JP7594809B2 - Lighting System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lighting system.

Various lighting systems have been proposed that can control multiple lighting fixtures to a desired lighting state. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a conventional lighting system. This lighting system is configured such that multiple lighting fixtures, each having a communication unit, and a central processing unit belong to one communication network. Based on operation information from a control panel or the like, the central processing unit transmits information for controlling the lighting state of the corresponding lighting fixture via the communication network.

JP 2013-201087 A

However, due to factors such as the communication standards of a communication network, there is generally an upper limit to the number of communication units that belong to one communication network. This creates a problem in that it limits the number of lighting fixtures that can be individually controlled.

The present invention was conceived in light of the above circumstances, and its objective is to provide a lighting system that makes it easier to expand the communications network used to control the lighting of lighting fixtures.

The lighting system provided by the present invention comprises a plurality of communication networks, each of which has a plurality of lighting fixtures, and a server having a plurality of individual communication units and a control unit capable of communicating individually with the plurality of communication networks, and is characterized in that the number of the plurality of individual communication units possessed by the server can be increased or decreased according to the number of the plurality of communication networks.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the individual communication unit is configured as an individual communication module having a module-side connector, and the server has a plurality of server-side connectors to which the module-side connectors are detachably connected.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the server further has a memory unit and a main communication unit, and is equipped with a controller having an operating side communication unit capable of communicating with the main communication unit, an operation unit, a display unit, and a control unit, and the control unit of the server generates operation screen information based on lighting state information that is information representing the lighting state of the multiple lighting devices stored in the memory unit, and the control unit of the controller configures the display content of the display unit based on the operation screen information received from the main communication unit of the server to the operating side communication unit.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication network has a communication repeater that can communicate with the individual communication unit of the server and the lighting side communication unit of the lighting fixture, and the lighting side communication units of the multiple lighting fixtures can communicate directly with each other to form a wireless mesh network.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a master server having a main communication unit capable of communicating with the main communication units of the plurality of servers is provided, and the operating side communication unit of the controller communicates with the main communication unit of the master server.

The present invention makes it easier to expand the communications network used to control the lighting of lighting fixtures.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a lighting system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a server of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of an example of a server of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of an example of a server of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing lighting fixtures of a lighting system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process of a controller of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen (all areas) of a controller of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a generation process of operation screen information of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen (specific area) of a controller of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of lighting instruction information of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of lighting state information of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing a modified example of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of a modified example of the lighting system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing a lighting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen (all areas) of a controller of a lighting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen (specific area) of a controller of a lighting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment
1 shows a lighting system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The lighting system A1 of this embodiment includes a server Sv, a controller Ct, and a plurality of lighting fixtures L. The lighting system A1 is a system that controls the lighting of a plurality of lighting fixtures L arranged at any location indoors or the like, using a plurality of communication networks Nt.

<Controller Ct>
The controller Ct is used by a user of the system to change the lighting states of the multiple lighting fixtures L to a desired state. The lighting system A1 includes one controller Ct, but the number of controllers Ct is not particularly limited. In this embodiment, the controller Ct has a control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a power supply unit 23, and an operation-side communication unit 24, and is, for example, a portable information processing terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone.

The control unit 21 is for controlling the operation of the operation unit 22, the power supply unit 23, and the operation-side communication unit 24. The control unit 21 also generates a command CI based on an operation from the operation unit 22, and controls the transmission of this command CI to the operation-side communication unit 24.

The operation unit 22 is a portion where the user performs operation input, and in this embodiment, is configured as a so-called touch panel. Therefore, the operation unit 22 also serves as a display unit. Note that the display unit may be configured as a separate unit from the operation unit 22.

The power supply unit 23 supplies power to drive the control unit 21, the operation unit 22, the operation side communication unit 24, etc. The specific configuration of the power supply unit 23 is not particularly limited, and examples include a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) and a dry cell.

The operating side communication unit 24 is for wireless communication with the server Sv. The method of wireless communication performed by the operating side communication unit 24 is not particularly limited, and may be wireless communication using radio waves or communication using infrared rays. In this embodiment, the operating side communication unit 24 performs wireless communication using radio waves. The standard of wireless communication of the operating side communication unit 24 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include Wi-Fi conforming to IEEE802.11, Bluetooth (registered trademark) conforming to IEEE802.15.1, EnOcean (registered trademark) conforming to ISO/IEC14543, and 920 MHz band wireless communication. In this embodiment, the wireless communication format of the operating side communication unit 24 is, for example, Wi-Fi. The operating side communication unit 24 transmits commands CI and receives operation screen information DI.

