JPS5848995B2 - Automatic turn-off or dimming device for lighting lights at fixed times - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention utilizes a light-sensing element such as a photodiode or cadmium sulfide photoconductive cell to
In addition to the well-known automatic flashing function that automatically flashes the lighting loads such as street lights, various campus lights, and advertising lights, it is also well suited for applications that do not require lighting at night, especially late at night. , has a function to turn off the lights at an arbitrarily predetermined forced lights-out time, and understands the time difference that changes daily from sunset to the forced lights-off time as a change in the number of pulses of a constant frequency according to the daytime time difference. The present invention relates to an automatic lighting extinguishing device at a set time using an electronic circuit system that compensates daily using a circuit system that operates on a regular basis, and the latitude of the installation location can be easily corrected if necessary.

As is well known, in an automatic flashing device that has only a simple flashing function, the load lighting connected to the automatic flashing device remains lit from sunset until dawn the next day.

In general, people tend to think that it is okay to leave the lights on at night, but depending on the location, it may not make any difference even if you turn off the street lights at midnight. In many cases, it becomes unnecessary without waiting, and even more so in the case of advertising lighting, etc., because the advertising effect is weakened late at night when there is no foot traffic.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned device, turning on the lamp from late at night to early morning merely wastes electric power, which is not preferable as a lighting control device in the era of energy saving.

In view of these points, mechanisms for turning off lights at night have been disclosed in the past, but many of them involve problems in turning off lights at fixed times set by the user throughout the year.

In other words, in the case of automatic flashers that turn on and then turn off after a certain period of time, even if you assume that the automatic flasher turns on at sunset, the sunset time changes throughout the year. As is well known, there is a difference of about two and a half hours between the summer solstice and the winter solstice, depending on the location, so the lights-out time also changes accordingly.

To avoid this, some models incorporate an electromechanical timer, but with these, the timer, which consumes a large amount of power, must be kept running at all times, and with models that use a synchronous motor as a direct drive source, the The lighting and extinguishing times of the lights are incorrect, and until a worker is dispatched to correct the time, the lighting and extinguishing times will be incorrect for several days, making it necessary to compensate for power outages, etc. The structure itself becomes needlessly complicated and expensive.

The present applicant also applies a cam mechanism, etc., instead of such a timer means such as an electric clock, and uses the cam position corresponding to the sunset time of each [1] of the - year as a reference for each day. Invented a device that corrects the time interval between sunset time and lights out time, which changes (
The present invention is an attempt to develop this technology further. It is.

That is, the present invention provides an automatic lights-off device whose time calculation system is a purely electronic device as a device for securing the forced lights-off time set in advance by the user throughout the year. The daytime hours are determined by calculating the daytime hours using a rational and simple circuit, and determining the sunset time, and ultimately the time from sunset to the forced lights-out time, for each day. Stop doing the calculation directly,
During the day (daytime), pulses of a constant frequency are counted and the number of pulses is obtained as a function of daytime time, and the pulse frequency is varied after sunset according to the count value,
The main object of the present invention is to provide a circuit device that issues a light-off command when a predetermined number of variable frequency pulses are counted.

According to this device, not only is the circuit configuration extremely convenient, but there is no need to set initial conditions (for example, the month and day) when starting to use it, and even if there is an incidental power outage,
Regardless of the length of the power outage, at least the power outage has ended.
The regular forced lights-out time can be observed from the next day, and the latitude of the installation location can be easily corrected.

It should be noted that for a plurality of illumination lamps, it is possible to perform a thinning-out operation to reduce the number of illuminating lamps, and instead of turning off the lights, dimming or switching them on is also possible.

Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below, but before doing so, the principle of the present invention will be explained.

The conditions for observing the set forced lights-out or dimming time (hereinafter simply referred to as "forced lights-out time") without using a timer or the like that opens the contacts at a fixed time every day are, first of all, the sunset time. It is best to set the forced lights out time based on the following.

This is because sunset detection can be easily detected using a photodiode, a cadmium sulfide photoconductive cell, etc., with an illuminance of about 5 tx, which is not greatly influenced by the weather.

Therefore, as mentioned above, [-1 sunset time changes by [1], so in order to determine how many hours after I'' sunset time, it must be determined every E{(), and both - If this is done, the actual forced lights-out time will be significantly different.

