State indicating device, intelligent controller and control system thereof

Abstract

The application provides a state indicating device, an intelligent controller and a control system thereof, wherein the state indicating circuit comprises a driving component and an indicating unit, a first indicating member in the indicating unit is electrically connected to the driving component, a second indicating member is electrically connected to the driving component and the first indicating member, and the second indicating member can extinguish the first indicating member when a second indicating signal is sent; the driving component comprises N+1 driving ports A1-A N+1 N first indicating members of N indicating units are directly or indirectly electrically connected to the driving port A1 of the driving component, and the second indicating members of the N indicating units are directly or indirectly electrically connected to the driving ports A2-A N+1 N+1 driving ports of the driving component in sequence, so that the N indicating units can change the indicating signals sent by each indicating unit in response to different driving voltages output by the driving component; N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent control technology, and in particular to a status indication device, an intelligent controller, and a control system. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of intelligent control technology, people have increasingly higher demands for the diverse functions of intelligent devices, resulting in more and more functions for intelligent devices. Intelligent devices generally use LEDs of different colors to indicate their current functional status, and the ability to accurately indicate each functional status is a very important factor affecting the user experience.

[0003] Furthermore, since each color of LED is used to indicate a working state, each LED needs to be controlled independently so that multiple LEDs can indicate various working states of a smart device. However, in practice, it has been found that for smart controllers and other smart devices, when there are many control channels, the number of driver ports may be insufficient due to the need to control a large number of LEDs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the technical problem of insufficient drive ports when the number of LEDs is large in the prior art, the present invention provides a status indication device, an intelligent controller, and a control system thereof.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a status indication device is provided, adapted to be disposed in an intelligent controller to indicate the operating status of the intelligent controller, the status indication device comprising:

[0006] The driving component is used to output the driving voltage;

[0007] Indicator unit, including:

[0008] A first indicator is electrically connected to the drive assembly and is capable of emitting a first indicator signal in response to the drive voltage;

[0009] The second indicator is electrically connected to the drive assembly and the first indicator, and is capable of turning off the first indicator when a second indicator signal is issued in response to the drive voltage;

[0010] The driving component includes N+1 driving ports A1~A1. N+1 There are N indicator units, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the N control channels of the intelligent controller; and all the first indicator elements of the N indicator units are directly or indirectly controlled by the drive port A1 of the drive component, and the second indicator elements of the N indicator units are sequentially directly or indirectly controlled by the drive ports A2 to A3 of the drive component. N+1N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0011] Furthermore, the second indicator includes a second control terminal, which is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the drive ports A2~A of the drive assembly. N+1 Any one of them, so that it can be driven by the driving voltage to emit a second indication signal;

[0012] The first instruction includes:

[0013] The first control terminal is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the drive port A1 of the drive component so that it can be driven by the drive voltage to issue a first indication signal.

[0014] The second control terminal is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the second control terminal of the second indicator, so that the first indicator can be turned off when the second indicator emits a second indicator signal.

[0015] Furthermore, the driving component includes:

[0016] The selection unit is used to receive a selection control and output a corresponding selection signal;

[0017] A voltage control unit is electrically connected to the selection unit to receive the selection signal and output the drive voltage through a drive port corresponding to the selection signal;

[0018] Furthermore, the voltage control unit is further configured to, when the received selection signal is the first selection signal among at least two selection signals, continuously apply a first voltage to the first indicator in the corresponding indicator unit during a first time period to form a lighting phase of the indicator unit, and continuously apply a second voltage to the first indicator during a second time period to form a extinguishing phase of the indicator unit; wherein the lighting phase and the extinguishing phase are sequentially cycled to form the first indicator signal of the indicator unit.

[0019] Furthermore, the voltage control unit is also used to change the duration of the lighting phase according to an external configuration command sent by a smart terminal.

[0020] Furthermore, the voltage control unit is further configured to continuously apply a third voltage to the second indicator in the corresponding indicator unit when the received selection signal is the second selection signal among at least two selection signals, so that the second indicator is lit to form a second indicator signal of the indicator unit; the third voltage may be the same as or different from the first voltage.

[0021] Furthermore, there are N selection units: B1~B N Each corresponds to one of the N indicator units C1~C N Among them, select unit B.i Used to output corresponding to the indicator unit C in response to selection control. i The first selection signal or the second selection signal; the value of i can be any value from 1 to N.

[0022] Furthermore, the selection unit includes a switching element, and correspondingly, the selection control includes physical control of triggering a switching element to select a corresponding indicator unit; if an indicator unit currently issues a first indicator signal, the corresponding switching element outputs a specified level to form a second selection signal to the voltage control unit when triggered; if an indicator unit currently issues a second indicator signal, the corresponding switching element outputs a specified level to form a first selection signal to the voltage control unit when triggered.

[0023] Furthermore, the first indicator includes a first light-emitting diode, the anode of which is formed as a first control terminal of the first indicator, and the cathode of which is formed as a third control terminal of the first indicator; the second indicator includes a second light-emitting diode, the anode of which is formed as a second control terminal of the second indicator; the first light-emitting diode and the second light-emitting diode emit different colors.