<Server Sv>
The server Sv controls the lighting of the multiple lighting fixtures L based on operations performed on the controller Ct. In this embodiment, the server Sv has a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input unit 13, a display unit 14, multiple individual communication units 15, and a main communication unit 16. The server Sv is installed, for example, at any arbitrary location in a building in which the multiple lighting fixtures L are installed, but may also be installed in another building.

The control unit 11 is a central part that controls the server Sv. The control unit 11 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 11 performs, for example, the generation process of the operation screen information DI.

The storage unit 12 is a portion in which information required for lighting control by the server Sv is appropriately stored, and is composed of, for example, a hard disk or semiconductor memory. The storage unit 12 stores setting values for various items of the lighting instruction information IL and lighting status information SL described below, as well as information for generating the operation screen information DI. It may also store setting values for so-called schedule control, which controls the dimming rate for each time period of multiple lighting fixtures L.

The input unit 13 is used to input operations to the server Sv, and is, for example, a keyboard.

The display unit 14 is used to display the contents of operational inputs to the server Sv and the various states of the server Sv, and is, for example, an LCD display.

The multiple individual communication units 15 are for wireless communication with multiple lighting fixtures L. In the following description, the multiple individual communication units 15 may be described separately as individual communication units 151 and 152. Each of the multiple individual communication units 15 communicates individually with a specific one of the multiple communication networks Nt. For example, the individual communication unit 151 communicates only with communication network Nt1, and the individual communication unit 152 communicates only with communication network Nt2. The wireless communication format of such individual communication units 15 is not particularly limited, and examples include Wi-Fi conforming to IEEE802.11, Bluetooth (registered trademark) conforming to IEEE802.15.1, EnOcean (registered trademark) conforming to ISO/IEC14543, and 920 MHz band wireless communication. In this embodiment, the wireless communication format of the individual communication unit 15 is, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The main communication unit 16 is for wireless communication with the operating side communication unit 24 of the controller Ct. The wireless communication format of the main communication unit 16 is not particularly limited, and examples include Wi-Fi conforming to IEEE802.11, Bluetooth (registered trademark) conforming to IEEE802.15.1, EnOcean (registered trademark) conforming to ISO/IEC14543, and 920 MHz band wireless communication. In this embodiment, the wireless communication format of the main communication unit 16 is, for example, Wi-Fi. Unlike this embodiment, any of the multiple individual communication units 15 may also have the function of the main communication unit 16.

Figures 2 to 4 show an example of a specific configuration of the server Sv. As shown in Figure 2, the server Sv in the illustrated example has a case 191, a cover 192, and a lid portion 193. The case 191 and the cover 192 house the control unit 11, memory unit 12, input unit 13, display unit 14, multiple individual communication units 15, and main communication unit 16 described above, and are made of, for example, resin. The lid portion 193 covers the opening of the cover 192, and can be attached and detached from the cover 192 by the user as appropriate. The server Sv can be attached, for example, to a wall surface of a building, etc.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the illustrated example, the server Sv has multiple individual communication units 150 and multiple server-side connectors 195.

The individual communication unit 150 is a modularized version of the individual communication unit 15, and has a control unit and an antenna unit (both not shown) for performing the communication function of the individual communication unit 15, and a module-side connector 159. The module-side connector 159 is, for example, a USB-type connector, and is detachably connected to the server-side connector 195. The connector type of the module-side connector 159 is not limited in any way.

The multiple server-side connectors 195 are detachably connected to the individual communication units 150, and are, for example, USB-type connectors. The connector type of the server-side connectors 195 is not limited in any way. The number of the multiple server-side connectors 195 is not particularly limited, and in the illustrated example, three server-side connectors 195 are provided. In the illustrated state, two individual communication units 150 are connected to two server-side connectors 195. As a result, the server Sv has an individual communication unit 151 and an individual communication unit 152, and can communicate with the communication network Nt1 and the communication network Nt2.

The individual communication unit 150 shown in the information in FIG. 3 can be connected to a third server-side connector 195. When this individual communication unit 150 is connected to the server-side connector 195, the server Sv has two individual communication units 150, as shown in FIG. 4. This changes the configuration of the server Sv to include individual communication units 151, 152, and 153.