To avoid this, it is possible to electronically memorize the sunset time of each eye for one year, or to memorize it equivalently by a force or mechanism (by the way, according to the above-mentioned application) (This method is adopted in the patent application), it is possible to adjust the time until the light is turned off or dimmed depending on how early or late it is with respect to sunset, which is a certain standard.

However, in this method, even if an electronic memory element is used, a certain amount of Q capacitance is required, making the circuit configuration complicated, and if a volatile element is used, it becomes difficult to keep the memory section electrically energized at all times. Even if a nonvolatile element is used, reading out the information corresponding to every -11 requires a special circuit system or mechanical system, and even if a cam machine groove is used, manufacturing is relatively difficult. The disadvantages are that the accuracy is poor and the space is large.

In addition, when starting up the device for the first time, there is the hassle of setting initial conditions, such as having to match the month and date in the storage section of the device to the startup date.

Therefore, in the present invention, as a result of searching for a different idea, based on the idea that changes in the daily sunset time are understood as changes in the length of daylight hours, the present invention By actually measuring the time, they were able to calculate the time from sunset to the time when the lights were forced off.

To help understand this idea, I will give a concrete example.

FIG. 1 shows the sunrise time, sunset time, and daylight hours on a specific day of the year in Tokyo, and it is assumed that the lights will be forcibly turned off or dimmed at 11 p.m. (11 p.m.).

SR in the figure is an arrow indicating sunrise time, SD is an arrow indicating sunset time,
At 23 o'clock, an arrow OFF is attached to include a light extinguishing command (off command), dimming, thinning command, etc. in the circuit system to be described later.

FIG. 1A is a time chart around February 20th, and the time of sunset SD is 18:00, so there are 5 hours until the OFF time of 23:00.

The time from sunset to this forced lights-out or dimming time (hereinafter collectively referred to as forced lights-out time) is set as TN.

On the other hand, since the sunrise SR time on this day is 5.8 o'clock,
Daytime time T6 is 12.1 hours.

Hereinafter, the time notation is abbreviated as h. Similarly, Figure 1 B shows around June 20th, Figure 1 C shows around September 18th, Figure 1 D shows around December 27th, and Figure 1 B shows around June 20th. Daytime hours are TD around the 20th.
=15.8h, the sunset time SD shifts to 19.6 o'clock, and the lighting duration after sunset until the forced lights out time 23:00 TN=
3.4 hours, and hereafter around September 18th in Figure C, TD=
1 3.4 h, SD=1 8.3 hours, TN=4.
7h1 Around December 27th in Figure D, TD=1 1. O
h, SD=17.2 hours, TN=5.8 hours.

．． Then, with the daytime time TD on the horizontal axis and the lighting duration TN after sunset on the vertical axis, we plot each corresponding point PA-PD in Figure 2 for A to D in Figure 1. , approximately a straight line L
I understand that it will ride on T.

Therefore, for the daytime time TD, the lighting duration time TN after sunset
are almost linearly related.

That means TN:a. TD+b; a<o, b>o・
...The simple formula (1) holds true, and a and b are points P
It can be obtained by selecting two plot parts such as A-PD and solving them using simultaneous equations.

The plot points for solving the equation should be designed so that the straight line LT has the smallest average error in the relationship between TD and TN for all actual days.

In the case shown, a straight line passing through point PB and point PD is being found,
Although the point PAN and point Pc are slightly shifted, there is no problem.

As a result, by measuring the daylight hours TD on that particular day, the required lighting duration TN after sunset can be easily determined using the above formula (1) without knowing the month and day.

By the way, in this case, the straight line LT shows the relationship when lights are forcibly turned off at 23:00 in Tokyo.

Therefore, it will be easily understood that if 22:00 is the forced lights-out time, the lighting duration TN is expressed by a straight line L T / that is one hour shorter than that shown by the straight line LT.

To put this example into perspective, in order to set the forced lights-out time, it is sufficient to move the straight line LT in parallel.

This ultimately comes down to simply manipulating b in equation (1) and selecting an appropriate value, which is a completely simple operation in an electronic circuit calculation system having equation (1) above.

