Lighting control system

Abstract

To provide a lighting control system that enables a user to recognize that firmware is being updated in a lighting apparatus.SOLUTION: A lighting control system comprises an actuator for transmitting firmware for updating and a lighting apparatus that receives the firmware for updating and updates firmware stored in a storage device on the basis of the firmware for updating. The lighting control system executes at least one of processing of notifying a user of starting and finishing transmission of the firmware for updating from the actuator and processing of changing a lighting state of a light source of the lighting apparatus depending on a progress situation of reception of the firmware for updating at the lighting apparatus or a progress situation of updating.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In the lighting fixture of Patent Document 1, when the firmware version stored in memory differs from the version in other lighting fixtures, a technology is disclosed for repairing and updating the firmware so that it matches the version in the other lighting fixtures, thereby making it possible to match the firmware version with other lighting fixtures. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2017-529674 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the above-mentioned method, the user cannot recognize that the firmware of the lighting fixture is being updated. During a firmware update, the lighting fixture often does not operate normally, which may lead to the user mistaking it for a malfunction.

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure aims to provide a lighting control system that allows a user to recognize that firmware in a lighting fixture is being updated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the present disclosure is an operating device that transmits firmware for update; a lighting fixture that receives the update firmware and updates firmware stored in a storage device based on the update firmware; Equipped with a process of notifying a user by the controller that transmission of the firmware update from the controller has started and completed; and a process of changing the lighting state of a light source of the lighting device in accordance with the progress of reception of the firmware update or the progress of the update in the lighting device; It is desirable that the lighting control system is configured to perform at least one of the above.

[0007] The second aspect is a first lighting fixture that transmits firmware updates; a second lighting fixture that receives the update firmware and updates firmware stored in a storage device based on the update firmware; Equipped with a process of changing the lighting state of a light source of the first lighting device according to the progress of transmission of the firmware update from the first lighting device; and changing the lighting state of a light source of the second lighting device in accordance with the progress of reception of the update firmware or the progress of the update in the second lighting device; Preferably, the lighting control system is configured to perform at least one of the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the present disclosure, the controller notifies the user when the transmission of firmware update from the controller to the lighting fixture has started and completed. Alternatively, the lighting state of the lighting fixture's light source is changed depending on the progress of the transmission and reception of firmware update or the progress of the update in the lighting fixture. This makes it possible to provide a lighting control system that allows the user to recognize that the firmware in the lighting fixture is being updated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lighting control system of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting fixture according to the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how firmware is updated in each lighting fixture. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding components will be designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description may be omitted.

[0011] Embodiment 1 1 is a block diagram of a lighting control system 100 of the present disclosure. The lighting control system 100 includes an operator 20 and a plurality of lighting fixtures 10.

[0012] The controller 20 is connected to each lighting fixture 10 via wireless communication, performing one-to-one unicast communication or one-to-many broadcast communication. Wireless communication may use Bluetooth® Classic, which complies with the IEEE 802.15.1 standard, or Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) in the 2.4 GHz band. However, the wireless communication method is not limited to these. The controller 20 and each lighting fixture 10 may also be connected via wired communication.

[0013] Controller 20 transmits a lighting operation signal to lighting fixture 10 so that the lighting state input by the user is realized. The lighting state input by the user may be, for example, a dimming condition, a color adjustment condition, a fade time, etc. of the light source.

[0014] The controller 20 retrieves the update firmware 51 from an external device either automatically or by user operation. The update firmware 51 may be retrieved via the Internet, or by connecting an external storage device that stores the update firmware 51 to the controller 20 and copying it to the storage device within the controller 20.

[0015] The controller 20 transmits update firmware 51 (not shown) via unicast communication to the lighting fixture 10 specified by the user. While transmitting update firmware 51, the controller 20 executes a process (controller-side update notification process) to notify the user that transmission of update firmware 51 has started and completed. This allows the user to recognize that the firmware in the lighting fixture 10 is being updated.

[0016] The method of notifying the user may be a display on a built-in display, lighting of an indicator light, or sound, or other methods may be used.

[0017] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of lighting device 10 of the present disclosure. Lighting device 10 includes control circuit 11, communication device 12, LED drive circuit 13, LED module 14 as a light source, and storage device 15.

[0018] The communication device 12 is an interface for wireless communication with the controller 20 or other lighting fixtures 10.

[0019] The control circuit 11 realizes its functions by executing firmware stored in the storage device 15 using a computer with a built-in CPU or an integrated circuit such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). When update firmware 51 is received via the communication device 12, the control circuit 11 updates the firmware stored in the storage device 15 based on the update firmware 51. After the update, the control circuit 11 turns off the power to the computer or FPGA, turns the power back on, and then reads the update firmware 51 from the storage device 15.