[0024] According to a second aspect of the present invention, an intelligent controller is provided, comprising:

[0025] A status indication device according to a first aspect of the present invention;

[0026] Multiple control channels are provided, and each control channel is provided with an indicator unit of the status indicator device to indicate the working status of the control channel.

[0027] Furthermore, the intelligent controller is configured to: when the load device connected to the control channel is in a power-off state, control the indicator unit to send out a first indicator signal, and when the load device connected to the control channel is in a power-on state, send out a second indicator signal.

[0028] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a control system is provided, comprising:

[0029] According to a second aspect of the invention, an intelligent controller is electrically connected to at least one load device for controlling the on / off state of the power supply circuit of the load device; and,

[0030] The intelligent terminal establishes a direct or indirect wireless communication relationship with the intelligent controller.

[0031] The intelligent controller is provided with the status indication device according to the first aspect of the present invention. The intelligent controller is configured to switch the power supply status of the load device and change the first indication signal and the second indication signal when it receives a local selection instruction or a selection instruction sent by the intelligent terminal.

[0032] Based on this, the beneficial effects of the status indicator device, intelligent controller, and control system provided in this embodiment include at least the following: Utilizing the application characteristic of intelligent controllers where only one color indicator light needs to illuminate at any given time, this embodiment proposes a status indicator device. This device drives all first indicators through a single drive port and drives each second indicator through multiple other drive ports. The illumination of the first indicators is controlled by the second indicators; that is, when a second indicator is illuminated, the corresponding first indicator can be passively extinguished. This allows for the control of 2N indicator lights through N+1 drive ports, reducing the number of drive ports used, optimizing drive port utilization, and solving the problem of drive port shortage. Furthermore, this embodiment connects the passive control terminal of the first indicator directly or indirectly to the active control terminal of the second indicator, ensuring that the voltage control device cannot simultaneously illuminate both the first and second indicators at any given time during operation. This forms a hardware-based foolproof function for the status indicator device, preventing abnormal indicator light states caused by malfunctions in the control program within the drive component. Attached Figure Description

[0033] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a status indication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 This is a detailed circuit structure diagram of a status indication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 This is a specific implementation circuit of an indicator unit in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a specific implementation circuit of an indicator unit in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0038] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 The diagram shows the internal circuit structure of the driving component in the embodiment shown.

[0039] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the interface for sending configuration commands via a smart terminal in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the internal circuit structure of a current control unit in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure in one embodiment of the present invention, in which the selection unit is implemented as a micro switch;

[0042] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure in one embodiment of the present invention, in which the selection unit is implemented as a wireless communication element;

[0043] Figure 10 yes Figure 9 The diagram shows the smart terminal interface display corresponding to the embodiment shown.

[0044] Figure 11 This is a circuit diagram of a specific application scenario in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an intelligent controller according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Figure label:

[0048] 1. Driver components;

[0049] 10. Intelligent controller; 100. Selection unit; 200. Indication unit; 201. First indicator; 202. Second indicator; 300. Voltage control unit; 400. Current control unit; 401. First resistor; 402. Second resistor;

[0050] 20. Load device; 30. Smart terminal. Detailed Implementation

[0051] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0052] In the description of this invention, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0053] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. These specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments.

[0054] Existing smart controllers typically use indicator lights of different colors to indicate their different operating states. For example, in a three-channel smart wall switch, each channel's corresponding button requires a corresponding indicator light to indicate the power supply status of the load controlled by that channel. The inventors of this invention have discovered that a smart controller's control channel corresponds to at least two power supply states: "on" and "off." Therefore, each control channel requires at least two indicator lights for status indication, leading to a severe shortage of drive ports for the indicator lights when there are many control channels. Furthermore, the inventors have found that smart controllers like smart wall switches typically only illuminate one color indicator light per control channel at a time, rather than multiple colors simultaneously. Based on this, one embodiment of this invention proposes a status indication device applied to a smart controller 10 to optimize the number of drive ports used to control the indicator lights, thus solving the problem of insufficient drive ports.

[0055] Please see Figures 1-11 ,based on Figures 1-11 The present invention provides a specific description of a status indication device; specifically as follows: Figure 1 The diagram shows a circuit structure schematic of a status indication device according to an embodiment of the present invention; it can be seen that the status indication device includes at least:

[0056] Drive component 1 is used to output drive voltage;

[0057] Indicator unit 200 includes:

[0058] The first indicator 201 is electrically connected to the drive assembly 1 and is used to issue a first indicator signal in response to the drive voltage.