In reality, a reference constant bs corresponding to a certain standard forced light-off time is selected, the user performs a time correction of ±at to that time, and the circuit system calculates b = bsfJt. However, this is entirely a matter of design.

In any case, from the above, if we actually calculate or measure the daytime hours each day, we can forcibly turn off the lights from sunset on that day using the design formula (1) without knowing what day it is. It is possible to know the lighting duration up to the specified time, and therefore it is possible to issue a command to turn off or dim the lighting when the lighting duration calculated from the sunset time has elapsed, and also to know the forced lights-off time. It has been found that setting and adjustment of can be done by a simple parallel movement operation by providing equation (1) to an existing appropriate electronic calculation system.

This is the principle of the present invention, but in the present invention, time calculations in an electronic calculation system are performed not by actual direct calculation processing, but by counting pulses of a predetermined frequency.
On the other hand, setting the lighting duration after sunset is
The frequency is varied according to the above-mentioned count 1 value, and the counting is performed when a predetermined number of pulses at the corresponding frequency are counted.

Continuing on from this, we will also discuss in advance the latitude correction, which is a promising example.

In Figures 1 and 2, Tokyo is assumed, but as is well known, if the latitude of the installation location changes, the relationship between daytime time TD and lighting duration TN after sunset should change. .

However, it has been found that this change can be solved by simply moving the relationship straight line LT in FIG. 2 mentioned above in parallel.

This is a self-evident fact clearly demonstrated by astronomical theory, but
As an attempt, we listed the numerical values for Nagasaki and Nemuro in correspondence with B and D for Tokyo shown in Figure 1, and the results are as follows.

For simplicity, the light-off time is the same as in the previous example.
Let's set it to 3 o'clock.

Here, the relationship between TD and TN is expressed as corresponding points PB' and PD' in the case of Nagasaki and corresponding points PB in the case of Nemuro, respectively.
"IPD" is plotted in Figure 3 along with the points PB and PD mentioned above in the case of Tokyo, and if we indicate the forced lights-out time OFF = 23:00 and draw a straight line connecting the pixels (in reality, it is the other point 1). It will be understood that the function line LT for Tokyo, the line LNG for Nagasaki, and the line LNE for Nemuro can be satisfied in a parallel relationship.

Therefore, latitude correction is also a matter of selecting the constant b in equation (1) above.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention based on the above principles will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 and subsequent figures.

First, the photo-sensing element 1 used here is of a known type and has an analog output approximately proportional to the amount of input light.

This embodiment first includes a detection system 2 for converting the output of the photo-sensing element 1 into a digital signal whose state changes depending on sunrise, sunset, and lighting time.

Generally, it is best to detect sunrise and sunset at an illuminance of approximately 57x the body of a dog, regardless of the weather, such as rainy, cloudy, or clear weather. A level comparator 2a is used which outputs a high level output when the optical input exceeds 57x, and for this purpose a reference potential source 3a having the same potential as the output of the photo-sensing element corresponding to this 5tx is used.

Similarly, in the evening, when the surrounding environment becomes dark and lighting is required, a lighting command signal is sent to the drive circuit 5 of the lighting lamp 4, so that it is possible to reduce the fact that the illuminance has decreased below the 50tx. Level to be detected as a level signal
It also has a comparator 2b and a reference potential source 3b therefor.

Therefore, if we consider the time from sunrise, first, 5 at sunrise.
When the light sensing element 1 detects tx, the output of the comparator 2ai, that is, the sunrise/sunset detector 2a becomes a high-level daytime signal, and maintains this state until it drops below 5tx at sunset.

In addition, in the drawing, the pulse waveforms attached to the side of each line are high level upward and low level downward (including ground potential). It shows the condition inside.

On the other hand, the other 507x detector, lighting illuminance detector 2b, is also at a low level immediately after sunrise, but soon increases to 507x.
When it exceeds 07x, it becomes a high level (in the figure, the transition of the waveform is schematically shown by the arrow attached to the side of the track).

However, the transition between high and low levels at this time is
is not set to drive mode, but becomes low level when it falls below 50tx again in the evening, and then the drive circuit 5 is driven by 1 for the first time, and the lighting lamp 4 is turned on.

This will be described in detail in the process of moving to the nighttime state in FIG.