[0020] Here, updating the firmware includes not only replacing the existing firmware in the storage device 15 with the update firmware 51, but also writing the update firmware 51 additionally while leaving the existing firmware.

[0021] When receiving a lighting operation signal from the communication device 12, the control circuit 11 determines the lighting conditions of the light source so as to realize the lighting state desired by the user, and transmits a control command to the LED drive circuit 13.

[0022] The LED drive circuit 13 supplies power to drive the LED module 14 based on a control command from the control circuit 11. Note that the LED module 14 may be replaced by an incandescent lamp or the like.

[0023] The storage device 15 is, for example, a volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, a ROM, or a flash memory, or a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a DVD, or the like.

[0024] The following describes how a user uses controller 20 to send update firmware 51 to one lighting fixture 10, triggering a firmware update, and then each lighting fixture 10 autonomously updates its firmware. For the sake of explanation, the multiple lighting fixtures 10 are referred to as lighting fixtures 10-1, ..., 10-4. However, the following description is applicable to each of lighting fixtures 10-1, ..., 10-4, and when there is no need to distinguish between them, they will simply be referred to as lighting fixture 10.

[0025] First, as shown in Fig. 3, controller 20 transmits update firmware 51 via unicast communication to one lighting fixture 10 designated by the user. In this example, update firmware 51 is transmitted to lighting fixture 10-1. Controller 20 then executes the controller-side update notification process described above.

[0026] Upon receiving update firmware 51, lighting fixture 10-1 updates its firmware.

[0027] While receiving the update firmware 51, the lighting fixture 10-1 executes a process (receiving side update notification process) that changes the lighting state of the LED module 14 depending on the progress of the reception of the update firmware 51, and notifies the user that the firmware is being updated.

[0028] For example, the firmware update status can be notified by changing the color temperature when reception of the update firmware 51 starts and when reception is completed, with the color temperature set to a first color temperature and the color temperature set to a second color temperature. The first color temperature is, for example, 2700K, and the second color temperature is, for example, 6500K, but these values ​​are merely examples and are not limiting. The color temperature of the light source may also be changed sequentially between the first and second color temperatures depending on the progress of reception. However, the method of changing the lighting state is not limited to this, and the light source may also be flashed, for example.

[0029] Furthermore, the timing for changing the lighting state of the LED module 14 does not have to be limited to when the update firmware 51 is being received. For example, if the update is started some time after the update firmware 51 is received, the lighting state may be changed depending on the progress of the update during the period from the start of the update to the completion of the update.

[0030] The light source that changes the lighting state is not limited to the LED module 14, but may be an indicator light or the like attached to the housing of the lighting fixture 10 or the like.

[0031] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, lighting fixture 10-1, which has completed the firmware update, broadcasts update firmware information 52 containing information about the ID and version of update firmware 51 to the other lighting fixtures 10 (update firmware information transmission process).

[0032] Note that the transmission of update firmware information 52 does not necessarily have to be by broadcast communication, but by using broadcast communication, update firmware information 52 can be quickly transmitted to multiple lighting fixtures 10 whose firmware has not yet been updated.

[0033] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the lighting fixtures 10 (here, lighting fixtures 10-2, 10-3, and 10-4) that received the update firmware information 52 perform a process (ID determination process) to determine whether the ID of the firmware they own matches the ID indicated in the update firmware information 52.

[0034] In addition to lighting fixtures 10, lighting control system 100 also includes various terminal devices such as sensor control devices (not shown) and wall switches (not shown), and each type of terminal device requires different firmware. Therefore, by assigning a different ID to each type of firmware, lighting fixtures 10 can determine whether the firmware relates to them based on the ID.

[0035] If the ID determination process determines that the IDs match, the lighting fixture 10 further performs a process (version determination process) to determine whether the version of the firmware it owns for that ID is older than the version indicated in the update firmware information 52. If the version is older, the lighting fixture 10 adds information about the version of the firmware it owns for that ID and then performs a process (request transmission process) to transmit firmware request 53 to the other lighting fixtures 10 via broadcast communication. In this example, request 53 is transmitted from lighting fixture 10-2, lighting fixture 10-3, and lighting fixture 10-4.

[0036] Note that request 53 does not necessarily have to be sent by broadcast communication, but by using broadcast communication, request 53 can be quickly transmitted to lighting fixtures 10 whose firmware has been updated.