[0059] The second indicator 202 is electrically connected to the driving assembly 1 and the first indicator 201, and is configured to extinguish the first indicator 201 when a second indicator signal is emitted in response to the driving voltage; wherein, the first indicator signal and the second indicator signal can be understood as light signals of different colors, for example, the first indicator signal is a blue light signal and the second indicator signal is an orange light signal; the electrical connection should be understood as a direct electrical connection or an indirect electrical connection, wherein the indirect electrical connection can be, for example, through at least one of a current limiting circuit, a filtering circuit, an amplification circuit or a rectifier circuit before electrical connection; the extinguishing should be understood as the inability to emit a light signal sufficient to form an indicator function, including the first indicator 201 being completely extinguished by being de-energized, and also including the first indicator 201 being unable to emit a light signal sufficient to form an indicator function due to insufficient driving voltage, thereby achieving extinguishing in the visual state;

[0060] The driving component 1 includes N+1 driving ports A1~A1. N+1 There are N indicator units 200, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the N control channels of the intelligent controller 10; and all the first indicator elements 201 of the N indicator units 200 are directly or indirectly controlled by the drive port A1 of the drive component 1, and the second indicator elements 202 of the N light-emitting indicator units 200 are sequentially directly or indirectly controlled by the drive ports A2~A1 of the voltage control unit 300. N+1 This is so that the N indicator units 200 can respond to the indicator signals issued by each indicator unit 200 in response to different driving voltage changes output by the driving component 1, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0061] There are N indicator units 200, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the N control channels of the intelligent controller 10. This should be understood as follows: one indicator unit 200 corresponds to only one control channel, and one control channel corresponds to only one indicator unit 200. The number of control channels is the same as the number of indicator units 200 to form a one-to-one positional relationship. Changing the indicator signal emitted by the indicator unit 200 includes switching the indicator unit 200 from emitting a first indicator signal to emitting a second indicator signal, or switching from emitting a second indicator signal to emitting a first indicator signal. This includes simultaneously changing the indicator signals of multiple indicator units 200, as well as changing the indicator signal of only one indicator unit 200. It should be noted that the serial numbers A1~A... N+1The labels are only used to mark the drive ports in the drive component 1 for the purpose of subsequent description, and are not intended to limit the actual number of interfaces included in each drive port (for example, when the drive component is implemented as a microcontroller, port A1 can be a drive port formed by one input / output port of the microcontroller, or it can be one or more drive ports formed by multiple input / output ports. This embodiment does not impose any restrictions) or the actual physical arrangement order. Whether the drive ports are arranged sequentially in the drive component 1, spaced apart in the drive component 1, or randomly in the drive component 1, they do not depart from the protection scope of this embodiment, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on them.

[0062] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment of the present invention shown, this embodiment utilizes the application characteristic of the intelligent controller 10's switch indicator lights, which only need to illuminate one color indicator light at a time, to propose a status indication device. This status indication device drives all first indicators 201 through a single drive port and drives each second indicator 202 through multiple other drive ports. The illumination of the first indicators 201 is controlled by the second indicators 202; that is, when the second indicator 202 is illuminated, the corresponding first indicator 201 can be passively extinguished. This allows for the control of 2N indicator lights through N+1 drive ports, reducing the number of drive ports used, optimizing drive port utilization, and solving the problem of drive port shortage. Furthermore, this embodiment connects the passive control terminal of the first indicator 201 directly or indirectly to the active control terminal of the second indicator 202, ensuring that the voltage control device cannot simultaneously illuminate the first indicator 201 and the second indicator 202 at any given time during operation. This forms a hardware-based foolproof function of the status indication device, preventing abnormal indicator light status caused by malfunctions in the control program within the drive component 1.

[0063] In some embodiments, the second indicator 202 includes a second control terminal, which is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the drive ports A2~A of the drive assembly 1. N+1 Any one of the following, so as to be able to be driven by the driving voltage to emit a second indication signal; the first indicator 201 includes: a first control terminal 2011, directly or indirectly electrically connected to the drive port A1 of the drive assembly 1, so as to be able to be driven by the driving voltage to emit a first indication signal; a third control terminal 2012, directly or indirectly electrically connected to the second control terminal 2021 of the second indicator 202, so that the first indicator 201 can be turned off when the second indicator 202 emits a second indication signal. Figure 2 The diagram shows a detailed circuit structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; the indicator unit 200 has N units, and the voltage control unit 300 has at least N+1 drive ports A1~A1. N+1In each indicator unit 200, the first control terminal 2011 of each of the N first indicators 201 (first indicators 2011 to first indicators 201N) is electrically connected to port A1 so that it is lit or turned off by the driving voltage output from port A1. The third control terminal 2012 is connected to the second control terminal 2021 of the corresponding second indicator 202. The second control terminals 2021 of each of the N second indicators 202 (second indicators 2021 to second indicators 202N) in each indicator unit 200 are sequentially electrically connected to A2, A3, ..., A i ,…, A N+1 The ports are controlled by ports A2 to A1 respectively. N+1 This enables the voltage control unit 300 to control 2N indicators (including the first indicator 201 and the second indicator 202) through N+1 drive ports; it should be noted that... Figure 2 The control ports of the first and second indicators in the first indicator unit 200 are only labeled, while the other indicator units are not labeled. The ports of each indicator in the other indicator units are similar to those in the first indicator unit 200, and can be understood by referring to the labels in the first indicator unit 200.