<Lighting fixture L>
The lighting fixture L is a fixture for illuminating the surroundings of the installation location. The type and specific configuration of the lighting fixture L are not particularly limited. The lighting fixture L is attached to, for example, a ceiling or wall surface indoors, or placed on a floor surface. As shown in Fig. 5, in this embodiment, the lighting fixture L has a control unit 31, a light-emitting unit 32, a power supply unit 33, and a lighting-side communication unit 34.

The control unit 31 controls the lighting state of the lighting fixture L based on the lighting instruction information IL received by the lighting side communication unit 34. The configuration of the control unit 31 is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, an integrated circuit element, an LED driver, or a semiconductor memory as a storage unit. The control of the lighting state of the lighting fixture L by the control unit 31 includes, for example, lighting control for turning the lighting fixture L ON or OFF, and light emission control for controlling the dimming rate (light emission state) of the light-emitting unit 32. The control of the dimming rate (light emission control) by the light-emitting unit 32 is performed, for example, by PWM control. The storage unit appropriately stores the setting values of each item of the lighting instruction information IL and the lighting state information SL described later. The storage unit may also store a lighting fixture ID, which is address information for identifying the lighting fixture L.

The light-emitting unit 32 is a part that emits light and has various light source devices. In this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 32 has LEDs. The number of LEDs is not particularly limited. The light-emitting unit 32 may also have multiple types of LEDs.

The brightness of the LED in the light-emitting unit 32 changes depending on the current passed through the LED, and as a result, the total luminous flux of the light emitted by the lighting fixture L also changes. This type of light adjustment is called dimming, and the total luminous flux expressed relative to the maximum current passed through the LED is called the dimming rate, with 100% being the maximum. In the following explanation, increasing the total luminous flux of the light-emitting unit 32 is referred to as increasing (raising, increasing) the dimming rate, and decreasing the total luminous flux of the light from the light-emitting unit 32 is referred to as decreasing (lowering, decreasing) the dimming rate.

The power supply unit 33 supplies power to make the light-emitting unit 32 emit light. The power supply unit 33 converts, for example, commercial 100V AC power into DC power suitable for the light-emitting unit 32. The power supply unit 33 is controlled by the control unit 31.

The lighting side communication unit 34 is a component that receives lighting instruction information IL and transmits lighting state information SL via wireless communication. The wireless communication format of the lighting side communication unit 34 is not particularly limited. In this example, multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the same communication network Nt construct an original multi-hop wireless mesh network. For example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used as the wireless communication format of the lighting side communication unit 34 that realizes such lighting fixtures L. A lighting fixture ID, which is address information that identifies the lighting fixture L, may be stored in the lighting side communication unit 34.

Next, the control of the lighting state and operation of the lighting system A1 will be described below.

Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the lighting system A1 having the system configuration shown in Figure 1. As described above, the operating side communication unit 24 of the controller Ct is capable of wireless communication with the main communication unit 16 of the server Sv. The individual communication unit 151 of the server Sv is capable of wireless communication individually with any of the multiple lighting fixtures L in the communication network Nt1, and the individual communication unit 152 is capable of wireless communication individually with any of the multiple lighting fixtures L in the communication network Nt2. In the communication network Nt1, the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt1 are able to communicate with each other by building a multi-hop wireless mesh network. In the communication network Nt2, the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt2 are able to communicate with each other by building a multi-hop wireless mesh network.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation process using the controller Ct. For example, when the controller Ct is turned on and power is supplied from the power supply unit 23 to the control unit 21 (step S0), the screen shown in Figure 8 is displayed on the operation unit 22.

The operation screen of the operation unit 22 shown in FIG. 8 is constructed by a type of operation screen information DI transmitted from the server Sv to the controller Ct. This operation screen information DI is downloaded from the server Sv to the controller Ct as data in HTML format, for example, by accessing a specific URL associated with the server Sv from the controller Ct. The display includes an area display unit 221 and an operation selection unit 222. The area display unit 221 is a part for selecting the area to be operated, and in the illustrated example, four areas, "West Building A", "West Building B", "East Building A", and "East Building B", are displayed. In this embodiment, each area corresponds to one of multiple communication networks Nt. When there are four areas, communication networks Nt1 to Nt4 are constructed. The operation selection unit 222 is a part for inputting operations targeted at all the lighting fixtures L in the entire building. In the illustrated example, "all lights on", "all lights off", and "70% dimming" can be selected. When "Dimming" is selected, the number in the "70%" column can be changed using a numeric keypad or other operation method.