[0037] Next, as shown in Fig. 6, lighting device 10-1, which has received request 53, transmits firmware update 51 by unicast communication with one of the other lighting devices 10 that sent request 53. In the case of Fig. 6, lighting device 10-1 is transmitting firmware update 51 to lighting device 10-2.

[0038] If requests 53 are received from multiple lighting fixtures, firmware update 51 may be sent to the lighting fixture 10 that first received request 53. Alternatively, firmware update 51 may be sent to the lighting fixture 10 with the greatest signal strength indicator (RSSI) when request 53 was received.

[0039] Lighting fixture 10-1 transmitting firmware update 51 executes a process (transmitter update notification process) that changes the illumination state of LED module 14, which serves as the light source, depending on the progress of the transmission, and notifies the user that the firmware is being updated in lighting fixture 10-2. For example, lighting fixture 10-1 changes the illumination state at the start and end of transmission, with a first illumination state set as the dimming value at the start of transmission of firmware update 51 and a second illumination state set as the dimming value at the end of transmission. The first illumination state is, for example, 5% and the second illumination state is, for example, 100%, but these values ​​are merely examples and are not limiting. Alternatively, the illumination state may be changed sequentially between the first illumination state and the second illumination state depending on the progress of transmission. However, the illumination state may be changed by, for example, blinking the light source.

[0040] By changing the method of changing the lighting state between lighting fixtures 10 that send and receive update firmware 51, it is possible to notify the user which is the sender and which is the receiver.

[0041] The light source that changes the lighting state is not limited to the LED module 14, but may be an indicator light or the like attached to a housing or the like.

[0042] Upon receiving update firmware 51, lighting fixture 10-2 updates its firmware and executes the above-described receiver-side update notification process.

[0043] Next, as shown in FIG. 7, lighting fixture 10-1 and lighting fixture 10-2, which have completed the firmware update, execute the above-described update firmware information transmission process.

[0044] 8, the lighting fixtures 10 (here, lighting fixtures 10-3 and 10-4) that received the update firmware information 52 execute the ID determination process described above, and if a match is found between the IDs, they then execute the version determination process described above. If the version of the firmware they own is found to be older than the version indicated in the update firmware information 52, the lighting fixtures 10 execute the request transmission process described above.

[0045] 9, at least one of the lighting fixtures 10 that have completed the firmware update (here, lighting fixture 10-1 and lighting fixture 10-2) executes the above-described firmware transmission process by receiving request 53. In this example, lighting fixture 10-1 transmits update firmware 51 to lighting fixture 10-3, and lighting fixture 10-2 transmits update firmware 51 to lighting fixture 10-4.

[0046] The lighting fixture 10 that sends the update firmware 51 executes the sender-side update notification process described above. The lighting fixture 10 that receives the update firmware 51 updates its firmware and executes the receiver-side update notification process described above. In this way, the firmware update is completed for all lighting fixtures 10.

[0047] The user can recognize that the firmware update for all lighting devices 10 has been completed when the lighting states of the light sources of all lighting devices 10 no longer change.

[0048] As described above, in the present disclosure, controller 20 notifies the user when transmission of update firmware 51 from controller 20 to lighting device 10 has started and completed. Alternatively, the lighting state of the light source of lighting device 10 is changed depending on the progress of transmission and reception of update firmware 51 or the progress of the update in lighting device 10. This makes it possible to provide a lighting control system that allows the user to know that firmware in the lighting device is being updated.

[0049] <Variation 1> There does not necessarily have to be multiple lighting fixtures 10. If there is only one lighting fixture 10 whose firmware needs to be updated, controller 20 can transmit update firmware 51 to that lighting fixture 10, and controller-side update notification processing can be executed. Furthermore, the lighting fixture 10 that receives update firmware 51 can execute receiver-side update notification processing.

[0050] <Variation 2> When updating firmware 51 is transmitted and received between controller 20 and lighting fixtures 10, it is sufficient to execute at least one of the controller-side update notification process performed by controller 20 and the receiving-side update notification process performed by lighting fixtures 10, and in this case, the same effect as described above can be achieved. Similarly, when updating firmware 51 is transmitted and received between lighting fixtures 10, it is sufficient to execute at least one of the sending-side update notification process and the receiving-side update notification process, and in this case, the same effect as described above can be achieved.

[0051] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the embodiments and modifications may be implemented in appropriate combinations, in which case the combined effects can be obtained.