[0064] The technical solution proposed in this embodiment can be designed at the hardware level to ensure that the voltage control device cannot simultaneously light up the first indicator 201 and the second indicator 202 at any time during operation, thereby forming a hardware-based foolproof function for the status indicator device.

[0065] like Figure 3 The diagram shows a specific implementation circuit of the indicator unit 200 of this embodiment, wherein the first indicator 201 is implemented as follows: Figure 3 The first light-emitting diode D1 and the second indicator 202 are implemented as follows: Figure 3The first indicator 201 has an anode formed as a first control terminal and a cathode formed as a third control terminal of the first indicator 201. The second indicator 202 has an anode formed as a second control terminal of the second indicator 202. The first indicator D1 and the second indicator D2 emit different colors. Specifically, the anode of the first LED D1 is directly or indirectly connected to the voltage control unit 300, the cathode of the first LED D1 is connected to the anode of the second LED D2, and the cathode of the second LED D2 is grounded. Furthermore, when the voltage control unit 300 applies alternating first and second voltages to the first LED D1, the first LED D1 will generate a light signal as the first indicator signal. When the voltage control unit 300 applies a third voltage to the second LED D2, if the second LED D2 is to be lit, the third voltage must be high, which will cause the cathode of the first LED D1 to be high, thus extinguishing the first LED D1. This prevents the voltage control unit 300 from simultaneously driving the first indicator 201 and the second indicator 202 to light up, regardless of the driving voltage output, thereby preventing abnormal indicator status (e.g., both orange and blue lights) caused by program errors within the voltage control unit 300. The first LED D1 and the second LED D2 can be two separately configured LEDs (e.g.,...). Figure 4 It can also be a dual-color light-emitting diode packaged together (such as...). Figure 4 ).

[0066] exist Figures 2-4 In the embodiment of the present invention shown, the driving component 1 controls the first control terminals 2011 of N first indicators 201 through a driving port A1, and through N driving ports A2~A N+1The second control terminals 2021 of N second indicators 202 are controlled respectively. Then, by connecting the third control terminal 2012 of the first indicator 201 in each indicator unit 200 to the second control terminal 2021 of the corresponding second indicator 202, the first indicator 201 in each indicator unit 200 is simultaneously controlled by the drive component 1 and the second indicator 202. When the drive component 1 outputs a drive voltage to the first indicator 201 and the second indicator 202 is off, the first indicator 201 can be lit to emit a first indicator signal. When the second indicator 202 is lit, the first indicator 201 will be passively turned off. Thus, the purpose of controlling 2N indicators (N first indicators 201 and N second indicators 202) through N+1 drive ports is achieved, which greatly reduces the number of drive ports required to control the indicators and improves the problem of insufficient number of drive ports for driving indicator lights when the number of control channels of the intelligent controller 10 is large. Correspondingly, when the second indicator 202 is lit, the first indicator 201 will be turned off. Furthermore, whether the second indicator 202 is lit or not is controlled solely by the driving component 1 and is independent of the first indicator 201. This creates a hardware-based foolproof mechanism between the first and second indicator signals. That is, the first and second indicator signals are isolated at the hardware level (only one can be lit at a time), thereby preventing abnormal indicator light status caused by driver malfunctions within the driving component 1 (e.g., the first indicator 201 and the second indicator 202 being lit simultaneously, resulting in the simultaneous emission of the first and second indicator signals).

[0067] Furthermore, the inventors discovered that in the prior art, the indicator lights of the intelligent controller 10 are generally controlled to light up or turn off using simple high and low voltage levels, resulting in high power consumption and heat generation for the LED indicator lights. The luminous efficiency and lifespan of LED indicator lights are temperature-dependent. Simply and crudely controlling the LED indicator lights by continuously outputting a high voltage level causes them to overheat, thus affecting their lifespan and luminous efficiency. Therefore, in this embodiment, to further improve the problems of short lifespan and low luminous efficiency of LED indicator lights in the prior art, a related technical solution is further proposed, referring to... Figure 5 As shown, the driving component 1 includes:

[0068] Selection unit 100 is used to respond to a selection control output selection signal;

[0069] A voltage control unit 300 is electrically connected to the selection unit 100 and is used to output a drive voltage based on the selection signal;

[0070] Furthermore, the voltage control unit 300 is further configured to, when the received selection signal is the first selection signal among at least two selection signals, continuously apply a first voltage to the first indicator 201 during a first time period to form a lighting phase of the indicator unit 200, and continuously apply a second voltage to the first indicator 201 during a second time period to form an off phase of the indicator unit 200; wherein the lighting phase and the off phase cycle sequentially to form the first indicator signal of the indicator unit 200. The lighting phase and the off phase are continuous and cycle sequentially according to a set period and frequency to form the first indicator signal of the indicator unit 200. The switching frequency of the lighting phase and the off phase can be set according to actual needs, generally set to a value imperceptible to the human eye, that is, the indicator unit 200 is lit and turned off at a relatively high frequency, but imperceptible to the human eye, thus giving the visual effect that the indicator unit 200 is always lit.