Next, when one of "West Building A," "West Building B," "East Building A," or "East Building B" is selected in the area display section 221 of FIG. 8 (step S1: Yes), the server Sv performs a process of generating the operation screen information DI shown in FIG. 9.

Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for generating operation screen information DI.

For example, when the server Sv is powered on, the process starts (step S10). When the area is selected in step S1 described above, the controller Ct transmits a request signal for operation screen information DI to the server Sv. When the server Sv receives this request signal (step S11: Yes), it reads out the lighting status information SL of the multiple lighting fixtures L (step S12).

The lighting status information SL is information that indicates the status of the lighting device L, and includes, for example, network status information SL1, lighting device status information SL2, ON/OFF status information SL3, and light emission adjustment status information SL4, as shown in FIG. 11.

Network status information SL1 is information that identifies the communication network Nt that is the subject of status collection, and is assigned values such as communication network Nt1, communication network Nt2, ... communication network Ntn.

The lighting fixture status information SL2 is information that identifies the lighting fixture L that is the subject of status collection. The lighting fixture status information SL2 is assigned values such as lighting fixture L1, lighting fixture L2, ... lighting fixture Ln.

The ON/OFF status information SL3 is information that indicates the lighting status of the lighting fixture L that is the subject of information collection. Specifically, the ON/OFF status information SL3 is assigned information of ON or OFF.

The light emission adjustment status information SL4 is information indicating the light emission status of the lighting device L that is the subject of information collection. The specific content of the light emission adjustment status information SL4 is not particularly limited, and in this embodiment, when the light-emitting unit 32 of the lighting device L has the configuration exemplified above, the light emission adjustment status information SL4 is assigned information indicating the dimming rate of this lighting device L, and values such as 10% up, 20% up, 0%, 20%...80%, 100% and the like are appropriately assigned. Note that the light emission adjustment status information SL4 may be information regarding a light emission status other than the dimming rate, and may be information for adjusting the color temperature of the light-emitting unit 32, for example.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, in the communication network Nt1, a plurality of lighting fixtures L transmit their respective lighting status information SL to the individual communication unit 151 of the server Sv via the multi-hop wireless mesh network. In the illustrated example, the lighting status information SL of the lighting fixture Ln is transmitted in sequence to the lighting fixture Ln, the lighting fixture L1, and the lighting fixture L2, and then transmitted to the individual communication unit 151 of the communication server Sv. In addition, in the communication network Nt2 of the illustrated example, the lighting status information SL of the lighting fixture L2 is transmitted in sequence to the lighting fixture L2, the lighting fixture L1, and the lighting fixture Ln, and then transmitted to the individual communication unit 152 of the server Sv. In this way, the lighting status information SL of the lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication networks Nt1 and Nt2, respectively, is received by the individual communication units 151 and 152 of the server Sv. The control unit 11 of the server Sv stores the lighting status information SL in the storage unit 12.

When reading of the lighting status information SL is completed in step S12 of FIG. 9, the control unit 11 of the server Sv executes step S13 to generate operation screen information DI for the area to be displayed (the area selected in step S1). The operation screen information DI is generated as data in HTML format based on the lighting status information SL collected in step S12 and stored in the memory unit 12, for example.

Next, in step S14, the operation screen information DI is transmitted to the controller Ct, for example, by the controller Ct accessing a specific URL associated with the server Sv. That is, the controller Ct downloads the operation screen information DI. This completes the transmission of the operation screen information DI from the server Sv to the controller Ct (step S15). Note that, if step S11: No, for example, step S11 is repeated.

The control unit 21 of the controller Ct constructs the display of the operation unit 22 shown in FIG. 10 based on the operation screen information DI, for example in HTML format, downloaded in step S14. This display shows the case where "West Building A" is selected by the operation input to the display shown in FIG. 8. This display includes a device display unit 223 and an operation selection unit 224. The device display unit 223 shows the lighting state of multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the relevant area (communication network Nt). In the figure, a white elongated rectangle means that the corresponding lighting fixture L is turned on, and a dark elongated rectangle means that the corresponding lighting fixture L is turned off. In addition, a configuration may be made in which a half-tone elongated rectangle is displayed to mean a lighting fixture L that emits light at a dimming rate of, for example, 50%. For example, when the illustrated rectangle is touched, the lighting fixture L corresponding to the rectangle is selected. In this case, only one lighting fixture L may be selected, multiple lighting fixtures L may be selectable, or all lighting fixtures L in the relevant area may be selectable.