[0052] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices. (Appendix 1) an operating device that transmits firmware for update; a lighting fixture that receives the update firmware and updates firmware stored in a storage device based on the update firmware; Equipped with a process of notifying a user by the controller that transmission of the firmware update from the controller has started and completed; and a process of changing the lighting state of a light source of the lighting device in accordance with the progress of reception of the firmware update or the progress of the update in the lighting device; a lighting control system configured to perform at least one of the above. (Appendix 2) a first lighting fixture that transmits firmware updates; a second lighting fixture that receives the update firmware and updates firmware stored in a storage device based on the update firmware; Equipped with a process of changing the lighting state of a light source of the first lighting device according to the progress of transmission of the firmware update from the first lighting device; and changing the lighting state of a light source of the second lighting device in accordance with the progress of reception of the update firmware or the progress of the update in the second lighting device; a lighting control system configured to perform at least one of the above. (Appendix 3) The second lighting fixture comprises: a process of receiving update firmware information including information on an ID and a version of the update firmware before receiving the update firmware; a process of determining whether or not the ID of the firmware stored in the storage device matches the ID indicated by the update firmware information; If a match between the IDs is found, a process of further determining whether the version of the firmware corresponding to the ID stored in the storage device is older than the version indicated by the update firmware information; a request sending process of sending a request for the firmware update to the first lighting device when the version is determined to be old; Run The lighting control system of claim 2, wherein the first lighting fixture transmits the update firmware to the second lighting fixture by accepting the request. (Appendix 4) Equipped with a third lighting fixture, 4. The lighting control system of claim 3, wherein in the request sending process, the request is sent to the first lighting device and the third lighting device. (Appendix 5) Equipped with a third lighting fixture, 5. The lighting control system of claim 3, wherein the second lighting fixture transmits the update firmware information to the third lighting fixture upon completing the update to the update firmware. (Appendix 6) 5. A lighting control system as described in Appendix 4, wherein the request is transmitted by broadcast communication. (Appendix 7) The lighting control system according to claim 5, wherein the update firmware information is transmitted by broadcast communication. (Appendix 8) A lighting control system as described in any one of Appendix 2 to Appendix 7, wherein the method of changing the lighting state of the light source of the first lighting device in accordance with the progress of transmission of the update firmware is different from the method of changing the lighting state of the light source of the second lighting device in accordance with the progress of receiving the update firmware or the progress of the update. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 10 Lighting fixtures 11 Control circuit 12 Communication equipment 13 LED drive circuit 14 LED modules 15 Storage device 20 Controller 51 Firmware update 52 Firmware update information 53 requests 100 Lighting Control System

Claims

1. an operating device that transmits firmware for update; a lighting fixture that receives the update firmware and updates firmware stored in a storage device based on the update firmware; Equipped with a process of notifying a user by the controller that transmission of the firmware update from the controller has started and completed; and a process of changing the lighting state of a light source of the lighting device in accordance with the progress of reception of the firmware update or the progress of the update in the lighting device; a lighting control system configured to perform at least one of the above.

2. a first lighting fixture that transmits firmware updates; a second lighting fixture that receives the update firmware and updates firmware stored in a storage device based on the update firmware; Equipped with a process of changing the lighting state of a light source of the first lighting device according to the progress of transmission of the firmware update from the first lighting device; and a process of changing a lighting state of a light source of the second lighting device in accordance with a progress status of reception of the update firmware or a progress status of the update in the second lighting device; a lighting control system configured to perform at least one of the above.

3. The second lighting fixture comprises: a process of receiving update firmware information including information on an ID and a version of the update firmware before receiving the update firmware; a process of determining whether or not the ID of the firmware stored in the storage device matches the ID indicated by the update firmware information; If a match between the IDs is found, a process of further determining whether the version of the firmware corresponding to the ID stored in the storage device is older than the version indicated by the update firmware information; a request sending process of sending a request for the firmware update to the first lighting device when the version is determined to be old; Run The lighting control system according to claim 2 , wherein the first lighting fixture transmits the update firmware to the second lighting fixture by accepting the request.

4. a third lighting fixture; The lighting control system according to claim 3 , wherein in the request transmission process, the request is transmitted to the first lighting fixture and the third lighting fixture.

5. a third lighting fixture; 5. The lighting control system according to claim 3, wherein the second lighting fixture transmits the update firmware information to the third lighting fixture upon completing the update to the update firmware.

6. The lighting control system according to claim 4 , wherein the request is transmitted by broadcast communication.

7. The lighting control system according to claim 5 , wherein the update firmware information is transmitted by broadcast communication.

8. 4. The lighting control system of claim 2, wherein a method for changing the lighting state of the light source of the first lighting fixture in accordance with the progress of transmission of the update firmware is different from a method for changing the lighting state of the light source of the second lighting fixture in accordance with the progress of reception of the update firmware or the progress of the update.

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