Control system

Abstract

To provide a control system that can acquire accurate data while suppressing communication volume.SOLUTION: A control system according to the present disclosure includes a terminal device that acquires data in a first period and integrates the data to calculate integrated data, and a control apparatus that monitors the integrated data. The monitoring of the integrated data for the terminal device is performed in a second period that is longer than the first period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to control systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a lighting control system comprising a lighting fixture, a terminal device that controls the operation of the lighting fixture, and a controller that causes the terminal device to control the operation of the lighting fixture. The terminal device turns on the lighting fixture at a reference dimming rate. While the lighting fixture is turned on at the reference dimming rate, the lighting fixture measures a light source reference power, which is the power consumption of the lighting fixture at the reference dimming rate, and transmits the measured light source reference power to the terminal. The terminal device transmits the light source reference power and the standby power of the lighting fixture to the controller. The controller calculates the power consumption of the lighting fixture from the sum of the standby power and the product of the light source reference power and the dimming rate of the lighting fixture. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7059800 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the system of Patent Document 1, the lighting controller acquires power consumption data from each terminal device at a predetermined interval. Furthermore, if the management device is to display the power consumption amount in Wh, the management device must periodically acquire power consumption data from the lighting controller. The accuracy of the power consumption amount depends on the interval at which the management device acquires power consumption data from the lighting controller and the interval at which the lighting controller acquires power consumption data from each terminal device. Therefore, if accurate power consumption data is desired, these intervals must be shortened.

[0005] On the one hand, when the period for acquiring power consumption is shortened, the communication volume between the management device and the lighting controller, and between the lighting controller and the lighting fixtures increases. In particular, in the case of wireless communication, the communication volume is often severely restricted. Therefore, when the communication load increases, there is a possibility that a delay may occur in lighting control or the system may become inoperable. Consequently, it may be difficult to accurately acquire the power consumption amount.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to obtain a control system capable of acquiring accurate data while suppressing the communication volume.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The control system according to the present disclosure includes a terminal device that acquires data in a first period, integrates the data to calculate integrated data, and a control device that monitors the integrated data. The monitoring of the integrated data for the terminal device is executed in a second period that is longer than the first period.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the control system according to the present disclosure, the terminal device acquires data in a first period, integrates the data, and calculates integrated data. Also, the monitoring of the integrated data for the terminal device is executed in a second period that is longer than the first period. Therefore, the integrated data can be acquired as accurate data while suppressing the communication volume.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] The control systems according to the respective embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding components may be denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions may be omitted.

[0011] Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting control system 100 according to Embodiment 1. The lighting control system 100 includes a lighting controller 10, a plurality of lighting fixtures 20, a setter 30, a presence sensor 40, and an illuminance sensor 50. The plurality of lighting fixtures 20, the presence sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50 correspond to terminal devices. Each terminal device, the lighting controller 10, and the setter 30 can exchange data with each other using communication 60. The communication 60 may be wired communication or wireless communication.

[0012] The setter 30 is used for a user to operate or set the lighting controller 10. Further, the setter 30 is used to check the states of the lighting controller 10, the lighting fixtures 20, the presence sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the lighting controller 10 according to Embodiment 1. The lighting controller 10 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a status display unit 13. The communication unit 12 communicates with the lighting fixture 20, the setting device 30, the human presence sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50 via communication 60. The control unit 11 collects the statuses of the lighting fixture 20, the human presence sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50 via the communication unit 12. Further, the control unit 11 controls the lighting fixture 20 via the communication unit 12 based on the information received from the setting device 30, the human presence sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50. The control unit 11 can be configured by one or more control devices such as a microcomputer and a processor. The status display unit 16 displays the status of the lighting controller 10.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the lighting fixture 20 according to Embodiment 1. The lighting fixture 20 includes a control unit 21, a communication unit 22, an LED control unit 23, and an LED light source unit 24. The communication unit 22 receives a dimming control signal or the like from the lighting controller 10, the setting device 30, the human presence sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50. The control unit 21 controls each part of the lighting fixture 20 according to the wireless signal received by the communication unit 22. The control unit 21 can be configured by one or more control devices such as a microcomputer and a processor. The LED control unit 23 controls the LED light source unit 24. The LED control unit 23 controls, for example, the power supplied to the LED light source unit 24 according to a control signal from the control unit 21. The LED control unit 23 may have, for example, a switching power supply circuit or the like. The LED light source unit 24 has a light source. The light source is a light emitting element such as an LED.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the human presence sensor 40 according to Embodiment 1. The human presence sensor 40 includes a control unit 41, a communication unit 42, and a human presence sensor unit 43. The communication unit 42 receives settings related to human presence sensor control from the lighting controller 10 or the setting device 30. The control unit 41 transmits information on the presence or absence of a person to the lighting controller 10 via the communication unit 42 based on the detection result of the human presence sensor unit 43. The control unit 41 can be configured by one or more control devices such as a microcomputer and a processor.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the illuminance sensor 50 according to Embodiment 1. The illuminance sensor 50 includes a control unit 51, a communication unit 52, and a brightness sensor unit 53. The communication unit 52 receives settings related to illuminance sensor control from the lighting controller 10 or the setting device 30. The control unit 51 transmits illuminance information to the lighting controller 10 via the communication unit 52 based on the brightness information of the brightness sensor unit 53. The control unit 51 can be configured by one or more control devices such as a microcomputer and a processor.