Returning to the flowchart in FIG. 7, in step S2 following step S1: Yes, the control unit 21 of the controller Ct determines whether any lighting fixture L has been selected from the fixture display unit 223 of the operation unit 22 in FIG. 10. When any lighting fixture L has been selected (step S2: Yes), the display state of the lighting fixture L in the fixture display unit 223 is changed so that the selection of the corresponding lighting fixture L can be visually confirmed, and step S3 is executed.

In step S3, processing is performed based on an operation input using the operation selection unit 224 in FIG. 10. The operation selection unit 224 is a part for performing operation input targeting the selected lighting fixture L. In the illustrated example, "On", "Off", and "Dimming by 70%" can be selected. Note that when "Dimming" is selected, an operation method may be used in which the number in the "70%" column can be changed using a numeric keypad display or the like.

On the other hand, if no lighting fixture L is selected in step S2 (step S2: No) and an operation input is performed using the operation selection unit 224, the control unit 21 performs step S4 for all lighting fixtures L in the target area ("West Building A"). In step S4, similar to step S3, processing is performed based on the operation input using the operation selection unit 224.

If no area is selected in step S1 (step S1: No), an operation is input to the operation selection unit 222 in FIG. 8 in step S5. In this operation input, for example, one of "all lights on", "all lights off", and "dimmed by 70%" is selected.

When any of step S3, step S4, or step S5 in FIG. 7 is completed, the control unit 21 of the controller Ct executes step S6. In step S6, the control unit 21 of the controller Ct generates a command CI corresponding to the operation input from the operation unit 22, and transmits it to the main communication unit 16 via the operation side communication unit 24. The server Sv determines the operation performed on the controller Ct from the received command CI, and generates lighting instruction information IL corresponding to this.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lighting instruction information IL includes, for example, network instruction information IL1, lighting device instruction information IL2, ON/OFF instruction information IL3, and light emission adjustment instruction information IL4.

The network instruction information IL1 is information that identifies the communication network Nt to which the lighting fixture L to be operated belongs, and is assigned a value such as communication network Nt1, communication network Nt2, ... communication network Ntn.

The lighting fixture instruction information IL2 is information that identifies the lighting fixture L that is the target of operation. The lighting fixture instruction information IL2 is assigned values such as lighting fixture L1, lighting fixture L2, ... lighting fixture Ln.

The ON/OFF instruction information IL3 is information for controlling the lighting state of the lighting device L that is the target of operation. Specifically, the ON/OFF instruction information IL3 is assigned the information of ON or OFF according to the operation of the controller Ct.

The light emission adjustment instruction information IL4 is information for controlling the light emission state of the lighting device L that is the target of the operation. The specific content of the light emission adjustment instruction information IL4 is not particularly limited, and in this embodiment, when the light-emitting unit 32 of the lighting device L has the configuration exemplified above, the light emission adjustment instruction information IL4 is assigned information for increasing or decreasing the dimming rate of this lighting device L, and for example, values such as 10% up, 20% up, 10% down, and 20% down are appropriately assigned. Note that the light emission adjustment instruction information IL4 may be information regarding the light emission state other than the dimming rate, and may be information for adjusting the color temperature of the light-emitting unit 32, for example.

Next, if the process is to end in step S7 (step S7: Yes), the process of generating the illumination instruction information IL ends (step S8). If the process is not to end in step S7 (step S7: No), step S1 is executed again, and the process of generating the illumination instruction information IL continues.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lighting instruction information IL generated by the server Sv is transmitted to the selected lighting fixture L in the selected area (communication network Nt). For example, when the lighting fixture Ln in the communication network Nt1 is selected as the lighting control target, the lighting instruction information IL is transmitted from the individual communication unit 151 of the server Sv to the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt1 via the multi-hop wireless mesh network. For example, the lighting instruction information IL is transmitted from the individual communication unit 151 of the server Sv to the lighting fixture L2, the lighting fixture L1, and the lighting fixture Ln. In the lighting fixture Ln that has received the lighting instruction information IL, the control unit 31 performs lighting control on the light-emitting unit 32 according to the information set in the ON/OFF instruction information IL3 or the light emission adjustment instruction information IL4, since the specific information (ID) of the lighting fixture instruction information IL2 matches its own ID. This completes the lighting control of the target lighting fixture L (lighting fixture Ln in the communication network Nt1).

