JP7780738B2 - Controller, lighting system and control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a controller, a lighting system including the controller, and a control method.

A system that uses power line communication for communication between a master station device and a slave station device has been disclosed (Patent Document 1). Furthermore, in a lighting system that includes multiple lighting devices, which are an example of a communication device, and a controller that controls these multiple lighting devices, power line communication may also be used for communication between the multiple lighting devices and the controller.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-313595

In the lighting system described above, multiple lighting devices may be connected to multiple power lines, and the multiple power lines may be installed adjacent to each other. In this case, when a controller targets a lighting device connected to one power line as the control target and sends a control signal to that lighting device via one power line, the control signal may propagate to other power lines. As a result, there is a problem in that the control signal may be sent to other lighting devices connected to other power lines, i.e., lighting devices other than the controlled target, and the lighting devices other than the controlled target may end up being controlled.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a controller, lighting system, and control method that can control only the lighting devices that are the target of control among multiple lighting devices.

To achieve the above object, a controller in one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires unique ID information held by each of a plurality of lighting devices connected to one of a plurality of power lines; a notification unit that notifies each of the plurality of lighting devices of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs based on the acquired ID information; and a control unit that controls the plurality of lighting devices for each of the logical networks by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines.

Furthermore, to achieve the above object, a lighting system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the above-described controller and the plurality of lighting devices.

Furthermore, to achieve the above object, a lighting system in one embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of controllers and a plurality of lighting devices, each connected to one of a plurality of power lines, one of the plurality of controllers having an acquisition unit that acquires unique ID information possessed by each of the plurality of lighting devices, and a notification unit that notifies each of the plurality of lighting devices of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs based on the acquired ID information, and each of the plurality of controllers has a control unit that controls the plurality of lighting devices belonging to each of the plurality of logical networks by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a control method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring unique ID information possessed by each of a plurality of lighting devices, each of which is connected to one of a plurality of power lines; a notification step of notifying each of the plurality of lighting devices of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs based on the acquired ID information; and a control step of controlling the plurality of lighting devices for each of the logical networks by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines.

The present invention provides a controller, lighting system, and control method that can control only the lighting devices that are the target of control among multiple lighting devices.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a first operation of the lighting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example of the second operation of the lighting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a lighting system according to a modified example of the embodiment.

The following describes the embodiments in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection configurations, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not recited in the independent claims will be described as optional components.

Please note that each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily an exact representation. In addition, in each figure, substantially identical components are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations may be omitted or simplified.

(Embodiment 1)
[composition]
First, a lighting system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting system 1 according to this embodiment.

Lighting system 1 is a system that controls multiple lighting devices 201-204 via power line communication.

Lighting system 1 includes a controller 101, multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201-204), AC power sources 301 and 302, breakers 401 and 402, and power lines 501 and 502.

In this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, four lighting devices 201-204 are illustrated, but the lighting system 1 may include any number of lighting devices as long as it is two or more. This also applies to the modified embodiments.

Lighting devices 201-204 are lighting devices used in lighting system 1 and emit illumination light. Each of lighting devices 201-204 is connected to either power line 501 or 502. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, lighting devices 201 and 202 are connected to power line 501, and lighting devices 203 and 204 are connected to power line 502.

The controller 101 is a control device that controls multiple lighting devices 201-204. The controller 101 is connected to power lines 501 and 502. The controller 101 controls the lighting devices 201-204 by performing power line communication via the power lines 501 and 502. The controller 101 is a dedicated device for the lighting system 1, but may also be a general-purpose device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal.

Power lines 501 and 502 are connected to AC power sources 301 and 302, respectively. Power lines 501 and 502 are also installed adjacent to each other. AC power sources 301 and 302 supply AC power to power lines 501 and 502, respectively. In other words, the controller 101 and lighting devices 201-204 receive AC power from AC power sources 301 and 302, respectively, via power lines 501 and 502, respectively.

Furthermore, breakers 401 and 402 are provided between the power lines 501 and 502 and the AC power sources 301 and 302, respectively. The breakers 401 and 402 are switched between an on state and an off state, for example, by operation by a user of the lighting system 1. Note that a signal for switching between an on state and an off state may be sent from the controller 101 to the breakers 401 and 402 via wireless or wired communication. The breakers 401 and 402 control the connection and disconnection between the power lines 501 and 502 and the AC power sources 301 and 302, respectively, by switching between an on state and an off state.

