lighting equipment

Abstract

To provide a lighting device that can efficiently perform various control.SOLUTION: A lighting device includes a lighting unit, a camera, and a controller. The camera performs recognition to be used for predetermined control based on a captured image. The controller determines a control content of another device based on a recognition result obtained by the camera, and outputs the determined control content to a network.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention relates to a lighting device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique for acquiring an image captured by an imaging unit provided in a lighting device and performing various controls, such as lighting control of the lighting device, based on the image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-120577 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional technology has room for further improvement in terms of efficient execution of various controls.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a lighting device that can efficiently perform various controls. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A lighting device according to an embodiment includes a lighting unit, a camera, and a control unit. The camera performs recognition based on a captured image to be used for predetermined control. The control unit determines control content for other devices based on the recognition result by the camera, and outputs the determined control content to a network. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a lighting system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the lighting device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of network information. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure executed in the lighting device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The lighting device described below includes a lighting unit, a camera, and a control unit. The camera performs recognition based on the captured image to be used for predetermined control. The control unit determines the control content of other devices based on the recognition result by the camera, and outputs the determined control content to the network.

[0009] The networks described below include multiple types of networks, and the control unit 2 selects a network to output from among the multiple types of networks based on the control content.

[0010] The control unit 2, which will be described below, selects a network to output to depending on the target device of the control content.

[0011] When the target device is a lighting device 11, the control unit 2 described below selects the lighting control network as the network.

[0012] When the target device is facility equipment 14 other than the lighting device 11, the control unit 2 described below selects the facility network provided in the facility as the network.

[0013] The control unit 2, which will be described below, sets priorities for a plurality of types of networks for each control content, and selects a network based on the priorities.

[0014] Hereinafter, a lighting device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components in the embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a lighting system according to an embodiment. The lighting system S shown in Fig. 1 is suitable for installation in a relatively large facility such as a factory where many people move about, and for individually and complexly controlling multiple lighting devices and facility equipment.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 1, a lighting system S includes lighting devices 1 and 11, a lighting control device 10, a hub 12, a cloud 13, and facility equipment 14. In the lighting system S shown in Fig. 1, the lighting devices 1 and 11 and the lighting control device 10 are connected by a lighting control network shown by a single line. The lighting devices 1, the lighting control device 10, the hub 12, and the cloud 13 are connected by Ethernet (registered trademark) shown by a double line. The lighting devices 1 and the facility equipment 14 are connected by a facility network (dashed line) provided in the facility.

[0017] The lighting devices 1 and 11 are lighting devices that illuminate a predetermined space such as a facility. The lighting devices 1 and 11 are, for example, directly attached to a ceiling surface and illuminate a floor surface from the ceiling. Of the lighting devices 1 and 11, the lighting device 1 is equipped with a camera 5, while the lighting device 11 is equipped with no camera 5. The lighting devices 1 and 11 use the camera 5 as a human presence sensor and switch illumination on and off in response to human presence.

[0018] Furthermore, the lighting device 1 is arranged so that the imaging range of the camera 5 includes at least a portion of all of the illumination ranges of the multiple lighting devices 11. Furthermore, the lighting device 1 is arranged so that the imaging range of the camera 5 includes the positions of the multiple facility equipment 14. The camera 5 is a camera with artificial intelligence, and analyzes the image it has captured (hereinafter referred to as the captured image) to perform recognition that is used for predetermined control such as lighting control of the lighting devices 1, 11.

[0019] For example, the camera 5 divides a predetermined space (or a captured image thereof) into multiple areas, and performs recognition for use in lighting control for each area. Each area is set to include the illumination range of each lighting device 11. Furthermore, each area is set to include the position of each facility equipment 14.

[0020] For example, the camera 5 recognizes the presence / absence of people in each area. Specifically, the camera 5 recognizes the number of people in each area. More specifically, the camera 5 generates a recognition result indicating whether the number of people present in the area is 1 or more, 5 or more, 7 or more, 10 or more, or 20 or more.

[0021] The camera 5 also recognizes the luminance in each area. Specifically, the camera 5 recognizes the statistical value of the luminance of multiple pixels included in each area as the luminance. The statistical value may be, for example, the average value, the median value, or the most frequent value. For example, the camera 5 generates a recognition result indicating whether the luminance is 1 lux or more, 200 lux or more, or 600 lux or more.