[0017] Hereinafter, a method for the setting device 30 to acquire the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 will be described. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the operation when the setting device 30 according to Embodiment 1 acquires the power consumption of each lighting fixture 20 one by one. The lighting fixture 20 acquires its own power consumption in the first cycle, integrates the acquired power consumption, and calculates integrated data.

[0018] Specifically, the control unit 21 of the lighting fixture 20 transmits a power consumption acquisition signal to the LED control unit 23 at a short first cycle, for example, a 1-second cycle. The LED control unit 23 transmits the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 or the LED light source unit 24 as a response. The control unit 21 converts the acquired power consumption into the power consumption per second and integrates it every second. In this way, the control unit 21 integrates the power consumption with respect to the time axis and calculates the power consumption, which is the integrated data. Thereby, accurate power consumption can be calculated as the integrated data. Integration indicates an operation of adding the acquired data one after another, for example.

[0019] When the setting device 30 acquires the power consumption, it requests a power consumption acquisition signal from the lighting controller 10. In response, the lighting controller 10 transmits a power consumption acquisition signal to the lighting fixture 20. When the communication unit 22 of the lighting fixture 20 receives the power consumption acquisition signal from the lighting controller 10, it responds with the power consumption held by the control unit 21. When the lighting controller 10 receives the power consumption response from the lighting fixture 20, it transmits the power consumption response to the setting device 30. Thereby, the setting device 30 can acquire the power consumption, which is the integrated data.

[0020] The monitoring of the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 is executed in a second period longer than the first period. The setter 30 or the lighting controller 10 monitors the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 in the second period. Therefore, the setter 30 or the lighting controller 10 can acquire integrated data, which is accurate data, while suppressing the communication volume.

[0021] Also, when the lighting fixture 20 is replaced, the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 is reset. The setter 30 may set, via the lighting controller 10, the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 before replacement to the lighting fixture 20. The lighting fixture 20 integrates the power consumption with respect to the set power consumption and calculates integrated data. Thereby, the integrated data can be acquired in consideration of the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 before replacement.

[0022] The lighting controller 10 monitors the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 in a long second period, and the lighting controller 10 may hold the power consumption for each second period. For example, the lighting controller 10 monitors the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 every hour and accumulates the power consumption every hour. By the setter 30 acquiring the power consumption every hour from the lighting controller 10, the user can know the power consumption every hour.

[0023] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the operation when the lighting controller 10 according to the first embodiment collectively acquires the power consumption of the lighting fixtures. The lighting controller 10 requests a power consumption acquisition signal by broadcast to a plurality of lighting fixtures 20. When the communication unit 22 of each lighting fixture 20 receives the power consumption acquisition signal, it responds with the power consumption held by the control unit 21. Each lighting fixture 20 may provide a waiting time before responding with the power consumption. Thereby, it is possible to avoid a plurality of lighting fixtures 20 responding simultaneously. The waiting time may be generated based on the address individually held by the lighting fixture 20, or may be generated from unique data such as a MAC address.

[0024] The setter 30 acquires the power consumption of each lighting fixture 20 from the lighting controller 10. The lighting controller 10 may calculate the total value of the power consumption of a plurality of lighting fixtures 20. For example, when the lighting controller 10 has information on the group assignment of the lighting fixtures 20, the setter 30 can acquire the total value of the power consumption of a specific group from the lighting controller 10. When the lighting controller 10 is requested for the power consumption of a specific group from the setter 30, it sums up the power consumption of all the lighting fixtures 20 included in the group and responds with the power consumption of the group.

[0025] The lighting fixture 20 of the present embodiment acquires data in a first cycle, integrates the acquired data, and calculates integrated data. Monitoring of the integrated data for the lighting fixture 20 is performed in a second cycle longer than the first cycle. In the present embodiment, an example where the data is the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20 has been described, but the data may be any data that can be integrated with respect to the time axis and is not limited to power consumption. Examples of data other than power consumption are shown below.

[0026] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the operation when the setter 30 according to Embodiment 1 acquires the occupancy ratio of the human sensor 40. In the example of FIG. 8, the human sensor 40 integrates the count value of the presence or absence of a person as data and calculates integrated data. Specifically, the control unit 41 of the human sensor 40 receives the detection result of presence or absence from the human sensor unit 43. The control unit 41 counts the presence or absence, for example, in a short first cycle such as a 1-second cycle. The control unit 41 integrates the count value of the presence or absence and calculates the occupancy ratio as integrated data.

[0027] The setter 30 acquires the occupancy ratio of the human sensor 40 via the lighting controller 10. It can be understood that the higher the occupancy ratio of the human sensor 40, the higher the frequency of people staying. Monitoring of the occupancy ratio for the human sensor 40 is performed in a second cycle longer than the first cycle.