Further details of the lighting device 201 will be explained.

Lighting device 201 comprises a control unit 210, a communication unit 220, a light source unit 230, and a memory unit 240. While this diagram shows only the configuration of lighting device 201 out of the four lighting devices 201-204, lighting devices 202-204 also have the same configuration as lighting device 201, and therefore will not be illustrated or described here.

The light source unit 230 is a light source (i.e., a light source that emits illumination light) that is lit by the power supplied to the lighting device 201, and is, for example, an LED light source.

The control unit 210 is a processing unit that controls the light source unit 230 and other components. The control unit 210 is implemented, for example, by a microcomputer, but may also be implemented by a processor.

The memory unit 240 is a storage device that stores programs executed by the control unit 210, etc. The memory unit 240 stores unique ID information for the device itself (here, lighting device 201). The unique ID information is information for identifying lighting device 201 from other lighting devices. Here, the unique ID information is a MAC address, but is not limited to this. The memory unit 240 is realized, for example, by a semiconductor memory. For simplicity, the unique ID information may be referred to simply as ID information hereinafter.

The communication unit 220 is a communication module (communication circuit) that enables the lighting device 201 to communicate with the controller 101 via power lines.

We will also explain the details of the controller 101.

The controller 101 includes a communication unit 110, a reception unit 120, a control unit 130, and a memory unit 140.

The communication unit 110 is a communication module (communication circuit) that enables the controller 101 to communicate over power lines with the lighting devices 201-204. The communication unit 110 includes an acquisition unit 111 and a notification unit 112. The acquisition unit 111 acquires the unique ID information (MAC address) of each of the lighting devices 201-204. The notification unit 112 notifies each of the lighting devices 201-204 of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs based on the acquired ID information. For example, the acquisition unit 111 acquires the MAC address of the lighting device 201, and the notification unit 112 notifies the lighting device (lighting device 201) having the acquired MAC address of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs, using the acquired MAC address as the destination.

A logical network is, for example, a VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network). In this embodiment, multiple VLANs are provided, including a first VLAN and a second VLAN.

The reception unit 120 is a device that receives input operations from the user of the controller 101. The reception unit 120 is an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel, for example.

The control unit 130 controls the lighting devices 201-204 by performing power line communication via power lines 501 and 502. More specifically, the control unit 130 controls the lighting devices 201-204 by causing the communication unit 110 to notify the lighting devices 201-204 of control signals. The control unit 130 is implemented, for example, by a microcomputer, but may also be implemented by a processor.

The control signals are signals for controlling the lighting devices 201-204. The control signals are at least one of a dimming signal for changing the state of the illumination light (light intensity, color temperature, etc.) of the lighting devices 201-204, and a response signal for transmitting information held by the lighting devices 201-204 to the lighting devices 201-204.

The information held by the lighting devices 201-204 includes the cumulative lighting time of each of the lighting devices 201-204 and the unique ID information held by each of the lighting devices 201-204.

Here, we will explain the information processing performed by the control unit 130.

The control unit 130 performs processing to determine which of multiple VLANs, which are examples of logical networks, each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs to. Here, the user uses the reception unit 120 to perform an input operation indicating which of the multiple VLANs each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs to, and the control unit 130 performs the above processing based on the input operation received from the user by the reception unit 120.

Examples of VLANs to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs are shown below. Table 1 shows a first example of VLANs to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs. Table 2 shows a second example of VLANs to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs.

In the first example, a first VLAN is constructed with lighting devices 201-203, and a second VLAN is constructed with lighting device 204. In the second example, a first VLAN is constructed with lighting devices 201 and 202, and a second VLAN is constructed with lighting devices 203 and 204.

In the second example, the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201 to 204 belongs differs depending on the power line to which the device is connected. In other words, all lighting devices (here, lighting devices 201 and 202) connected to one power line (e.g., power line 501) belong to the same logical network (here, the first VLAN). Furthermore, all lighting devices (here, lighting devices 203 and 204) connected to another power line (e.g., power line 502) belong to the same logical network (here, the second VLAN). In other words, multiple logical networks are constructed so that one power line corresponds one-to-one to one logical network, and the number of logical networks constructed is the same as the number of power lines 501 and 502.

Furthermore, as shown in Tables 1 and 2, one lighting device belongs to one logical network. In other words, one lighting device does not belong to multiple logical networks.