As another example, when lighting fixture L2 in communication network Nt2 is selected as the target for lighting control, lighting instruction information IL is transmitted from the individual communication unit 152 of server Sv to multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to communication network Nt2 via a multi-hop wireless mesh network. For example, lighting instruction information IL is transmitted from the individual communication unit 152 of server Sv to lighting fixture Ln, lighting fixture L1, and lighting fixture L2. As a result, lighting control of lighting fixture L2 is performed.

Next, the operation of lighting system A1 will be explained.

According to this embodiment, the multiple individual communication units 15 of the server Sv can communicate individually with the multiple communication networks Nt. Furthermore, the multiple individual communication units 15 can be increased or decreased depending on the number of multiple communication networks Nt to be constructed. Therefore, when the area to be controlled increases, it is possible to increase the number of multiple communication networks Nt corresponding to the area to be controlled by increasing the individual communication units 15 of the server Sv. Therefore, the communication network used to control the lighting of the lighting fixtures L can be expanded more easily.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, in the illustrated example, each of the multiple individual communication sections 15 is configured as an individual communication unit 150 that is independent of the others. The individual communication unit 150 has a module side connector 159 that can be detachably connected to a server side connector 195 of the server Sv. Therefore, it is possible to freely increase or decrease the number of individual communication units 150, with the number of server side connectors 195 installed on the server Sv being the upper limit. This is preferable for making it easier to expand the communication network of the lighting system A1.

Operation screen information DI that defines the display contents of the operation unit 22 of the controller Ct is generated by the server Sv and transmitted to the controller Ct. For this reason, the controller Ct does not need to store data for constructing the operation screen information DI. Furthermore, if the operation screen information DI is made up of data in HTML format, the controller Ct can realize the display of the operation unit 22 using a general web browser, and no dedicated software or hardware is required. Therefore, it is possible to use a general tablet terminal, smartphone, etc. as the controller Ct, which can reduce the construction costs of the system.

In addition, there is no need to back up data on the controller Ct. Furthermore, even if the number of areas or communication networks Nt increases, it is only necessary to increase the number of selectable areas in the area display section 221 in FIG. 8 and increase the number of operation screens in the operation section 22 corresponding to each communication network Nt shown in FIG. 10. Therefore, the operation screens do not need to be significantly modified as the number of communication networks Nt increases, and the maintenance costs of the system can be reduced.

The lighting fixtures L included in the same communication network Nt transmit and receive lighting instruction information IL and lighting status information SL to each other via a multi-hop wireless mesh network. This allows for more freedom in arranging the individual lighting fixtures L. In addition, for example, in the case of a multi-hop wireless mesh network using Bluetooth (registered trademark), the number of lighting fixtures L that can belong to the communication network Nt is limited. However, in the lighting system A1, as described above, it is easy to expand the communication network by increasing the number of communication networks Nt. Therefore, it is easy to add more lighting fixtures L.

Figures 13 to 17 show modified examples and other embodiments of the present invention. In these figures, elements that are the same as or similar to those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the above embodiment.

<First Modification of First Embodiment>
13 and 14 show a modification of the lighting system A1. The lighting system A11 of this modification is different from the lighting system A1 described above in that it includes a plurality of communication repeaters R.

<Communication repeater R>
The communication repeater R belongs to the communication network Nt and is for realizing communication between the individual communication unit 15 of the server Sv and the communication network Nt. In this modified example, by providing multiple communication repeaters R, the multiple individual communication units 15 of the server Sv can communicate individually with the multiple communication networks Nt. As shown in FIG. 13, in the following description, the multiple communication repeaters R are distinguished into communication repeater R1 and communication repeater R2. The communication repeater R1 communicates individually with the individual communication unit 151 of the server Sv and belongs to the communication network Nt1. The communication repeater R2 communicates individually with the individual communication unit 152 of the server Sv and belongs to the communication network Nt2.

The communication repeater R performs the function of wireless communication with the individual communication unit 15 of the server Sv. The communication repeater R also performs the function of wireless communication with multiple lighting fixtures L. The wireless communication format between the communication repeater R and the individual communication unit 15 of the server Sv is not particularly limited, and in this example, for example, Wi-Fi is used. The communication between the communication repeater R and multiple lighting fixtures L is not particularly limited, and when multiple lighting fixtures L form a multi-hop wireless mesh network to communicate wirelessly, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used. Note that, unlike this embodiment, the communication repeater R may be configured to be built into one of the multiple lighting fixtures L.

Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the lighting system A11 having the system configuration shown in Figure 13. As described above, the operating side communication unit 24 of the controller Ct can wirelessly communicate with the main communication unit 16 of the server Sv. The individual communication unit 151 of the server Sv can wirelessly communicate individually with the communication repeater R1 of the communication network Nt1, and the individual communication unit 152 can wirelessly communicate individually with the communication repeater R2 of the communication network Nt2. In the communication network Nt1, the communication repeater R1 and any of the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt1 can wirelessly communicate with each other, and the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt1 can communicate with each other by building a multi-hop wireless mesh network. In the communication network Nt2, the communication repeater R2 and any of the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt2 can wirelessly communicate with each other, and the multiple lighting fixtures L belonging to the communication network Nt2 can communicate with each other by building a multi-hop wireless mesh network.

This modification also makes it easier to expand the communication network used to control the lighting fixtures L. Furthermore, by providing communication repeaters R1 and R2 and using Wi-Fi for communication between the individual communication unit 151 and the communication repeater R1 and between the individual communication unit 152 and the communication repeater R2, it is possible to extend the installation distance between the server Sv and the communication repeaters R1 and R2. This is advantageous for building the lighting system A11 in a larger location.

Second Embodiment
15 shows a lighting system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. A lighting system A2 of this embodiment differs from the above-described embodiments mainly in that it includes a master server Ms and a plurality of servers Sv.

The master server Ms is located above the multiple servers Sv and performs integrated control of the multiple servers Sv. In this embodiment, the master server Ms has a control unit 41, a memory unit 42, an input unit 43, a display unit 44, and a main communication unit 45. The master server Ms may be installed in a building or the like that is further away from the lighting fixtures L than the servers Sv.

The control unit 41 is a central part that performs control by the master server Ms. The control unit 41 is composed of, for example, a CPU.

The memory unit 42 is a part where information required for integrated control by the master server Ms is appropriately stored, and is composed of, for example, a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

The input unit 43 is for inputting operations to the master server Ms, and is, for example, a keyboard.

The display unit 44 is used to display the contents of operational inputs to the master server Ms and various states of the master server Ms, and is, for example, a liquid crystal display.

The main communication unit 45 is for communicating with the main communication units 16 of the multiple servers Sv. The communication format of the main communication unit 45 is not particularly limited. However, in cases where the master server Ms is installed in a location significantly distant from the multiple servers Sv, the communication format of the main communication unit 45 is preferably, for example, wireless communication such as Wi-Fi conforming to IEEE802.11 or wired communication. Note that when the main communication unit 45 is a wireless communication type, the main communication unit 45 may also communicate with the operating side communication unit 24 of the controller Ct. On the other hand, when the main communication unit 45 is a wired communication type, the master server Ms may be provided with another communication unit capable of wireless communication with the operating side communication unit 24 of the controller Ct.

In the illustrated example, the lighting system A2 includes multiple servers Sv, which are shown as server Sv1, server Sv2, and server Sv3 in the figure. Each of the servers Sv1, server Sv2, and server Sv3 has a configuration similar to that of the server Sv in the above-described embodiment, and can communicate individually with multiple communication networks Nt (for example, communication network Nt1 and communication network Nt2).

Figure 16 shows an example of the operation screen of the controller Ct of the lighting system A2. The operation unit 22 in the figure displays an area display unit 225 and an operation selection unit 226.

The area display unit 225 is a section for selecting the area to be operated, and in the illustrated example, six areas are displayed: "West Building A", "West Building B", "Main Building A", "Main Building B", "East Building A", and "East Building B". In this embodiment, each area corresponds to one of the multiple communication networks Nt of the multiple servers Sv. For example, if each of the three servers Sv1, Sv2, and Sv3 can communicate individually with two communication networks Nt1 and Nt2, the number of areas displayed on the area display unit 225 is six. The operation selection unit 226 is a section for inputting operations for all the lighting fixtures L in the entire building. In the illustrated example, "all on", "all off", and "dimming by 70%" can be selected. Note that when "dimming" is selected, the number in the "70%" column can be changed by a numeric keypad display or the like.