Therefore, each main part of this circuit device will be explained as follows.
The pulse number counter 1/circuit 6 during the daytime includes a counter 8 that counts the pulses given to the first NOR circuit or the single power 7a of the AND circuit γ at a low level, and analog conversion according to the count number of the counter. It has a digital-to-analog converter 9 (hereinafter referred to as a D/A converter) that generates a voltage output.

A signal obtained by inverting the output of the sunrise/sunset detector 2a through the inverter 10 is applied to the external input 7b of the AND circuit 7 (hereinafter, all AND circuits take a negative AND) for the low level. Therefore, from sunrise to sunset (that is, while illuminance of 5tX or more is being detected), the counter 8 counts the number of pulses by 1 every time there is a low level input to the single power source 7a.

In the case of this embodiment, one more thing is 5t at night, that is, at sunset.
A nighttime pulse count circuit 12 is provided that counts the number of pulses from x detection to 5+ax detection at sunrise on the next day. Two inputs of a three-input low level AND circuit 13 are at low level, and the other input is at low level. It has a counter 14 that counts pulses every time there is a low level pulse at 13a.

The output of this counter 14 is designed to become a high level output Cp when a certain number, for example 200, is counted as a digital value, and that output is connected to another input 13C of this second low level AND circuit. , a third low-level AND circuit 15 for selectively energizing the drive circuit of the lamp 4.
The input power 15a of the AND circuit 15 is supplied with the output of the above-mentioned lighting illuminance detector 2b.

In this case, the drive circuit 5
When the gate 15 is opened (when both the human powers 15a and 15b are at a low level), the transistor 16 is energized, the relay 17 is energized, and the lamp lighting circuit contact 17a is closed.

Therefore, the AND gate 13 of the night time count circuit 12
Since the output from the sunrise/sunset detector 2a is given to another input 13b, this output is at a high level during the daytime shown in FIG. , 13c, this low level and...
The gate 13 is closed, and even if a pulse is input to the pulse input 13a, the counter 14 does not count it, but is closed, and this circuit 12 does not substantially operate after sunrise until sunset. .

On the other hand, the circuit that generates pulse outputs to both count circuits 6 and 12 is a variable frequency oscillator 18 of voltage control type or voltage-to-frequency conversion type.

There are various known oscillators of this type, and they can be applied as desired, but as will be described later, in order to reduce the number of digits counted by the daytime counter 8, it is possible to use an oscillator for an extremely long period of time.
That is, a configuration suitable for producing an extremely low frequency oscillation signal will be explained based on the diagram.

That is, a well-known integrating circuit 21 including an operational amplifier 19 and an integrating capacitor 20, a level comparator 22a for an upper limit value and a level comparator 22b for a lower limit value, which output an output at the upper limit value and lower limit value of this analog output. It consists of a flip-flop circuit 23 which receives the outputs of both comparators through corresponding set inputs and reset inputs, and each upper and lower limit comparator 22a, 22b is provided with an upper limit value and a lower limit value according to the purpose described below. Each potential is given to determine.

Now, during the daytime shown in Figure 4, the sunrise and sunset detectors 2
Since the first and second analog switches 24a and 24b are closed by the daytime detection signal (high level signal) of a, the upper limit reference potential ED during daytime is detected by the upper limit value comparator 22a. In this case, the lower limit reference potential Ec during daytime is provided to the lower limit comparator 22b as the potential of the ground 26.

Further, the analog conversion potential Ev of the daytime count circuit 6 mentioned earlier is also given to the reference potential input of the lower limit comparator, but at this point, due to the above configuration, this potential Ev is grounded, and the upper limit comparator 22a There is also a line for supplying the potential Es from the second reference potential source 27 to the reference input potential of Since it is interposed in the line and is open, this potential Es is irrelevant during the daytime.

The action of this oscillation circuit 18 is self-evident, but to briefly explain it with reference to FIG. Once reached, the comparator output sets the flip-flop 23 to the first state, in this case the high level output Ps.

This output is given to the integrating circuit 21, and therefore the output Vi of the integrating circuit 21 decreases.