The memory unit 140 is a storage device that stores programs executed by the control unit 130 and various information used to perform the above information processing. The memory unit 140 is realized, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD).

Next, we will explain two operations related to the control method for the lighting system 1 in this embodiment configured as described above.

[Example of operation]
The first operation is an operation (hereinafter referred to as the first operation) for constructing a logical network when the lighting system 1 is installed. This first operation is what is called an operation performed when a logical network is set up.

Figure 2 is a flowchart of an example of the first operation of the lighting system 1 according to this embodiment. Note that Figure 2 mainly illustrates the operation of the controller 101.

The notification unit 112 sends an ID information response signal, which is an example of a response signal, as a control signal to all lighting devices connected to the power lines 501 and 502 (i.e., lighting devices 201 to 204) (step S10).

The ID information response signal is a signal that causes the lighting device that has received this ID information response signal to notify (respond) to the controller 101 of a signal indicating the unique ID information possessed by that device. Therefore, the communication unit 220 of each of the lighting devices 201-204 that has received the ID information response signal responds by notifying the controller 101 of a signal indicating the MAC address, which is the unique ID information possessed by that device.

Next, the acquisition unit 111 acquires the unique ID information possessed by each of the lighting devices 201-204 (step S12). More specifically, the acquisition unit 111 acquires a signal indicating the MAC address notified by each of the lighting devices 201-204.

Note that when the notification unit 112 notifies the ID information response signal in step S10, one of the breakers 401 and 402 may be in the on state and the other in the off state.

For example, in the second example shown in Table 2, when breaker 401 is on and breaker 402 is off, a signal indicating unique ID information is transmitted only from the lighting devices connected to power line 501 (i.e., lighting devices 201 and 202). At this time, controller 101 can identify that the lighting devices (here, lighting devices 201 and 202) having the unique ID information acquired in step S12 are connected to power line 501.

Furthermore, for example, in the second example shown in Table 2, when breaker 401 is in the off state and breaker 402 is in the on state, a signal indicating unique ID information is transmitted only from the lighting devices connected to power line 502 (i.e., lighting devices 203 and 204). At this time, controller 101 can identify that the lighting devices (here, lighting devices 203 and 204) having the unique ID information acquired in step S12 are connected to power line 502.

Furthermore, the control unit 130 determines the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs (step S14).

The control unit 130 may determine the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs, for example, by having the reception unit 120 receive an input operation from the user. At this time, the reception unit 120 receives an input operation indicating that each of the lighting devices 201-204 has been linked to the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs. In the first example, this input operation indicates that lighting devices 201-203 belong to the first VLAN and lighting device 204 belongs to the second VLAN. In the second example, this input operation indicates that lighting devices 201 and 202 belong to the first VLAN and lighting devices 203 and 204 belong to the second VLAN.

Furthermore, the notification unit 112 notifies each of the lighting devices 201-204 of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs based on the acquired ID information (step S16). In other words, the notification unit 112 notifies the lighting device (each of the lighting devices 201-204) having the acquired MAC address of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs, using the acquired MAC address as the destination.

Here, a lighting device (e.g., lighting device 201) that has been notified of the logical network to which it belongs performs the following process. In lighting device 201, information indicating the notified logical network is stored in storage unit 240. In other words, lighting devices 201-204 can identify the logical network to which it belongs based on the logical network stored in storage unit 240.

The second operation is an operation (second operation) in which the lighting devices 201-204 are controlled by the controller 101 after the logical network has been constructed. Here, the control unit 130 controls the lighting devices 201-204 for each logical network by performing power line communication via the power lines 501 and 502.

Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example of the second operation of the lighting system 1 according to this embodiment.

Here, the second operation will be explained assuming that the lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN, which is an example of a logical network, are the lighting devices to be controlled. In other words, the lighting devices belonging to the first VLAN are lighting devices other than the lighting devices to be controlled. Note that the lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN are lighting device 204 in the first example shown in Table 1, and lighting devices 203 and 204 in the second example shown in Table 2.

First, the controller 101 notifies a control signal (step S20). More specifically, the control unit 130 controls the notification unit 112 to notify the control signal to the lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN, for example, by broadcast. Note that in both the first and second examples shown in Tables 1 and 2, the lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN are connected to the power line 502, and therefore the notification unit 112 notifies the control signal via the power line 502.

Here, the control signal is a signal for controlling the light emission mode of the lighting device that received the control signal.