[0022] The camera 5 also recognizes the density of people in each area. Specifically, the camera 5 recognizes the proportion of human areas to the area's surface area as the density. The camera 5 also recognizes the statistical value of the distances between multiple people recognized in the area as the density. The statistical value may be, for example, an average value, a median value, a mode value, or a minimum value. For example, the camera 5 generates a recognition result indicating whether the density is normal (the proportion is less than a predetermined value and the statistical value of the distances is equal to or greater than a predetermined value), close (the statistical value of the distances is less than a predetermined value), or dense (the proportion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value).

[0023] The camera 5 also recognizes the orientation of people present in the area. For example, the camera 5 analyzes captured images to detect the person's skeleton and recognizes the person's orientation based on the orientation of the skeleton. The camera 5 also analyzes the person's movement direction from multiple captured images that are consecutive in time series and recognizes the person's orientation based on the movement direction. For example, the camera 5 generates a recognition result indicating whether the person is facing north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, or northwest.

[0024] For example, vertically upward in the captured image is set to 0°, and recognition results are generated using the following ranges: north from 346° to 15° (total 30°), northeast from 16° to 75° (total 60°), east from 76° to 105° (total 30°), southeast from 106° to 165° (total 60°), south from 166° to 195° (total 30°), southwest from 196° to 255° (total 60°), west from 256° to 285° (total 30°), and northwest from 286° to 345° (total 60°).

[0025] Then, the lighting device 1 determines the control content of the other device based on the recognition result of the camera 5, and outputs the determined control content to the network. The other device is, for example, the lighting device 11 or the facility equipment 14.

[0026] Specifically, the lighting device 1 determines control details related to lighting control of the lighting devices 1, 11 corresponding to each area based on the recognition result for each area. For example, the lighting device 1 determines control details for switching on / off the illumination of each lighting device 1, 11 depending on whether a person is present in each area. Alternatively, the lighting device 1 may determine control details for increasing the illumination intensity to a predetermined value when a person is present and decreasing the illumination intensity to a predetermined value when a person is absent. Furthermore, the lighting device 1 determines control details for adjusting (dimming) the illumination intensity of each lighting device 1, 11 depending on the luminance in each area.

[0027] Furthermore, the lighting device 1 determines the control content for lighting control to improve people's comfort based on the density and the direction of people. For example, when the density in a specific area increases, the lighting device 1 determines the control content to increase the illumination intensity of the specific area as well as the surrounding area. In other words, the lighting device 1 increases the illumination intensity of the lighting devices 1, 11 in the surrounding area to further increase the brightness of the highly dense area. This makes it possible to maintain high brightness even in a highly dense area.

[0028] Furthermore, the lighting device 1 determines control details to increase the illumination intensity in multiple areas located in the direction the person is facing, thereby increasing the brightness of the area in the direction the person is looking.

[0029] Furthermore, the lighting device 1 determines the control content for opening and closing the facility equipment 14, such as electric blinds and entrance / exit gates, depending on the presence / absence of people and the direction of people. The lighting device 1 also determines the control content for switching on / off the patrol lamps in the facility equipment 14 depending on the density.

[0030] The lighting device 1 then outputs the determined control content to the network, thereby notifying the lighting control device 10 and the facility equipment 14 of the control content.

[0031] The lighting control device 10 acquires information on the control content determined by the lighting device 1, and based on the control content, generates control signals for controlling each lighting device 1, 11 and outputs them to each lighting device 1, 11 via a lighting control network, thereby controlling the lighting of each lighting device 1, 11.

[0032] The hub 12 is a line concentrator to which Ethernet cables are connected. The hub 12 is connected to the Ethernet communication cables connected to the lighting devices 1, the lighting control device 10, and the cloud 13, respectively.

[0033] The cloud 13 is an analysis server that acquires captured images and recognition results from the camera 5 of the lighting device 1 via Ethernet and performs various analyses. For example, the cloud 13 analyzes the flow of people in a specified space based on the captured images and the above-mentioned recognition results. The cloud 13 transmits the analysis results to a terminal device of the administrator of the specified space.

[0034] The facility equipment 14 is equipment installed in the facility. The facility equipment 14 is, for example, electric blinds, a power meter, a patrol lamp, an entrance / exit gate, etc. The facility equipment 14 performs control in accordance with control content acquired from the lighting device 1 via the facility network.