[0028] In addition, the illuminance sensor 50 may integrate the illuminance values as data to calculate an integrated illuminance value as integrated data. Specifically, the control unit 51 of the illuminance sensor 50 acquires the illuminance value from the brightness sensor unit 53 at a short first period. The control unit 51 integrates the acquired illuminance values to calculate an integrated illuminance value as integrated data. The monitoring of the integrated illuminance value for the illuminance sensor 50 is executed at a second period longer than the first period. It can be understood that the higher the integrated illuminance value, the brighter the periphery of the illuminance sensor 50. For example, when the integrated illuminance value is higher than a predetermined value, the power consumption can be reduced by lowering the dimming rate of the surrounding lighting fixture 20.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the setting device 30 or the lighting controller 10 is described as an example of the control device for monitoring the integrated data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any device capable of communicating with the terminal device can be adopted as the control device.

[0030] The types and numbers of terminal devices such as the plurality of lighting fixtures 20, the human sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50 are not limited. When the control system includes the lighting fixture 20 as a terminal device, the lighting fixture 20 may be one or more.

[0031] The above-described modifications can be appropriately applied to the control system according to the following embodiment. Since the control system according to the following embodiment has many common points with the first embodiment, the description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0032] Embodiment 2. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting control system 101 according to Embodiment 2. The lighting control system 101 is different from the lighting control system 100 in that it does not include the lighting controller 10. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the user directly operates or sets the lighting fixture 20, the human sensor 40, and the illuminance sensor 50 by the setting device 30.

[0033] The human sensor 40 and the illuminance sensor 50 directly control the lighting fixture 20 without going through the lighting controller 10. In this way, the lighting fixture 20 can be controlled even when there is no lighting controller 10. Also, in the present embodiment, the setting device 30 can directly obtain integrated data such as the power consumption of the lighting fixture 20, the occupancy ratio of the human sensor 40, or the integrated illuminance value of the illuminance sensor 50 without going through the lighting controller 10.

[0034] The technical features described in the present embodiment may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0035] Hereinafter, various aspects of the present disclosure will be collectively described as appendices. (Appendix 1) A terminal device that acquires data in a first cycle, integrates the data, and calculates integrated data, A control device that monitors the integrated data, Comprising, The monitoring of the integrated data for the terminal device is performed in a second cycle that is longer than the first cycle. A control system characterized by this. (Appendix 2) The control device monitors the integrated data for the terminal device in the second cycle. The control system according to Appendix 1, characterized by this. (Appendix 3) Comprising a setting device, The control device transmits the integrated data to the setting device. The control system according to Appendix 2, characterized by this. (Appendix 4) Comprising a plurality of the terminal devices, The control device calculates the total value of the integrated data of the plurality of terminal devices. The control system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 3, characterized by this. (Appendix 5) The data is the power consumption of the terminal device. The control system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 4, characterized by this. (Appendix 6) The control device sets the power consumption for the terminal device, The terminal device calculates the integrated data by integrating the data with respect to the set power consumption, and is the control system according to appended note 5, characterized in that. (Appended note 7) The control system according to appended note 6, characterized in that the power consumption is the power consumption of the terminal device before replacement. (Appended note 8) The control system according to any one of appended notes 1 to 7, characterized in that the terminal device is a lighting fixture. (Appended note 9) The terminal device is a human presence sensor, The control system according to any one of appended notes 1 to 4, characterized in that the data is a count value of the presence or absence of a person. (Appended note 10) The terminal device is an illuminance sensor, The control system according to any one of appended notes 1 to 4, characterized in that the data is an illuminance value.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0036] 10 Lighting controller, 11 Control unit, 12 Communication unit, 13 Status display unit, 16 Status display unit, 20 Lighting fixture, 21 Control unit, 22 Communication unit, 23 LED control unit, 24 LED light source unit, 30 Setter, 40 Human presence sensor, 41 Control unit, 42 Communication unit, 43 Human presence sensor unit, 50 Illuminance sensor, 51 Control unit, 52 Communication unit, 53 Sensor unit, 60 Communication, 100, 101 Lighting control system

Claims

1. A terminal device that acquires data in a first cycle, integrates the data, and calculates integrated data, A control device that monitors the integrated data, Comprising, The monitoring of the integrated data for the terminal device is performed in a second cycle that is longer than the first cycle. A control system characterized by this.

2. The control device monitors the integrated data for the terminal device in the second cycle. The control system according to claim 1, characterized by this.

3. Equipped with a setter, The control device transmits the integrated data to the setter. The control system according to claim 2, characterized by this.

4. Comprising a plurality of the terminal devices, The control device calculates the total value of the integrated data of the plurality of terminal devices. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

5. The data is the power consumption of the terminal device. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

6. The control device sets a power consumption amount for the terminal device, The terminal device integrates the data with respect to the set power consumption amount and calculates the integrated data. The control system according to claim 5, characterized by this.

7. The power consumption amount is the power consumption amount before replacement of the terminal device. The control system according to claim 6, characterized by this.

8. The terminal device is a lighting fixture. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

9. The terminal device is a human presence sensor, The data is a count value of the presence or absence of a person. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

10. The terminal device is an illuminance sensor, The data is an illuminance value. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

Images