The control signal also includes information indicating the logical network to which the lighting device controlled by the control signal (i.e., the lighting device to be controlled) belongs. In this case, this logical network is the second VLAN.

As described above, between power line 501 and power line 502, a control signal transmitted over one power line may propagate to the other power line. In other words, a control signal transmitted over power line 502 may propagate to power line 501. In this case, the control signal is transmitted to lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN, which are the lighting devices to be controlled, and to lighting devices belonging to the first VLAN, which are the lighting devices not to be controlled. In other words, the control signal is transmitted to all lighting devices (lighting devices 201 to 204).

Therefore, the lighting devices 201-204 acquire the notified control signal (step S22).

As described above, the control signal propagates, so both the lighting device to be controlled and lighting devices other than the lighting device to be controlled receive the control signal.

Here, each of the lighting devices 201-204 determines whether the logical network indicated by the acquired control signal is the logical network to which the lighting device itself belongs (step S24). More specifically, each of the lighting devices 201-204 determines whether the logical network stored in the storage unit 240 of the lighting device itself matches the logical network indicated by the acquired control signal (here, the second VLAN).

For example, in the first example shown in Table 1, the lighting device 204 belonging to the second VLAN determines that the logical network (second VLAN) indicated by the control signal is the logical network (second VLAN) to which the lighting device itself belongs.

Furthermore, for example, in the first example shown in Table 1, lighting devices 201-203 belonging to the first VLAN determine that the logical network (second VLAN) indicated by the control signal is not the logical network (first VLAN) to which the device itself belongs.

In other words, in step S24, each of the lighting devices 201-204 determines whether it is a control target that will be controlled by the control signal.

Furthermore, we will explain the case where the logical network indicated by the acquired control signal is the logical network to which the device itself belongs (Yes in step S24), in other words, the case where the device itself is the control target.

In this case, the lighting device is controlled in accordance with the acquired control signal (step S26). Note that the lighting device controlled in accordance with the acquired control signal is lighting device 204 in the first example, and lighting devices 203 and 204 in the second example.

Furthermore, we will explain what happens if the logical network indicated by the acquired control signal is not the logical network to which the device belongs (No in step S24), in other words, if the device is not the target of control.

In this case, the lighting device discards the acquired control signal (step S28). In other words, this lighting device will not be controlled according to the acquired control signal. In the first example, the lighting devices that discard the acquired control signal are lighting devices 201 to 203, and in the second example, lighting devices 201 and 202.

As described above, in this embodiment, only the lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN, which are the target of control, are controlled by the control signal. On the other hand, lighting devices belonging to the first VLAN are not controlled because they discard the control signal even if they receive it due to the propagation of the control signal between power lines 501 and 502. In this way, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 controls lighting devices 201-204 for each logical network (here, VLAN).

Even if a control signal is transmitted between power lines 501 and 502, the controller 101 according to this embodiment can control only the lighting device to be controlled among the multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201 to 204).

Furthermore, in the second example, the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs differs depending on the power line to which the device is connected. In other words, the same number of logical networks as the number of power lines 501 and 502 are constructed. Therefore, the multiple lighting devices (here, lighting devices 201-204) are controlled by the controller 101 for each logical network, that is, for each of the multiple lighting devices connected to one power line.

Even in this case, the controller 101 according to this embodiment can control only the lighting device to be controlled among the multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201 to 204).

Furthermore, in step S20, the following first to fourth processes may be performed when the controller 101 notifies a control signal. The first to fourth processes will be described for the second example shown in Table 2 above. Furthermore, the controller 101 (more specifically, the control unit 130) controls both the lighting devices belonging to the first VLAN (lighting devices 201 and 202 in the second example) and the lighting devices belonging to the second VLAN (lighting devices 203 and 204 in the second example).

First, we will explain the first process. In the first process, the control unit 130 controls the lighting devices 201-204 by performing power line communication at different times for each logical network.

For example, the control unit 130 causes the notification unit 112 to notify the control signal for controlling the lighting devices 201 and 202 belonging to the first VLAN at a first timing. Furthermore, the control unit 130 causes the notification unit 112 to notify the control signal for controlling the lighting devices 203 and 204 belonging to the second VLAN at a second timing different from the first timing. Note that the control signal for controlling the lighting devices 201 and 202 includes information indicating the first VLAN, which is the logical network to which the lighting devices 201 and 202, which are the control targets, belong. Similarly, the control signal for controlling the lighting devices 203 and 204 includes information indicating the second VLAN, which is the logical network to which the lighting devices 203 and 204, which are the control targets, belong.

