device group that achieves the received target illuminance value, and performs group control of the device group.

The lighting controller 13 can include a switching unit that individually switches between enabling/disabling the illuminance sensor 16 according to a setting command from the setting device 10 . The lighting controller 13 can include a sampling cycle setting unit that sets a cycle for periodically requesting current illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 according to a command from the setting device 10 . Based on the sampling period set by the sampling period setting unit, the lighting controller 13 transmits a command requesting current illuminance values to the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 and receives current illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 . This transmission/reception can be realized by providing the lighting controller 13 with a communication unit.

The time during which the lighting controller 13 requests illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 and collects illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 is referred to as illuminance sensor information collection time. The illuminance sensor information collection time depends on the number of illuminance sensors 16 requesting illuminance values. The lighting controller 13 excludes an illuminance sensor that does not respond due to a failure or the like among the plurality of connected illuminance sensors 16 and an illuminance sensor that is disabled in response to a command from the setting device 10 from targets for requesting an illuminance value. can be done. When the number of illuminance sensors 16 whose illuminance value is requested is reduced, the illuminance sensor information collection time is shortened. The lighting controller 13 includes a collection time changing unit that changes the illuminance sensor information collection time in accordance with the number of illuminance sensors 16 that are the targets of illuminance value requests. In this way, the illuminance sensor information collection time can be adjusted. The setting unit 10 can be used to set the illuminance sensor 16 for which the illuminance value is requested. Having the lighting controller 13 request illuminance values from some of the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 instead of all illuminance sensors 16 reduces the illuminance sensor information collection time.

The lighting controller 13 can, for example, average the illuminance information obtained from the illuminance sensor 16 to obtain the illuminance in one device group. If a request command for the current illuminance value is sent from the lighting controller 13 to the plurality of illuminance sensors 16, but there is no response from a specific illuminance sensor 16 due to a failure or the like, the specific illuminance sensor 16 is excluded from averaging. and The lighting controller 13 can be provided with an averaging processing unit that averages the illuminance values received from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 enabled by the switching unit for each device group.

The lighting controller 13 calculates the specified dimming rate and the specified dimming rate fade time for the plurality of lighting fixtures 15 based on the collected illuminance value information, and transmits these to the plurality of lighting fixtures 15 . For example, the lighting controller 13 is provided with a designated dimming rate calculation setting section, and the designated dimming rate is calculated and set by this designated dimming rate calculation and setting section. The specified dimming rate calculation setting unit pre-sets a unit illuminance value for a dimming rate of 1% calculated from the preset reference dimming rate and the reference illuminance value set by the setting device 10 to each device group from the setting device 10. A specified dimming rate, which is a dimming rate for realizing the target illuminance value in each device group, is calculated from the averaged target illuminance value and each difference value of the current illuminance value of each device group. From the current dimming rate of the lighting fixture 15 of each device group, the amount of change in the required dimming rate is calculated, and the changed dimming rate is set as the designated dimming rate.

The specified dimming rate fade time is the time required for the lighting fixture 15 that has received the specified dimming rate command to reach the specified dimming rate. As an example, a unit fade time for a dimming rate of 1%, which is calculated from a reference fade time that changes from lights out (0%) to full light up (100%) preset by the setting device 10, is sent to the lighting controller 13. Let me save. A unit fade time is, for example, 1 second. In this case, it takes one second to change the dimming rate by 1%. According to this unit fade time, the time required for the lighting fixtures 15 of each device group to change from the current dimming rate to the specified dimming rate is calculated as the changed fade time. Naturally, the greater the difference between the current dimming rate and the designated dimming rate, the greater the change fade time. Therefore, when the changing fade time, which is the fade time when changing from the current dimming rate to the designated dimming rate at a predetermined rate, exceeds a predetermined maximum fade time, the lighting controller 13 The maximum fade time can be the designated dimming rate fade time. This maximum fade time can be preset from the setter 10, for example. A maximum fade time is, for example, 20 seconds. In general, if the fade time is long, the control followability is deteriorated, and if the fade time is short, the change in illumination light becomes large.

In this way, the smaller one of the variable fade time and the maximum fade is set as the designated dimming rate fade time for each device group. Such setting can be realized by providing the lighting controller 13 with a designated dimming ratio fade time calculation setting unit. A transmission unit is provided in the lighting controller 13, and the specified dimming ratio and specified dimming ratio fade time of the lighting fixtures of each device group set by the specified dimming ratio calculation setting unit and specified dimming ratio fade time calculation setting unit. Based on this, a control command is sent to each lighting fixture. The time for transmitting the specified dimming rate and the specified dimming rate fade time to the lighting fixture 15 is called group control time.