And lower limit reference potential EG (in this case, earth potential)
When the flip-flop reaches Ps, it is detected by the lower limit comparator 22b, the input to the flip-flop 23 is issued from the comparator, and the output Ps of the flip-flop 23 is
is at a low level.

Hereinafter, this will be repeated, and the period td at this time can be adjusted by manipulating either the upper limit or lower limit potential.

That is, if the upper limit value ED becomes a value ED' lower than the upper limit value ED, the direction of the integral output Vi at the upper limit will be reversed earlier, and therefore the period td' will also be shorter (FIG. 7).

Conversely, it is obvious that the higher the upper limit value, the longer the period.

Therefore, by adjusting the potential of the reference potential source 25,
It can be oscillated at a desired constant frequency during the daytime.

In this embodiment, the daytime reference potential ED is determined so that 200 oscillation pulses Pc are emitted during approximately 12 hours = 43,200 seconds of daytime at the time of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

Therefore, as the daytime time TD changes according to the above equation (1), the number of pulses N also changes proportionally after the reference number NS=200.

NCK: TD; N2F (TD) ・・・・・・
・・・・・・・・・・・・(2) Then, if we trace the progress from sunrise to sunset again, we get the following.

When the sunrise/sunset detector 2a detects the sunrise as 51x% degree and outputs a high level signal or daytime detection signal, the daytime count circuit 8 is reset once by the mono multi-by-break 28, and immediately Low level and game 7
Waiting for the input of the balusu PS to be received by one person.

At the same time, the high level output of the detector 2a causes the upper and lower limit comparators 2 in the variable frequency oscillation circuit 18 to be connected via the analog switches 24a and 24b, which are closed as described above.
The reference potentials El) and EQ are given to 2a and 22b, and the oscillation circuit generates the daytime constant frequency pulse PS.
begins to oscillate, and counts these pulses at count 8.

This pulse PS is also given to the low level AND gate 13 for night time, but since the input 13b from the detector is at a high level as described above, this night time count circuit 12 is essentially can be ignored.

After some time has passed since sunrise, the ambient environment illuminance of about 50tX is obtained, and the output of the lighting illuminance detector 2b changes from a low level to a high level, and this signal allows the count number 200 of the previous night to be calculated as described below. The night time counter 14 which is maintained is reset and therefore at the same time the counter output C
, goes low, and the corresponding AND gate input 13C of this circuit also goes low from this point on.

As understood from this operation, the driver circuit is not driven during this level conversion.

Eventually, while the counter operation of the daytime counter 8 continues, daytime passes and evening approaches, and when the ambient illuminance falls below the illuminance of about 507x before sunset, the lighting illuminance detector 2b becomes a low level.

Then, the corresponding low level AND gate 15 can take an AND at a low level since the other input 15a has already become low level with the reset of the night time counter as described above, and the driver 5 is driven. , the lighting lamp 4 will be turned on.

Thereafter, this state continues until the nighttime counter 14 counts a predetermined number of 200 and issues the output Cp as described later.

Note that this high-level signal issued at the count number of 200 becomes a command signal at the forced light-off time.

When the illuminance falls further below 5tx at sunset from the time of 507x detection in the evening, the output of the sundown detector 2b will change again during the night after sunset, as shown in the pulse waveform relationship in Figure 5. The detection signal is a low level signal.

Then, the corresponding human power 7b of the daytime AND gate 7 becomes high level through the inverter 10, so the gate is thereafter closed and the subsequent counter 8 also maintains the pulse counter number N up to that point, as described above. It will remain in that state until it is reset the next day.

In response, the D/A converter 9 also continues to output a corresponding potential Ev that has a functional relationship with the count number N of the counter, which will be described later.

At the same time, the first and second analog switches 24a, 24
b opens and the third analog switch 24c closes, each comparator 2 of the variable frequency oscillation circuit 18
2a and 22b, the nighttime reference potential source 2 is set as the upper limit value.
The upper limit reference potential Es from 7 is given as the lower limit, and the output Ev of the D/A converter 9 is given as the lower limit.

In this embodiment, the upper limit reference potential Es is used for setting the forced lights-off time (OFF), and E is the lighting duration time up to the forced lights-off time after sunset based on the daily daytime time difference. This is for TN correction.

This relationship is explained in relation to the night time counter 14 which outputs a high level decrease and lights out command output Cp when it counts a certain number of 200.