This prevents the control signals controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 and the control signals controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 from colliding and being lost during power line communication. This improves the communication stability of power line communication by the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

Next, we will explain the second process. In the second process, the control unit 130 determines a different communication priority for each logical network and controls the lighting devices 201-204 based on the determined communication priority.

The control unit 130 may determine different communication priorities for each logical network, for example, by having the reception unit 120 receive input operations from the user. At this time, the reception unit 120 receives input operations indicating that each of the multiple logical networks has been linked to its respective communication priority.

Here, as an example, the communication priority of the first VLAN is assumed to be higher than the communication priority of the second VLAN. When all lighting devices 201 to 204 are controlled, the control signal controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 belonging to the first VLAN is notified at a first timing, which is earlier than the control signal controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 belonging to the second VLAN. Thereafter, the control signal controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 belonging to the second VLAN is notified at a second timing, which is later than the first timing.

This further reduces the likelihood of the control signals controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 and the control signals controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 colliding and disappearing during power line communication. This further improves the communication stability of power line communication by the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

Next, we will explain the third process. In the third process, for example, the control unit 130 may determine a different communication frequency for each logical network and control the lighting devices 201-204 based on the determined communication frequency.

The control unit 130 may determine a different communication frequency for each logical network, for example, by having the reception unit 120 receive an input operation from the user. At this time, the reception unit 120 receives an input operation indicating that each of the multiple logical networks has been linked to its respective communication frequency.

The communication frequency will be described below when the lighting system 1 according to this embodiment is used in a tunnel or the like. In this case, the closer the installation positions of the lighting devices 201-204 are to the tunnel entrance, the more frequently the lighting state may be controlled in response to changes in external light, such as sunlight. In other words, the closer the installation positions of the lighting devices 201-204 are to the tunnel entrance, the more likely the communication frequency will be higher.

Here, as an example, it is assumed that the communication frequency of the first VLAN is higher than the communication frequency of the second VLAN. In this case, the control unit 130 performs the following processing. The control unit 130 causes the notification unit 112 to notify a control signal for controlling a lighting device belonging to a VLAN with a higher communication frequency at a first timing, and a control signal for controlling a lighting device belonging to a VLAN with a lower communication frequency at a second timing that is later than the first timing. In other words, the communication priority of a VLAN with a higher communication frequency is higher than the communication priority of a VLAN with a lower communication frequency.

As a result, for example, in the second example shown in Table 2, the control signals controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 and the control signals controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 are more likely to collide and be lost during power line communication. This further improves the communication stability of power line communication by the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

Next, we will explain the fourth process. In the fourth process, when a response signal is notified as a control signal, the control unit 130 may determine the number of times that power line communication failures are tolerated for each logical network.

For example, the control unit 130 may determine the number of times power line communication failures are tolerated for each logical network by having the reception unit 120 receive an input operation from the user. At this time, the reception unit 120 receives an input operation indicating that each of the multiple logical networks has been linked to the number of times power line communication failures are tolerated for each of the multiple logical networks.

When a response signal is sent from the notification unit 112, each of the lighting devices 201-204 responds by notifying the controller 101 of the information it possesses based on the response signal. If there is a lighting device that does not respond to the controller 101, a response signal is sent to that lighting device again. However, if there is no response to the response signal sent again, the controller 101 may repeatedly send a response signal, increasing the number of control signals (response signals), which may result in collisions and the disappearance of control signals.

Here, the control unit 130 has notified the notification unit 112 of a response signal, but if there is a lighting device that does not respond within a predetermined period of time, it determines that a power line communication failure has occurred for that lighting device. If the number of power line communication failures exceeds the allowable number of power line communication failures, the control unit 130 will not again notify the notification unit 112 of a control signal (response signal).

This further reduces the likelihood of control signals colliding with each other and being lost during power line communication. This further improves the communication stability of power line communication using the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

[Effects, etc.]
The controller 101 according to this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 111, a notification unit 112, and a control unit 130. The acquisition unit 111 acquires unique ID information possessed by each of the plurality of lighting devices 201-204, each of which is connected to one of the plurality of power lines 501 and 502. The notification unit 112 notifies each of the plurality of lighting devices 201-204 of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs, based on the acquired plurality of pieces of ID information. The control unit 130 controls the plurality of lighting devices 201-204 for each logical network by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines 501 and 502.