As described above, the designated dimming rate calculation setting unit calculates each difference value between the target illuminance value preset for each device group from the setter 10 and the averaged current illuminance value of each device group. If this difference value does not exceed the determination threshold value, the dimming rate control for each lighting device 15 may not be performed. The lighting controller 13 can be provided with an illuminance control determination unit for comparing the difference value and the determination threshold to determine whether or not the dimming rate control is performed. The determination threshold can be set in advance by the setter 10, for example. The determination threshold is, for example, ±50Lx.

The lighting fixture 15 that receives the specified dimming rate and the specified dimming rate fade time spends the specified dimming rate fade time to achieve the specified dimming rate. The time required for the plurality of lighting fixtures 15 to change to the specified dimming rate is called fade time.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing lengths of illuminance sensor information collection time, group control time, and fade time. The total time of the illuminance sensor information collection time, group control time, and fade time is determined according to the number of illuminance sensors 16, the number of lighting fixtures 15, the specified dimming rate fade time, and the like. Current illuminance values are requested from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 for each sampling period. Current illuminance values are requested from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16, for example, once every 30 seconds. If the total time of the illuminance sensor information collection time, the group control time, and the fade time is less than the sampling period, the current illuminance values are requested from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 in each sampling period.
On the other hand, if the total time of the illuminance sensor information collection time, group control time, and fade time is longer than the sampling period, the current illuminance values are requested from the plurality of illuminance sensors 16 after waiting until the next sampling period. As a result, it is possible to perform dimming control using the illuminance sensor without being affected by the number of devices connected to the lighting controller.

(3) Lighting equipment 15
The lighting fixtures 15 may communicate with the lighting controller 13 by wire or wirelessly. The luminaire 15 receives commands for the specified dimming rate and specified dimming rate fade time from the lighting controller 13 and controls the illumination light accordingly. When at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures 15 receives a new designated dimming rate and a designated dimming rate fade time during a fade, the new designated dimming rate fade time is applied to obtain a new dimming rate from the received dimming rate. It may be configured to change illumination light up to a designated dimming rate. This makes it possible to reflect the latest specified dimming rate and specified dimming rate fade time.

(4) Setting device 10
The setting device 10 includes a communication unit that communicates with a lighting controller 13 that is wired or wirelessly connected. When enabling or disabling the illuminance sensor 16 is individually switched from the setting device 10, the setting device 10 is provided with an illuminance sensor switching instruction section that enables it. A sampling cycle designation unit is provided in the setting device 10, and the sampling cycle can be designated to the lighting controller 13 from this sampling cycle designation unit. The setting device 10 can be provided with a dimming rate illuminance value setting instruction unit to set the reference dimming rate, the reference illuminance value, and the target illuminance value. The setter 10 can be provided with a time setting instruction section for setting the maximum fade time and the reference fade time. The setting device 10 can be provided with an illuminance determination threshold value setting instruction section for setting the determination threshold value described above. The setting device 10 can realize each function described above by software or an application. The setting device 10 may be a dedicated setting device having a user interface such as a screen and a keyboard for inputting to the setting device 10, or may be a smartphone or tablet.

The features described above may be omitted or combined in order to achieve lighting control using the illuminance sensor 16 at the optimum time.

10 setting device 12 LAN 13 lighting controller 14 communication line 15 lighting equipment 16 illuminance sensor G1, G2...Gn device group

Claims (7)

a lighting controller;
A device group having a plurality of lighting fixtures group-controlled by the lighting controller and a plurality of illuminance sensors;
The lighting controller
an illuminance sensor information collection time for requesting illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors and collecting illuminance values from the plurality of illuminance sensors at each predetermined sampling period;
a group control time for transmitting a specified dimming rate and a specified dimming rate fade time to the plurality of lighting fixtures based on the collected illuminance value information;
requesting illuminance values from the plurality of sensors in the next sampling period when the total time of the fade time required for the plurality of lighting fixtures to change to the specified dimming rate and the total time is longer than the sampling period; A lighting control system characterized by: 3. The lighting controller according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of illumination sensors transmits a value between a current illumination value and a past illumination value to the lighting controller when an illumination value is requested from the lighting controller. 2. The lighting control system according to 1. 3. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the sensitivities of said plurality of illuminance sensors are set from a reference dimming rate and a current illuminance value. When at least one of the plurality of lighting fixtures receives the new specified dimming rate and the specified dimming rate fade time during fading, the new specified dimming rate fade time is applied to achieve dimming at the time of reception. 4. The lighting control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the illumination light is changed from a rate to the new specified dimming rate. 2. The lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the lighting controller requests the illuminance value from some of the plurality of illuminance sensors. If the fade time when changing from the current dimming rate to the specified dimming rate at a predetermined rate exceeds a predetermined maximum fade time, the lighting controller sets the maximum fade time to 3. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the specified dimming rate fade time is set. 2. The lighting control system according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of said device groups.

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