[0035] In this way, the lighting device 1 outputs the control content determined based on the recognition result of the camera 5 to the other device via the target network, eliminating the need for the other device to determine the control content based on the recognition result. In other words, the lighting device 1 performs the process of determining the control content on behalf of the other device, such as the lighting control device 10 or facility equipment 14. This reduces the processing load of the other device and improves the responsiveness of various controls of the other device. Therefore, the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment can efficiently perform various controls.

[0036] Next, a configuration example of the lighting device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the lighting device 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the lighting device 1 is connected to an AC power supply 100, and is supplied with driving power from the AC power supply 100.

[0037] The lighting device 1 includes a control unit 2, a storage unit 3, a power supply unit 4, a camera 5, and a lighting unit 6. The storage unit 3 stores network information 31.

[0038] The storage unit 3 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

[0039] The network information 31 stored in the storage unit 3 is information related to the network to which the lighting device 1 is connected. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the network information 31. As shown in Fig. 3, the network information 31 has items such as "network ID," "type," and "transmission information."

[0040] "Network ID" is identification information that identifies a network. "Type" is information that indicates the type of network. "Transmission information" is information that is output to the network.

[0041] For example, the network identified by the network ID "N1" is a lighting control network, and control content related to lighting control, which requires high responsiveness, is output. The lighting control network is a network configured with transmission lines of a communication method using a communication standard related to lighting control, such as DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) (registered trademark). Furthermore, the lighting device 1 is connected to the DALI-standard transmission line via a serial interface such as RS485. Examples of lighting control that requires high responsiveness include turning on / off the illumination of the lighting device 11 and dimming.

[0042] Furthermore, the network identified by the network ID "N2" is an Ethernet network, and control content related to lighting control that does not require high responsiveness (low responsiveness) is output. An example of an Ethernet network is a LAN (Local Area Network). An example of lighting control that does not require high responsiveness is lighting control that improves people's comfort.

[0043] Furthermore, the network identified by the network ID "N3" is a facility network, and outputs control content related to equipment control that controls the facility equipment 14. The facility network is, for example, an Ethernet that is connected to each piece of equipment in a factory or the like.

[0044] The control unit 2 is a controller, and is realized, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) using RAM as a work area to execute various programs stored in a storage device inside the lighting device 1. The control unit 2 is also a controller, and is realized, for example, by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0045] The power supply unit 4 converts the driving power supplied from the AC power supply 100 from AC to DC and supplies it to the control unit 2, the camera 5, and the lighting unit 6.

[0046] The camera 5 is an imaging unit with artificial intelligence, and performs recognition based on the captured image to be used for lighting control. Specifically, the camera 5 divides the area into multiple areas corresponding to the illumination ranges of the lighting devices 1 and 11, and performs recognition for each area. For example, as described above, the camera 5 recognizes the presence / absence of people, brightness, density, and direction of people.

[0047] The lighting unit 6 includes a light source such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) and illuminates the surroundings. For example, the lighting unit 6 irradiates an area including the imaging area of ​​the camera 5 as an illumination area.

[0048] Next, the processing contents of the control unit 2 will be specifically described.

[0049] The control unit 2 acquires the recognition result from the camera 5 and determines the control content of other devices based on the recognition result. Specifically, the control unit 2 determines the control content for the lighting device 11 and the facility equipment 14 as the target devices.

[0050] For example, the control unit 2 determines the control content for switching on / off the illumination of each lighting device 1, 11 depending on whether a person is present in each area. Alternatively, the control unit 2 may determine the control content for increasing the illumination intensity to a predetermined value when a person is present and decreasing the illumination intensity to a predetermined value when a person is absent. Furthermore, the control unit 2 determines the control content for adjusting (dimming) the illumination intensity of each lighting device 1, 11 depending on the luminance in each area.

[0051] Furthermore, the control unit 2 determines the control content for lighting control to improve people's comfort based on the density and the orientation of people. For example, when the density in a specific area increases, the control unit 2 determines the control content to increase the illumination intensity of the specific area as well as the surrounding area. That is, to further increase the brightness of the highly dense area, the control unit 2 increases the illumination intensity of the lighting devices 1, 11 in the surrounding area to assist the area. This allows high brightness to be maintained even in highly dense areas.