The night time counter 14 receives the output low level signal of the flip-flop 23 because the second and third inputs 13b and 13C of the corresponding low level AND gate are at a low level after sunset as described above. Each time it is received, the count increases to "1".

Therefore, the oscillation frequency f of the oscillation circuit 18 may be defined so that the time until the count 1-200 is reached becomes the lighting duration TN of the day.

As mentioned above, from equation (l), TN is a function of TD, but at the same time, the frequency f is determined by the shifted potential Eb shown in FIG.
As can be understood, if the nighttime upper limit reference potential ES is placed in place of ', it can become a function of the potential BS, and as shown in FIG. 8, it can also become a function of the lower value EV.

That is, f=F (Ev, Es)...
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・(3) TN=F(f)
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・(4
) can be satisfied.

Therefore, under a certain constant potential Es, the number of daytime counts N
If the potential Ev changes day by day according to the equation (1), the a-TD term in equation (1) described above can be satisfied as a result.

Conversely, the conversion output Ev of the D/A converter 9 may be made to correspond to the input count number N so as to satisfy this requirement.

Furthermore, changing the constant potential ES results in changing the b term.

As a result, if the user rotates the nighttime reference potential Es along the scale plate with the forced lights-off time, it is possible to set an arbitrary forced lights-off time. Time TN that changes daily from the time of death to this time
is compensated by the compensation potential Ev based on the above principle.

Therefore, the nighttime counter 14 reaches a predetermined number of pulse counts, in this case 200, at the predetermined forced lights-off time of the day, and as a result, a lights-off (dimming) command Cp is issued.

Then, the corresponding human power 15a of the driver 5 becomes a high level, the low level AND gate 15 closes, and the driver circuit performs processing such as turning off or thinning out the illuminating lights 4.

At the same time, this Cp output is the low level of the counter 14 itself.
Ashi-i-Gate Hitori Riki 13c was raised to a high level, and from then on, it remained in that state until the next day's reset, as described above, without counting.

From then on, from the next day until sunrise, the cycle has been the same as described in Figures 4 and 5, and the forced lights-out time has been complied with while making corrections based on the daily daytime time difference. It will be understood that

In fact, the relational expressions between TN, Es, EV, and f can be further given actual correction values, and logic circuits in which both the high and low levels are reversed can also be satisfied using ordinary design techniques. , should be obvious.

Further, the reason why the count number is set at 200 for daytime use and exactly 200 for nighttime use is that a commercially available 8-bit counter can be used as is, and is, of course, an arbitrary matter.

In short, all that is required is to issue a light-off command when the night time counter counts a certain number.

Furthermore, the daytime and nighttime counters 8 and 14 do not have to be dedicated to each, but can be made by inserting a switch circuit.
It is also possible to switch the output between day and night.

However, in that case, it goes without saying that a storage circuit for the number of counts during the daytime and an output circuit for counting a predetermined number during the nighttime are separately required.

Furthermore, regarding correction of the latitude of the installation location, as explained in conjunction with Fig. 3 and as is clear from the parts shown in Figs. (equivalent to the operation of constant b).

In practice, it would be possible to change the scale plate with the forced extinguishing time to select this potential ES depending on the latitude of each region, or to use a scale plate with the respective times corresponding to representative place names. This is a problem that can be solved very easily.

Note that the potentials ED, EG and ES, Ev may be in a superimposed relationship with each other so that only the upper limit value or the lower limit value is changed or defined.

For example, the potential ES that determines the forced light-off time (including latitude correction) may be changed by the daily potential Ev.

By the way, in the case of the present invention, the actual lighting start time has no relation to the maintenance of the forced lights-out time, and therefore, the lighting may be turned on manually.

Furthermore, even if this is done automatically in this embodiment, the illuminance required for illumination is generally considered to be 501x, and at this time the lighting lamp 4 is turned on via the lighting illuminance detector 2b, but of course the lighting illuminance can be adjusted arbitrarily. This is a design issue, and the sunset detector 2a may also have this function so that it is turned on only at sunset. 5 It should be obvious from the illustration.

Furthermore, although sunrise and sunset were originally defined as an illuminance of about 5 Jax, it goes without saying that any value around this value will make a difference.