As a result, in this embodiment, by performing the processing of step S16, the lighting devices 201-204 can identify the logical network to which they belong.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 130 controls multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201-204) for each logical network. In this embodiment, the control unit 130 controls the lighting devices 201-204 by causing the communication unit 110 to notify the lighting devices 201-204 of control signals. The control signal includes information indicating the logical network to which the lighting device to be controlled by the control signal belongs. As an example, if the lighting device to be controlled is lighting device 204 belonging to the second VLAN in the first example shown in Table 1, the control signal includes information indicating the logical network (second VLAN) to which lighting device 204 belongs. Furthermore, in this case, since the lighting device belonging to the second VLAN is connected to power line 502, the notification unit 112 notifies the control signal via power line 502.

In addition, control signals may propagate between power lines 501 and 502. Even when this propagation occurs, the lighting device to be controlled (lighting device 204 in the first example) is controlled in accordance with the control signal because the logical network indicated by the control signal is the logical network to which the lighting device itself belongs. Even when this propagation occurs, lighting devices other than the lighting device to be controlled (lighting devices 201-203 in the first example) discard the control signal because the logical network indicated by the acquired control signal is not the logical network to which the lighting device itself belongs. In other words, lighting devices other than the lighting device to be controlled will not be controlled in accordance with the acquired control signal.

In this way, even if a control signal is transmitted between power line 501 and power line 502, controller 101 according to this embodiment can control only the lighting device to be controlled among the multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201 to 204).

In addition, in this embodiment, the logical network to which each of the multiple lighting devices 201-204 belongs varies depending on the power line to which the lighting device is connected.

Even in this case, the controller 101 according to this embodiment can control only the lighting device to be controlled among the multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201 to 204).

In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 controls multiple lighting devices 201-204 by performing power line communication at different times for each logical network.

As a result, for example, in the second example shown in Table 2, the control signals controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 and the control signals controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 are prevented from colliding and being lost during power line communication. This improves the communication stability of power line communication by the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 determines a different communication priority for each logical network and controls the multiple lighting devices 201-204 based on the determined communication priority.

As a result, for example, in the second example shown in Table 2, the control signals controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 and the control signals controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 are more likely to collide and be lost during power line communication. This further improves the communication stability of power line communication by the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 determines a different communication frequency for each logical network and controls the multiple lighting devices 201-204 based on the determined communication frequency.

As a result, for example, in the second example shown in Table 2, the control signals controlling lighting devices 201 and 202 and the control signals controlling lighting devices 203 and 204 are more likely to collide and be lost during power line communication. This further improves the communication stability of power line communication by the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 130 determines the number of times power line communication failures are tolerated for each logical network.

This further reduces the likelihood of control signals colliding with each other and being lost during power line communication. This further improves the communication stability of power line communication using the controller 101 according to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the lighting system 1 also includes a controller 101 and multiple lighting devices 201-204.

Even if a control signal is transmitted between power lines 501 and 502, lighting system 1 equipped with controller 101 can control only the lighting device to be controlled among the multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201 to 204).

In this embodiment, the control method by the controller 101 includes an acquisition step, a notification step, and a control step. The acquisition step acquires unique ID information possessed by each of the multiple lighting devices 201-204, each connected to one of the multiple power lines 501 and 502. The notification step notifies each of the multiple lighting devices 201-204 of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs based on the acquired ID information. The control step controls the multiple lighting devices 201-204 for each logical network by performing power line communication via the multiple power lines 501 and 502.

Even if a control signal is transmitted between power lines 501 and 502, this control method can control only the lighting device to be controlled among multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201-204).

(Modification)
The configuration of a lighting system 1a according to a modified example will be described below.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting system 1a according to a modified example of this embodiment.

Lighting system 1a has the same configuration as lighting system 1, except that it includes two controllers 101a and 102a. That is, lighting system 1a includes controllers 101a and 102a, multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201-204), AC power sources 301 and 302, breakers 401 and 402, and power lines 501 and 502.

In this modified example, the VLANs to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs are as shown in the second example.

Figure 4 illustrates only the configuration of controller 101a out of the two controllers 101a and 102a, but controller 102a has the same configuration as controller 101a, so illustration and description of it will be omitted.