[0052] Furthermore, the control unit 2 determines the control content to increase the illumination intensity in multiple areas located in the direction the person is facing, thereby increasing the brightness of the area in the direction the person is looking.

[0053] The control unit 2 also determines the control content for opening and closing the facility equipment 14, such as electric blinds and entrance / exit gates, depending on the presence / absence of people and the direction of people. The control unit 2 also determines the control content for switching on / off the patrol lamps in the facility equipment 14 depending on the density.

[0054] Next, the control unit 2 outputs the determined control content to the target network by referring to the network information 31. Specifically, the control unit 2 selects a network to output from among a plurality of types of networks based on the control content.

[0055] For example, the control unit 2 selects a network to output to depending on the target device of the control content. Specifically, when the target device is the lighting device 11, the control unit 2 selects the lighting control network as the network.

[0056] Furthermore, when the target device is facility equipment 14 other than the lighting device 1, the control unit 2 selects the facility network as the network.

[0057] Then, the control unit 2 outputs the control content to the selected network. Specifically, for control content for a lighting device 11 as the target device, the control unit 2 outputs the control content to the lighting control device 10 via the lighting control network or Ethernet.

[0058] Furthermore, the control unit 2 outputs control content for which the target device is facility equipment 14 to the facility equipment 14 via the facility network. Note that the control unit 2 is not limited to outputting control content for which the target device is facility equipment 14 directly to the facility equipment 14 via the facility network, but may also output the control content to a supervisory device that supervises the control of the facility equipment 14.

[0059] In this way, the control unit 2 controls the target device by outputting the control content to the network connected to the target device, thereby eliminating the need for the target device to determine the control content, thereby reducing the processing load on the target device.

[0060] Furthermore, when multiple types of networks are connected to the target device, the control unit 2 may set priorities for the multiple types of networks for each control content and select a network based on the priorities.

[0061] Furthermore, if the control unit 2 selects the network with the highest priority but that network is not connected to the lighting device 1 due to a temporary disconnection or the like, the control unit 2 reselects the network with the second highest priority and outputs the control content via that network.

[0062] This makes it possible to avoid a situation where the control contents cannot be output even if the network is temporarily disconnected, and in other words, it is possible to reliably output the control contents.

[0063] Furthermore, in accordance with the determined control content, the control unit 2 controls the lighting mode of the lighting unit 6 of the lighting device 1. Specifically, the control unit 2 turns the lighting unit 6 on / off and adjusts the illumination intensity.

[0064] Next, a processing procedure of the processing executed by the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the processing executed by the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment.

[0065] 4, the lighting device 1 acquires a captured image using the camera 5 (step S101). Next, the camera 5 of the lighting device 1 performs recognition processing to be used for predetermined control based on the captured image (step S102).

[0066] Next, the lighting device 1 determines the control content of the other device based on the recognition result (step S103). Next, the lighting device 1 selects a network to output the control content according to the determined control content (step S104). Next, the lighting device 1 outputs the control content to the selected network (step S105), and the process ends.

[0067] As described above, the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment includes the lighting unit 6, the camera 5, and the control unit 2. The camera 5 performs recognition based on a captured image to be used for predetermined control. The control unit 2 determines the control content of other devices based on the recognition result by the camera 5, and outputs the determined control content to the network. This allows various controls to be performed efficiently.

[0068] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the invention described in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1. Lighting equipment 2. Control section 3 Storage section 4 Power supply section 5. Camera 6. Lighting section 10 Lighting control device 11 Lighting equipment 12 Hub 13. Cloud 14 Facilities and Equipment 31 Network Information 100 AC power supply S Lighting System

Claims

1. lighting section; a camera that performs recognition based on the captured image to be used for predetermined control; a control unit that determines control contents for the other device based on the recognition result by the camera and outputs the determined control contents to a network; Equipped with The network comprises: It includes multiple types of networks, The control unit Selecting the network to be output from among the plurality of types of networks based on the control content Lighting equipment.

2. The control unit Select the network to output the control content to depending on the target device. The lighting device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit If the target device is a lighting device, select a lighting control network as the network.

3. The lighting device according to claim 2.

4. The control unit If the target device is a facility equipment other than a lighting device, a facility network provided in the facility is selected as the network.

4. The lighting device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The control unit A priority is set for each of the plurality of types of networks for each of the control contents, and the network is selected based on the priority. The lighting device according to claim 1 .

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