Lighting system

Abstract

This lighting system significantly reduces the effort required of the setup worker when installing multiple lighting fixtures at a given location, compared to conventional methods. [Solution] A lighting system 1 comprising a plurality of lighting fixtures 4 and a lighting control device 6 that wirelessly controls the plurality of lighting fixtures 4, wherein the lighting control device 6 is equipped with a display unit 65 and acquires fixture information representing a group of the plurality of lighting fixtures 4 that are controlled by the same entity, and in setting up to enable control of each lighting fixture installed at the installation location, it acquires fixture identification information that identifies each of the plurality of lighting fixtures 4, displays the fixture information on the display unit 65, and associates the fixture information with the fixture identification information based on user operations performed by referring to the displayed fixture information.

Description

Technical Field

[0004] , ,

[0005] , , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a lighting system that controls a plurality of lighting fixtures by wireless communication.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, when installing a plurality of wirelessly controlled lighting fixtures at an installation site, lighting fixtures of the same model are delivered and installed without being individually distinguished. Therefore, in the set state, it is impossible to distinguish individual lighting fixtures. For this reason, IDs are collected from each lighting fixture, and each lighting fixture is lit one by one by specifying the ID. The ID of the lit lighting fixture is associated with a symbol (iconic image) simulating the lit lighting fixture in a lighting layout diagram that schematically represents the installation site shown on the GUI (Graphical User Interface), and the work of identifying which ID lighting fixture is actually located at which position is performed. Thereafter, settings related to a group for performing the same control on some of the plurality of lighting fixtures, settings related to a scene for collectively controlling a plurality of groups, and settings for controlling the groups and scenes based on a schedule are performed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

[0006] To solve the above problems, a lighting system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a lighting system comprising a plurality of lighting fixtures and a lighting control device that wirelessly controls the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the lighting control device is equipped with a display unit and acquires fixture information that represents a group of the plurality of lighting fixtures that are controlled by the same entity, and in setting up to enable control of each lighting fixture installed at the installation location, it acquires fixture identification information that identifies each of the plurality of lighting fixtures, and associates the fixture identification information selected from the acquired fixture identification information based on user operation with the group. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] With the above configuration, the effort required for workers to configure groups after installing multiple lighting fixtures at their respective locations can be significantly reduced compared to conventional methods. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows the overall configuration of a lighting system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] (a) A block diagram showing the configuration of lighting fixtures that make up the lighting system, and (b) A block diagram showing the configuration of smartphone 6 that makes up the lighting system. [Figure 3] This is a lighting layout diagram showing the arrangement of groups, rooms, and lighting fixtures. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the contents of the room configuration data and group configuration data. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the contents of the equipment name data. [Figure 6](a) A diagram showing an example of a device search GUI, (b) A diagram showing an example of a mapping GUI, and (c) A diagram showing an example of a GUI for mapping lighting fixtures to fixture names. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the associated data. [Figure 8] (a) A diagram showing the contents of the scene data, and (b) A diagram showing the contents of the timetable data. [Figure 9] This diagram shows the contents of the schedule data. [Figure 10] This is a lighting layout diagram with the names of the fixtures written in. [Figure 11] (a) A diagram showing an example of a GUI for group control, and (b) A diagram showing an example of a GUI for scene control. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of a GUI for scheduling. [Figure 13] This figure shows the configuration of a lighting system according to one modified example of the present invention. [Figure 14] This figure shows the configuration of a gateway according to one modified example of the present invention. [Figure 15] (a) A diagram showing an example of a room setting GUI according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and (b) A diagram showing an example of displaying groups included in a room in a tree structure in the room setting GUI. [Figure 16] (a) A diagram showing an example of a room-specific setting GUI according to a third embodiment of the present invention; (b) A diagram showing an example of a screen in the room-specific setting GUI that displays the results of a device search for a communication-enabled lighting fixture 4; (c) A diagram showing an example of a mapping GUI that displays a message indicating that the fixture mapping process is complete. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] <1. First Embodiment> <1.1. Structure> The following describes a lighting system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the lighting system 1.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting system 1 includes a data creation device 2, a cloud 3, a plurality (for example, 20) of lighting fixtures 4-n (n is from 1 to 20) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "lighting fixtures 4") having a wireless communication function, and a smartphone 6 as an example of a lighting control device for controlling the lighting fixtures 4. The cloud 3 is a cloud system as an example of storage means for storing control data, and provides various computing services through a network.