[0071] In this embodiment, when the voltage control unit 300 receives the first selection signal, it continuously applies a first voltage to the indicator unit 200 during a first time period of a cycle and continuously applies a second voltage during a second time period, thereby forming a lighting phase and an off phase of the indicator unit 200. This periodic lighting and off phases are then cyclically repeated at a high frequency to segment the driving process of the indicator unit 200, thereby reducing the heat generation and power consumption of the indicator unit 200, extending its lifespan, and providing uniform light emission. In other words, this embodiment suppresses the power consumption of the indicator unit 200 by dividing the power supply process of the indicator unit 200 into multiple consecutive lighting and off phases, compensating for temperature-induced changes in the luminous flux of the indicator unit 200, and extending its lifespan. In a specific example, the first indicator 201 is implemented as an LED lamp, the first voltage is greater than the VF voltage of the first indicator 201, for example, 3.3V, and the second voltage is less than the VF voltage of the first indicator 201, for example, 0V. Furthermore, the power consumption of the first indicator 201 can be suppressed by repeatedly turning it on and off, so as to achieve stable light emission and reduce its heat generation.

[0072] Furthermore, in some embodiments, to achieve adjustable brightness of the first indication signal, the voltage control unit 300 is also configured to change the duration of the lighting phase according to an external configuration command sent by a smart terminal 30. Thus, the brightness of the first indication signal can be changed to adapt to different brightness requirements. In one specific example, the external configuration command can be a locally triggered command, such as a brightness adjustment button electrically connected to the voltage control unit 300, which can adjust the brightness of the corresponding indication unit 200 by triggering the button. In another example, such as... Figure 6As shown, the external configuration command can be a remotely triggered command, such as a configuration command sent by a smart terminal 30 to adjust brightness. Furthermore, the user can adjust the brightness of the indicator unit 200 through the application (app) interface on the smart terminal 30 (e.g., a mobile phone or tablet). Specifically, for example, when the external configuration command originates from a mobile phone, such as... Figure 6 The image shows the interface of an app running on a mobile phone. The brightness can be adjusted using a brightness adjustment slider. This slider can be manually slid, and each position on the slider corresponds to a lighting phase duration. The further left the slider is slid, the shorter the lighting phase duration; the further right it is slid, the longer the lighting phase duration. When the slider is at the far right, the lighting phase duration is equal to the duration of one cycle (meaning that the entire screen is lit within one cycle and no longer turns off).

[0073] In some embodiments, by default, within a cycle, the first time period is less than or equal to the second time period, so that the power consumption and heat generation of the indicator unit 200 can be minimized, thereby extending its lifespan and providing uniform light emission. In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of the first time period to the duration of a cycle is set to 34% by default.

[0074] In some embodiments, the voltage control unit 300 is further configured to continuously apply a third voltage to the second indicator 202 when the received selection signal is the second selection signal among at least two selection signals, so that the second indicator 202 is illuminated to form the second indication signal of the indicator unit 200; the third voltage may be the same as or different from the first voltage. Specifically, the first voltage is greater than or equal to the VF voltage of the first indicator 201 to drive the first indicator 201 to emit light, and the third voltage is greater than or equal to the VF voltage of the second indicator 202 to drive the second indicator 202 to emit light. For example, it may be a 3.3V voltage or a 5V voltage.

[0075] In this embodiment of the invention, to further ensure that the power consumption and heat generation of the indicator unit 200 are controllable, a corresponding current control unit 400 is also provided; refer to Figure 5 As shown, the status indicator device also includes a current control unit 400, which is electrically connected between the indicator unit 200 and the voltage control unit 300. It is used to limit the current flowing through the indicator unit 200 when the indicator unit 200 is driven to light up, so as to protect the indicator unit 200 and prevent it from being burned out by excessive current.

[0076] like Figure 7As shown, a specific implementation of the current control unit 400 is provided, wherein the current control unit 400 includes:

[0077] The first resistor 401 is electrically connected to the first indicator 201 (e.g., ...). Figure 7 Between D1) and the voltage control unit 300, for limiting the current flowing through the first indicator 201 when the first indicator 201 is lit;

[0078] The second resistor 402 is electrically connected to the second indicator 202 (e.g., ...). Figure 7 Between D2) and the voltage control unit 300, for limiting the current flowing through the second indicator 202 when the second indicator 202 is lit;

[0079] The resistance values ​​of both the first resistor 401 and the second resistor 402 are set to [300Ω-2000Ω]. In a specific example, both the first resistor 401 and the second resistor 402 are set to 510Ω.

[0080] Corresponding to the N indicator units 200 in the above embodiments, in this embodiment, the selection unit 100 has N units: B1~B N Each corresponds to one of the N indicator units C1~C N Among them, select unit B. i Used to output corresponding to the indicator unit C in response to selection control. i The selection signal is i; the value of i can be any value from 1 to N. Furthermore, by providing a separate selection unit 100 for each indicator unit 200, the rapid recognition of the selection signal is ensured.