When any area is selected in the area display unit 225, the operation unit 22 of the controller Ct displays the operation screen shown in FIG. 17. The operation screen is constructed based on operation screen information DI transmitted from a server Sv that is capable of communicating with the communication network Nt of the selected area. The operation unit 22 in the figure displays a fixture display unit 227 and an operation selection unit 228. The fixture display unit 227 corresponds to the fixture display unit 223 in FIG. 10, and is a section for selecting the lighting fixture L to be controlled. The operation selection unit 228 corresponds to the operation selection unit 224 in FIG. 10, and is a section for selecting the control content.

In this embodiment, within the communication networks Nt1 and Nt2 of the servers Sv1, Sv2, and Sv3, multiple lighting fixtures L may be configured to be able to communicate with each other using a multi-hop wireless mesh network, as in the above-described embodiment.

This embodiment also makes it easier to expand the communication network. In addition, since the number of servers Sv can be increased or decreased, the communication network can be changed more significantly. Furthermore, the lighting status information SL of each communication network Nt only needs to be stored in the corresponding server Sv, and does not need to be stored in the master server Ms. Furthermore, the operation screen information DI for constructing an operation screen corresponding to each communication network Nt is generated by the corresponding server Sv. Therefore, the master server Ms does not need to store data or generate data related to the status monitoring and operation of a large number of lighting fixtures L, and it is possible to avoid the master server Ms having a complicated configuration.

The lighting system according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the lighting system according to the present invention can be freely designed in various ways.

A1, A11, A2: lighting system 11: control section 12: memory section 13: input section 14: display section 15, 151, 152, 153: individual communication section 16: main communication section 21: control section 22: operation section 23: power supply section 24: operation side communication section 31: control section 32: light emitting section 33: power supply section 34: lighting side communication section 41: control section 42: memory section 43: input section 44: display section 45: main communication section 150: individual communication unit 159: module side connector 191: case 192: cover 193: lid section 195: server side connector 221: area display section 222: operation selection section 223: appliance display section 224: operation selection section 225: area display section 226: operation selection section 227: appliance display section 228 : Operation selection unit Ct: Controller DI: Operation screen information IL: Lighting instruction information IL1: Network instruction information IL2: Lighting fixture instruction information IL3: OFF instruction information IL4: Light emission adjustment instruction information CI: Command L, L1, L2, Ln: Lighting fixture Ms: Master server Nt, Nt1, Nt2, Nt3, Nt4, Ntn: Communication network R, R1, R2: Communication repeater S0, S1, S10, S11, S12, S13, S14, S15, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8: Step SL: Lighting status information SL1: Network status information SL2: Lighting fixture status information SL3: OFF status information SL4: Light emission adjustment status information Sv, Sv1, Sv2, Sv3: Server

Claims (5)

a plurality of communication networks, each of which includes a plurality of lighting fixtures;
a server having a plurality of individual communication units and a control unit capable of individually communicating with the plurality of communication networks;
A lighting system, wherein a number of the plurality of individual communication units included in the server can be increased or decreased according to a number of the plurality of communication networks,
an area display section and a first operation selection section are displayed on a display section of a controller that operates the plurality of lighting devices;
a plurality of areas each corresponding to one of the plurality of communication networks is displayed on the area display unit;
the first operation selection unit is capable of selecting an operation input targeted at all of the lighting devices in each of the plurality of areas,
When one of the plurality of areas is selected on the area display unit, an operation screen including an appliance display unit and a second operation selection unit corresponding to the one selected area is displayed on the display unit of the controller,
the lighting state of the plurality of lighting fixtures belonging to the one selected area is displayed on the fixture display unit,
In the second operation selection unit, an operation input targeted at one or more of the lighting fixtures selected in the fixture display unit can be selected. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the number of the areas displayed on the area display unit increases or decreases in response to an increase or decrease in the number of the individual communication units. The lighting system of claim 2, wherein the number of selections in the area display section is increased when the number of the plurality of areas is increased. The controller transmits a request signal for operation screen information to the server,
When the server receives the request signal, it reads out the lighting state information of the plurality of lighting devices;
The controller accesses an address associated with the server,
The operation screen information is downloaded from the server to the controller,
The lighting system according to claim 3 , wherein the operation screen is constructed by the operation screen information. the lighting status information includes network status information;
the network status information is information for identifying a communication network that is a target of status collection;
The lighting system according to claim 4 , wherein the controller increases a selectable number of the plurality of areas in the area display section in response to the network status information.

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