[0012] Here, the lighting fixtures 4 and the smartphone 6 are arranged in a house as an example of an installation location, and the data creation device 2 is arranged at a location separate from the installation location such as the office of the construction contractor of this house. A part of the control data used to control the lighting fixtures 4 is created by a construction contractor or the like (hereinafter, the person who creates the control data is referred to as the "data creator") using the data creation device 2, transmitted to the cloud 3, and stored by the cloud 3. The control data stored in the cloud 3 is downloaded and held by the smartphone 6 and used when controlling the lighting fixtures 4.

[0013] The data creation device 2 is a computer system and includes a display 25 as an example of a display unit. The data creation device 2 can operate data creation software 26. The data creation software 26 is, for example, Microsoft Excel (registered trademark), but is not limited to this. As long as the data creator can input numerical values, characters, etc. neatly and easily understandable in a table format or the like, for example, other spreadsheet software or a text editor may also be used.

[0014] Each of the lighting fixtures 4 and the smartphone 6 communicate with each other wirelessly. Wireless communication shall conform to the BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy) standard, for example. The lighting fixtures 4 and the smartphone 6 form a mesh network, and even if they are outside the wireless range or if there are obstacles that prevent wireless transmission, they can communicate indirectly through the mesh network within the range of the mesh network.

[0015] Each of the lighting fixtures 4 is equipped with multiple LED (Light Emitting Diode) packages of different colors (for example, high color temperature white and low color temperature white), and the color temperature and other color tuning values ​​when the lighting fixture 4 emits light change depending on the balance of the dimming rates of each LED package. In addition, the lighting fixture 4 can receive a specified dimming rate from 0% (off) to 100% (fully lit) and control the light emission state to the specified dimming rate. The lighting fixture 4 receives control signals transmitted by the smartphone 6 and performs operations such as emitting light in accordance with the control signals.

[0016] The smartphone 6 is equipped with a GUI for initial setup, which is a setting made to enable control of the lighting fixture 4 installed at the installation location, and for instructing the lighting fixture 4 to set the dimming rate and chromaticity desired by the user. It controls the operation of the lighting fixture 4 by sending control signals to the lighting fixture 4 based on user input of operation instructions or according to a pre-set schedule.

[0017] <1.1.1. Lighting fixtures 4> The configuration of lighting fixture 4 will be explained below using lighting fixture 4-1 as an example, but the configuration is the same for the other lighting fixtures 4-2, 4-3...4-20.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2(a), the lighting fixture 4-1 comprises a light source unit 40, a circuit unit 43, and a WM (wireless module) unit 44.

[0019] The light source unit 40 comprises a light source made of an LED package and a circuit board on which the light source is arranged. The light source only needs to function as a light source for illumination and may be made of something other than an LED, such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) device. Based on the input control signals, the light source unit 40 performs operations such as turning the light source on and off, changing the dimming rate, and changing the chromaticity (also called "color tuning").

[0020] The circuit unit 43 is equipped with a socket for mounting the WM unit 44 and has the function of supplying a DC current to the light source unit 40 in accordance with the control signal received from the WM unit 44.

[0021] The WM unit 44 is a wireless communication module, configured as a removable standalone device, and is detachable from the socket of the circuit unit 43. The WM unit 44 is capable of wireless communication according to multiple communication specifications, but is not limited to this; for example, a dedicated WM unit 44 may be provided for each different communication specification, and the WM unit 44 corresponding to the communication protocol to be used may be installed in the socket. The WM unit 44 comprises a wireless communication unit 44a and a control unit 44b.