Therefore, sunrise and sunset in this specification refer to the times when the illuminance reaches a predetermined intensity appropriate to represent sunrise to morning and sunset to evening, respectively.

By the way, it is wasteful to assign this device to one lighting light, and in general, there will be multiple lighting lights, but in that case, it is not possible to turn off all the lights at the same time with a lights-off command (off command). Instead, the switch 17a to the driver 5 may be configured to perform so-called thinning operation or switching operation in which some of the lights are turned off, or the driver may be provided with a dimming mechanism to dim the light instead of turning it off. It is obvious that it may be incorporated.

Of course, thinning out, switching, and dimming are compatible.

In addition, in the case of thinning out, the lights that remain on and remain on, or the lights that remain on even after dimming, will be turned off at sunrise the next morning, similar to existing automatic blinking devices. It will be readily apparent that the photo-sensing element 1 may be used in conjunction with the above.

According to this preferred embodiment, each detection system 2a, 2b
Each outputs a detection signal at a predetermined illumination intensity, and for such uses, a photodiode, a cadmium sulfide photoconductive cell, or the like that can produce an output corresponding to the amount of light received is advantageous as the photosensing element 1.

However, even if bimetal or relay type devices are used, blurring can be avoided by using multiple devices with different sensitivities.

In addition, when using a night light, etc., it is sufficient to simply start it when sunset is detected and turn it off when sunrise is detected.

As described in detail above, the present invention is capable of turning off or dimming the illumination light means at fixed times set by the user throughout the year using a purely electronic, simple and compact device, The daytime time is actually measured by converting it into the number of pulses, and the lights turn off when the pulses of the frequency corresponding to the time from the sunset time (the time when the illumination level is set in advance, e.g. 57x) are counted until the forced lights out time. Since the light is dimmed, it does not depend on the installation date, so there is no need to provide the installation date to the device, and since the lighting time can be selected arbitrarily, the lighting can be turned on at an appropriate darkness even before sunset. It can be started easily and has remarkable effects such as fundamental power saving.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram of annual changes in sunrise and sunset times in Tokyo, Tanaka time, and changes in the duration of lighting after sunset until the set forced lights-out time. Figure 3 is a relationship diagram similar to Figure 2 at various locations in Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Nemuro, and Figure 4 is a diagram showing the pulses of various parts during daytime in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A schematic configuration circuit diagram shown together with waveforms; FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram similar to FIG. 4 at night; FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a voltage-controlled variable frequency oscillator; FIG. and FIG. 8 are explanatory diagrams of waveforms of the oscillator, respectively. In the figure, 1 is a photo-sensing element, 2 is a detector, 4 is a lighting lamp, 5 is its driver circuit, 6 is a daytime count circuit, 12 is a nighttime count circuit, 18 is a voltage-controlled variable frequency oscillator, 24a, 24b and 24c are analog switches,
It is.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device that turns off or dims a lighting lamp that has been turned on manually or by a photo-sensing element at a fixed time set as a forced extinguishing or dimming time, which a sunrise/sunset detection circuit that detects corresponding illuminance at sunset and generates a daytime detection signal between sunrise and sunset and a nighttime detection signal between sunset and sunrise; A voltage-controlled variable frequency oscillation circuit has a potential input and oscillates a pulse with a frequency according to the potential of the potential input, and the daytime detection signal allows a certain daytime period to be set during the day from sunrise to sunset. a circuit for applying a reference potential to a control potential input of the oscillation circuit and causing the oscillation circuit to oscillate at a constant frequency corresponding to the constant reference potential; a pulse number-to-potential converter circuit that converts the converted potential output as a function of daytime time; and a pulse number-to-potential conversion circuit that converts the converted potential output into a converted potential output that is a function of daytime time; and a circuit that oscillates at a frequency that is a function of the daytime time in response to the nighttime reference potential, and a circuit that counts the nighttime oscillation pulses and issues a forced light-off or dimming command output when a predetermined number is counted. A fixed time for illumination lights, comprising: a circuit that turns off or dims the illumination lamp in response to the command output; and a circuit that adjusts the nighttime reference potential according to the forced extinguishment or dimming time. Automatic lights off or dimming device.