[0081] It should be noted that the selection signal can be any signal with a selection function, and there can be multiple selection signals. These can correspond to multiple selection signals that can be generated by one selection unit 100, multiple selection signals that can be emitted by multiple selection units 100, or all selection signals that can be generated by a combination of both. Furthermore, based on different selection commands, one selection unit 100 can output a selection signal corresponding to one of its multiple output selection signals, or one selection unit 100 corresponding to one selection command can output a unique selection signal, or one selection unit 100 can output a selection signal corresponding to one of its multiple output selection signals.

[0082] The selection control can be triggered by an electrical signal command or by a physical trigger. In one embodiment, the selection command can be a selection command generated by an operating body (e.g., a human hand, a robotic arm, etc.) through physical triggering (e.g., pressing, rotating, etc.). Specifically, in this embodiment, the selection unit 100 includes a switching element, and correspondingly, the selection control includes physical control of selecting a selection unit 100 and triggering the corresponding switching element. Furthermore, if an indicator unit 200 currently issues a first indicator signal, the switching element of the corresponding selection unit 100 outputs a specified level to form a second selection signal output to the voltage control unit 300 when triggered. If an indicator unit 200 currently issues a second indicator signal, the switching element of the corresponding selection unit 100 outputs a specified level to form a first selection signal output to the voltage control unit 300 when triggered. Figure 8 The diagram shows a circuit schematic of this embodiment. The switching element is implemented as a microswitch, which is electrically connected to the voltage control unit 300. When the microswitch is triggered, it outputs a low level to the voltage control unit 300, and when the microswitch is not triggered, it outputs a high level to the voltage control unit 300. Of course, in other embodiments, the selection unit 100 can also be implemented as a non-contact switching element such as a Hall switch or an infrared switch. Therefore, any electronic component or combination thereof capable of being triggered to generate a selection signal (a specified level signal) that constitutes the selection unit 100 of this embodiment is within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0083] In another embodiment, the selection instruction can be a directional control signal, such as a control signal sent by a mobile phone or computer via wired or wireless means, which has the function of selecting a specific selection unit 100 from a plurality of selection units 100. Specifically, refer to Figure 9 As shown, in this embodiment, the selection unit 100 includes a wireless communication element (e.g., a WIFI module, Bluetooth module, etc.). The wireless communication element establishes a communication connection with a smart terminal 30 (e.g., a communication connection established based on BLE mesh). The voltage control unit 300 is electrically connected to the wireless communication element, thereby establishing a wireless interaction relationship with the smart terminal 30 through the wireless communication element. The selection command includes selection commands originating from the smart terminal 30. Based on the technical solution provided in this embodiment, users can also control the target indication unit 200 by operating an app running on a mobile phone or other smart terminal 30 to generate a selection command and send it to the status indication device (e.g., a smart terminal 300). Figure 10 (As shown).

[0084] The specific implementation of this invention will be described below with reference to a specific application scenario. See also... Figure 11 As shown, in this specific application scenario, the voltage control unit 300 is implemented as a microcontroller, using its built-in input / output ports as drive ports. Each selection unit 100 is implemented as a microswitch, and each microswitch is electrically connected to the voltage control unit 300, thereby providing a selection signal to the voltage control unit 300 when triggered. For example: Figure 11 In the selection unit B2, which corresponds to the indicator unit C2, when the microswitch corresponding to selection unit B2 is pressed, a low-level selection signal is generated to the voltage control unit 300. This causes the voltage control unit 300 to apply a driving voltage to the indicator unit C2 based on the selection signal, thereby driving it to emit light. Therefore, as... Figure 11 The illustrated embodiment provides a technical solution that enables a microcontroller, such as a single-chip microcomputer, to control 2N indicator lights through N+1 input / output ports when used as the voltage control unit 300. For example, a three-channel wall switch requires 6 LED indicator lights; this embodiment only requires 4 LED lights to control these 6 LED lights, saving 2 input / output ports compared to existing technologies.

[0085] Based on the status indication device provided in the above embodiments, this embodiment also provides an intelligent controller 10. The following is a description of an embodiment of the intelligent controller 10 proposed by the present invention.

[0086] See Figure 12 The intelligent controller 10 provided in this embodiment of the invention includes the status indication device described in the above embodiment; and,

[0087] Multiple control channels are provided, and each control channel is provided with an indicator unit 200 to indicate the working status of the control channel.

[0088] Furthermore, the intelligent control provided in this embodiment also includes at least one control element for receiving control operations to generate selection control that can trigger the selection unit 100; each of the indicator units 200 is configured in one-to-one correspondence with each of the control elements, and the first indicator signal or the second indicator signal generated by the indicator unit 200 can be emitted outward through the control element to form an indicator function.

[0089] Further, in one embodiment, the control element includes a button, the control operation includes pressing the button, and the selection control includes a physical triggering operation applied to the selection unit 100 by pressing down the button. For example, if there are three selection units 100100, namely a first selection unit 100100, a second selection unit 100100, and a third selection unit 100100, then the control element includes three buttons, namely a first button corresponding to the first selection unit 100100, a second button corresponding to the second selection unit 100100, and a third button corresponding to the third selection unit 100100.