Controllers 101a and 102a are connected to power lines 501 and 502.

Each of the controllers 101a and 102a in this modified example has a control unit 130a that controls lighting devices belonging to multiple logical networks. While the control unit 130 in the above embodiment controlled multiple lighting devices for each logical network, in other words, controlled lighting devices belonging to multiple logical networks, the control unit 130a in this modified example controls lighting devices belonging to a single logical network.

In other words, in this embodiment, controllers 101a and 102a are provided so that there is a one-to-one correspondence between one logical network and one controller. Each of controllers 101a and 102a controls the lighting devices that belong to the corresponding logical network.

For example, the control unit 130a of the controller 101a controls the lighting devices 201 and 202 belonging to the first VLAN, and the control unit 130a of the controller 102a controls the lighting devices 203 and 204 belonging to the second VLAN.

For controller 101a, of the lighting devices 201-204, lighting devices 201 and 202 that belong to the first VLAN are the objects to be controlled. For controller 102a, of the lighting devices 201-204, lighting devices 203 and 204 that belong to the second VLAN are the objects to be controlled.

Furthermore, it is preferable that one of the controllers 101a and 102a is the main unit and the other is the secondary unit. In this example, controller 101a is the main unit.

The lighting system 1a according to this modified example differs from the lighting system 1 in the following respects in the first and second operations.

First, the first operation is as follows:

In step S10, the notification unit 112 of the master controller 101a notifies the lighting devices 201-204 of an ID information response signal. In addition, in step S12, the acquisition unit 111 of the master controller 101a acquires unique ID information.

In step S14, the control unit 130a of the master controller 101a determines the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs. Also in step S14, the control unit 130a of the master controller 101a determines one logical network to which each of the controllers 101a and 102a corresponds.

The control unit 130a of the controller 101a may determine the logical network to which each of the lighting devices 201-204 belongs, for example, by the reception unit 120 receiving an input operation from the user.

Similarly, the control unit 130a of controller 101a may determine one logical network to which each of controllers 101a and 102a corresponds when the reception unit 120 receives the input operation from the user. This input operation indicates each of controllers 101a and 102a and one logical network to which each of controllers 101a and 102a corresponds. For example, this input operation indicates that controller 101a corresponds to the first VLAN and controller 102a corresponds to the second VLAN.

In step S16, the notification unit 112 of the controller 101a notifies each of the lighting devices 201-204 of the logical network to which the lighting device belongs, based on the acquired ID information.

At this time, the notification unit 112 of the primary controller 101a notifies the acquisition unit 111 of the secondary controller 102a of one logical network (here, the second VLAN) that controller 102a supports.

Furthermore, in the secondary controller 102a, information indicating the notified logical network is stored in the memory unit 140. Similarly, in the primary controller 101a, information indicating the logical network (here, the first VLAN) to which the determined controller 101a corresponds is stored in the memory unit 140.

Furthermore, the second operation is as follows:

In this modified example, controllers 101a and 102a each perform the second operation shown in FIG. 3. The control signal sent from the notification unit 112 of controller 101a includes information indicating the first VLAN, which is the logical network to which the lighting devices 201 and 202 to be controlled belong. The lighting devices 201 and 202 that have received this control signal are controlled in accordance with this control signal. The control signal sent from the notification unit 112 of controller 102a also includes information indicating the second VLAN, which is the logical network to which the lighting devices 203 and 204 to be controlled belong. The lighting devices 203 and 204 that have received this control signal are controlled in accordance with this control signal.

As described above, in this embodiment, the lighting system 1a includes multiple controllers 101a and 102a, each connected to one of the power lines 501 and 502, and multiple lighting devices 201-204. Of the multiple controllers 101a and 102a, the controller 101a has an acquisition unit 111 and a notification unit 112. Furthermore, each of the multiple controllers 101a and 102a has a control unit 130a that controls the multiple lighting devices 201-204 belonging to each of the multiple logical networks by performing power line communication via the multiple power lines 501 and 502.

As a result, even if a control signal is transmitted between power lines 501 and 502, lighting system 1a, which is equipped with controllers 101a and 102a, can control only the lighting device to be controlled among the multiple lighting devices (lighting devices 201-204).

(Other embodiments)
Although the embodiment and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modifications.

In the present embodiment, the notification unit 112 outputs an ID information response signal in step S10, causing the acquisition unit 111 to acquire the unique ID information of each of the lighting devices 201-204 in step S12. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the acquisition unit 111 may acquire the unique ID information by having the reception unit 120 receive an input operation from the user. At this time, the reception unit 120 receives an input operation indicating that each of the lighting devices 201-204 has been linked to the unique ID information of each of the lighting devices 201-204.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments and variations, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be performed by another processing unit. When two devices communicate in the above embodiments, a relay device (not shown) may be interposed between the two devices.

Furthermore, the order of processes described in the flowcharts of the above embodiments and variations is merely an example. The order of multiple processes may be changed, and multiple processes may be executed in parallel.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, each component may be realized by executing a software program appropriate for that component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

Furthermore, each component may be realized by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. Furthermore, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

In addition, general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, device, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM. They may also be realized as any combination of a system, device, method, integrated circuit, computer program, and recording medium.

For example, the present invention may be realized as a control method executed by a computer, or as a program for causing a computer to execute such a control method. Furthermore, the present invention may also be realized as a computer-readable, non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that would occur to those skilled in the art, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

1 Lighting system 101 Controller 111 Acquisition unit 112 Notification unit 130 Control unit 201, 202, 203, 204 Lighting device 501, 502 Power line

Claims (7)

an acquisition unit that acquires unique ID information of each of a plurality of lighting devices, each of which is connected to any of a plurality of power lines;
a notification unit that notifies each of the plurality of lighting devices of a logical network to which the lighting device belongs, based on the acquired plurality of pieces of ID information;
a control unit that controls the plurality of lighting devices for each of the logical networks by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines;
the control unit controls the plurality of lighting devices by performing power line communication at different timings for each of the logical networks;
The control unit
determining a different communication priority for each of the logical networks;
controlling the plurality of lighting devices based on the determined communication priority ;
the notification unit notifies each of the plurality of lighting devices of a control signal;
The control unit
Based on the determined communication priority,
performing power line communication to transmit the control signal at a first timing to one of the plurality of lighting devices that belongs to the logical network;
The plurality of lighting devices are controlled by performing power line communication to transmit the control signal at a second timing later than the first timing to a lighting device belonging to another one of the plurality of lighting devices, the second timing being lower in communication priority than the one of the logical networks.
controller. The controller according to claim 1 , wherein the logical network to which each of the plurality of lighting devices belongs differs depending on the power line to which the lighting device is connected. The control unit
determining a different communication frequency for each of the logical networks;
The controller according to claim 1 , further comprising: a controller configured to control the plurality of lighting devices based on the determined communication frequency. The controller according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the number of times that power line communication failures are permitted for each of the logical networks. A controller according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ;
a lighting system comprising the plurality of lighting devices. Multiple controllers and
a plurality of lighting devices each connected to one of a plurality of power lines;
One controller of the plurality of controllers
an acquisition unit that acquires unique ID information of each of the plurality of lighting devices;
a notification unit that notifies each of the plurality of lighting devices of a logical network to which the lighting device belongs, based on the acquired plurality of pieces of ID information;
Each of the plurality of controllers
a control unit that controls the lighting devices that belong to each of the plurality of logical networks by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines;
some of the lighting devices belong to one of the logical networks;
another of the plurality of lighting devices belongs to another logical network of the plurality of logical networks;
the control unit included in the one controller controls only a part of the plurality of lighting devices,
The control unit included in another controller of the plurality of controllers controls only another part of the plurality of lighting devices. an acquisition step of acquiring unique ID information of each of a plurality of lighting devices, each of which is connected to any of a plurality of power lines;
a notification step of notifying each of the plurality of lighting devices of a logical network to which the lighting device belongs, based on the acquired plurality of pieces of ID information;
a control step of controlling the plurality of lighting devices for each of the logical networks by performing power line communication via the plurality of power lines;
the control step controls the plurality of lighting devices by performing power line communication at different timings for each of the logical networks;
The control step
determining a different communication priority for each of the logical networks;
controlling the plurality of lighting devices based on the determined communication priority ;
the notification step includes notifying each of the plurality of lighting devices of a control signal;
The control step
Based on the determined communication priority,
performing power line communication to transmit the control signal at a first timing to one of the plurality of lighting devices that belongs to the logical network;
The plurality of lighting devices are controlled by performing power line communication to transmit the control signal at a second timing later than the first timing to a lighting device belonging to another one of the plurality of lighting devices, the second timing being lower in communication priority than the one of the logical networks.
Control method.