[0090] Furthermore, in some embodiments, such as Figure 12 As shown, the intelligent controller 10 further includes a switching unit for connecting the load device 20 to switch the power supply circuit of the load device 20 on and off; each switching unit forms a control channel of the intelligent controller; each switching unit is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the voltage control unit 300 to switch the on and off state of the power supply circuit of the load device 20 under the control of the voltage control unit 300; the voltage control unit 300 is configured to turn on the corresponding switching unit to supply power to the corresponding load device 20 when the selection signal is the second selection signal.

[0091] In one specific example, the switching unit includes a relay. The voltage control unit 300 is electrically connected to the relay via an amplification device to drive the relay to turn on and off. When the relay is on, the load device 20 connected to the control channel of the relay is powered on; when the relay is off, the load device 20 connected to the control channel of the relay is de-powered. Of course, the switching unit can also be implemented as a transistor, MOSFET, or other electronic components with on / off control functions, without affecting the implementation of this embodiment of the invention.

[0092] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the intelligent controller 10 is configured to: when the load device 20 corresponding to the control element is in a power-off state, issue a first indication signal through the control element to serve as the backlight of the intelligent controller 10; and when the load device 20 connected to the control channel is in a power-on state, issue a second indication signal. During the use of the intelligent controller 10, the backlight is on for extended periods, so it is crucial that the controller generates heat to ensure stable illumination and extend its lifespan. With technological advancements, the lifespan of smart controllers 10, such as wall switches and wireless switches, is increasing. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the lifespan of non-replaceable consumables accordingly. LED indicator lights are non-replaceable consumables, so it is common for the switch button to be intact while the light fails and cannot indicate anything. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the lifespan of LED indicator lights as much as possible to match the overall lifespan of the switch. Since the first indicator 201 is used as the backlight of the smart controller 10, its illumination time is generally longer than that of the second indicator 202. Therefore, the power consumption of the first indicator 201 is reduced by intermittently lighting it to extend its lifespan to the same level as the second indicator 202, so as to prevent premature damage that would affect the use of the smart controller 10.

[0093] Based on the status indication device and the intelligent controller 10 provided in the above embodiments, this embodiment also provides a control system. The embodiments of the control system provided by the present invention will be described below.

[0094] See Figure 13 The control system proposed in this invention includes:

[0095] The intelligent controller 10 provided in the above embodiment is electrically connected to at least one load device 20 to control the on / off state of the power supply circuit of the load device 20; the intelligent controller 10 can be an intelligent device with wireless communication and data processing functions, such as an intelligent wall switch or intelligent socket; the load device 20 can be a lamp, refrigerator, garbage disposer, or other similar device; and the power supply state of the load device 20 includes two states: on and off.

[0096] At least one smart terminal 30 establishes a direct or indirect wireless communication relationship with the smart controller; the wireless communication can be WIFI, Bluetooth, ZigBee, or other wireless communication, or cellular data communication; the smart terminal 30 can be a mobile phone, computer, smartwatch, smart glasses, or other terminal device with human-computer interaction and wireless transceiver functions.

[0097] The intelligent controller 10 is equipped with the status indication device provided in the above embodiment. The intelligent controller 10 is configured to switch the power supply status of the load device 20 and change the first indication signal and the second indication signal when it receives a local selection command or a selection command sent by the intelligent terminal 30.

[0098] Furthermore, it should be noted that when the smart terminal 30 is a wired smart device such as a desktop computer, the smart controller 10 can also establish a wired communication interaction relationship with the smart terminal 30; the wired communication is, for example, based on wired communication protocols such as KNX protocol and PLC protocol. Additionally, referring to the above embodiment, the first indication signal can be a blue light signal, and the second indication signal can be an orange light signal. Furthermore, when the smart controller 10 receives a local selection command or a selection signal sent by the smart terminal 30, it switches the power supply state of the load device 20 and sends out the first indication signal or the second indication signal, as specifically illustrated below:

[0099] When the load device 20 controlled by a certain control channel of the intelligent controller 10 is currently in a power-off state, the indicator unit 200 corresponding to the control channel emits a blue light signal (i.e., the first indicator signal) as a backlight to inform the user that the load device 20 controlled by the control channel is currently in a power-off state. If the intelligent controller 10 receives a selection command from a button pressed (local physical trigger) or a control signal sent by the intelligent terminal 30 (remote trigger), it controls the switching element (relay, MOSFET, etc.) corresponding to the control channel to turn on to switch the power supply state of the load device 20 to the powered-on state. At the same time, it controls the indicator unit 200 corresponding to the control channel to switch to output a constantly lit orange light signal (i.e., the second indicator signal) to inform the user that the load device 20 connected to the control channel is currently in a powered-on state. Correspondingly, when the load device 20 controlled by a certain control channel of the intelligent controller 10 is currently powered on, the indicator unit 200 corresponding to the control channel sends out a constantly lit orange light signal (i.e., the second indicator signal) as a status indicator light for the control channel, to inform the user that the load device 20 controlled by the control channel is currently powered on. If the intelligent controller 10 receives a selection command from a button pressed (local physical trigger) or a control signal sent by the intelligent terminal 30 (remote trigger), it controls the switching element (relay, MOSFET, etc.) corresponding to the control channel to disconnect to switch the power supply state of the load device 20 to the power-off state. At the same time, it controls the indicator unit 200 corresponding to the control channel to switch to outputting a blue light signal (i.e., the first indicator signal) as a backlight to inform the user that the load device 20 connected to the control channel is currently powered off.

[0100] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "an embodiment," "an example," "a specific implementation process," and "an example" indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0101] Finally, it should be noted that the above are merely some embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and alterations made to the above embodiments shall still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A status indication device, suitable for being installed in an intelligent controller to indicate the operating status of the intelligent controller, characterized in that, The status indication device includes: The driving component is used to output the driving voltage; Indicator unit, including: A first indicator is electrically connected to the drive assembly and is capable of emitting a first indicator signal in response to the drive voltage; The second indicator is electrically connected to the drive assembly and the first indicator. The passive control terminal of the first indicator is directly or indirectly connected to the active control terminal of the second indicator. The first indicator is capable of being turned off when a second indicator signal is issued in response to the drive voltage. The driving component includes N+1 driving ports A1~A1. N+1 There are N indicator units, each corresponding one-to-one with one of the N control channels of the intelligent controller; and all the first indicator elements of the N indicator units are directly or indirectly controlled by the drive port A1 of the drive component, and the second indicator elements of the N indicator units are sequentially directly or indirectly controlled by the drive ports A2 to A3 of the drive component. N+1 N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; The driving component includes: The selection unit is used to receive a selection control and output a corresponding selection signal; A voltage control unit is electrically connected to the selection unit to receive the selection signal and output the drive voltage through a drive port corresponding to the selection signal; Furthermore, the voltage control unit is further configured to, when the received selection signal is the first selection signal among at least two selection signals, continuously apply a first voltage to the first indicator in the corresponding indicator unit during a first time period to form a lighting phase of the indicator unit, and continuously apply a second voltage to the first indicator during a second time period to form a extinguishing phase of the indicator unit; wherein the lighting phase and the extinguishing phase are sequentially cycled to form the first indicator signal of the indicator unit; The voltage control unit is further configured to continuously apply a third voltage to the second indicator in the corresponding indicator unit when the received selection signal is the second selection signal among at least two selection signals, so that the second indicator is lit up to form a second indicator signal of the indicator unit.

2. The status indication device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second indicator includes a second control terminal, which is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the drive ports A2~A of the drive assembly. N+1 Any one of them, so that it can be driven by the driving voltage to emit a second indication signal; The first instruction includes: The first control terminal is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the drive port A1 of the drive component so that it can be driven by the drive voltage to emit a first indication signal. The second control terminal is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the second control terminal of the second indicator, so that the first indicator can be turned off when the second indicator emits a second indicator signal.

3. The status indication device according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The voltage control unit is also used to change the duration of the lighting phase according to an external configuration command sent by a smart terminal.

4. The status indication device according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The third voltage may be the same as or different from the first voltage.

5. The status indication device according to claim 4, characterized in that, There are N selection units: B1~B N Each corresponds to one of the N indicator units C1~C N Among them, select unit B. i Used to output corresponding to the indicator unit C in response to selection control. i The first selection signal or the second selection signal; the value of i can be any value from 1 to N.

6. The status indication device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The selection unit includes a switching element. Correspondingly, the selection control includes physical control of triggering a switching element to select a corresponding indicator unit. If an indicator unit currently issues a first indicator signal, the corresponding switching element outputs a specified level to form a second selection signal to the voltage control unit when triggered. If an indicator unit currently issues a second indicator signal, the corresponding switching element outputs a specified level to form a first selection signal to the voltage control unit when triggered.

7. The status indication device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first indicator includes a first light-emitting diode, the anode of which is formed as a first control terminal of the first indicator, and the cathode of which is formed as a third control terminal of the first indicator; the second indicator includes a second light-emitting diode, the anode of which is formed as a second control terminal of the second indicator; the first light-emitting diode and the second light-emitting diode emit different colors.

8. An intelligent controller, characterized in that, include: The status indication device as described in any one of claims 1-7; Multiple control channels are provided, and each control channel is provided with an indicator unit of the status indicator device to indicate the working status of the control channel.

9. The intelligent controller according to claim 8, characterized in that, The intelligent controller is configured to: when the load device connected to the control channel is in a power-off state, control the indicator unit to send out a first indicator signal, and when the load device connected to the control channel is in a power-on state, send out a second indicator signal.

10. A control system, characterized in that, include: The intelligent controller as described in claim 8 or 9 is electrically connected to at least one load device to control the on / off state of the power supply circuit of the load device; and, The intelligent terminal establishes a direct or indirect wireless communication relationship with the intelligent controller. The intelligent controller is provided with a status indication device as described in any one of claims 1-7. The intelligent controller is configured to switch the power supply status of the load device and change the first indication signal and the second indication signal when it receives a local selection instruction or a selection instruction sent by the intelligent terminal.

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