[0022] The wireless communication unit 44a has the function of performing wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 44a functions as a transmitting means for transmitting information and a receiving means for receiving information. The wireless communication unit 44a holds a Media Access Control address (hereinafter referred to as "MAC address") as an example of fixture identification information for individually identifying lighting fixtures 4. The MAC address is also used as the address for wireless communication. When the wireless communication unit 44a receives communication data, if the communication data is addressed to itself, it notifies the control unit 44b, and if the communication data is addressed to another device, it forwards it to the other device via the mesh network.

[0023] The control unit 44b is equipped with an IC (Integrated Circuit) and has the function of controlling the operation of the lighting fixture 4.

[0024] When the control unit 44b receives a control signal related to the operation of the light source, such as turning the light on, turning it off, blinking, increasing the dimming rate, or decreasing the dimming rate, it outputs a control signal to the circuit unit 43 to perform the operation indicated by the received control signal.

[0025] <1.1.2. Smartphone 6> The smartphone 6 is a portable information terminal device with a rectangular, plate-like appearance as shown in Figure 1, and a touch panel 65 embedded on one of its surfaces. The smartphone 6 has the function of controlling the light emission operation of the lighting fixture 4, and displays a GUI on the touch panel 65 for initial setup and controlling the light emission operation of the lighting fixture 4.

[0026] The smartphone 6 determines the operation instruction requested by the user based on the contents of the GUI displayed on the touch panel 65 and user input such as touches to the touch panel 65 and gesture inputs made by the user, and transmits a control signal based on the user input to the lighting fixture 4 to be controlled.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2(b), the smartphone 6 comprises a control unit 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, a wireless communication unit 64, and a touch panel 65.

[0028] ROM62 consists of flash memory and other components, and stores various data including applications, programs, image data to be displayed as a GUI, control programs, and more.

[0029] RAM63 is a memory device into which the control program stored in ROM62 is loaded.

[0030] The touch panel 65 is an electronic component that combines a display unit that displays images and information constituting the GUI and an input unit that receives user instructions, and functions as a user interface. The display unit is, for example, a liquid crystal panel. The input unit is, for example, a touch pad. The touch panel 65 notifies the control unit 61 of the user input.

[0031] The control unit 61 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Each function of the smartphone 6 is realized by the control unit 61 executing a lighting control program that is loaded from the ROM 62 and stored in the RAM 63. The control unit 61 identifies the content of user instructions based on the GUI displayed on the touch panel 65 and the user input notified from the touch panel 65, and executes processing according to the user instructions.

[0032] The wireless communication unit 64 consists of devices that perform wireless communication. The wireless communication unit 64 performs wireless communication with each of the lighting fixtures 4.

[0033] In smartphone 6, it is not necessary to pre-store GUIs and other elements in ROM62; applications capable of displaying GUIs can be downloaded from a server and saved to ROM62. In other words, by having users download applications to smartphones available on the market, these smartphones can be used as a means of user interface.

[0034] <1.2. Settings> <1.2.1. Overview> Lighting fixtures 4 are arranged according to a lighting layout diagram 100 that shows the placement of each lighting fixture in the house. The lighting layout diagram 100 (see Figure 3) is created, for example, by an architectural design firm.

[0035] Although each lighting fixture 4 can be uniquely identified by its fixture identification information, when they are delivered to the installation site, they are delivered as a single unit without any distinction being made as to which fixture identification information each fixture 4 is assigned to. Then, the workers who perform the installation install the lighting fixtures 4 on the ceiling, walls, etc., according to the lighting diagram 100, without distinguishing them individually. As a result, once the installation of the lighting fixtures 4 is complete, it is not possible to determine which lighting fixture 4 is identified by which fixture identification information at which location.

[0036] On the other hand, the lighting fixture 4 is controlled by specifying fixture identification information. Therefore, in this state, it is difficult to identify and control the lighting fixture 4 located in the desired position.

[0037] Therefore, in the lighting system 1, after the lighting fixtures 4 are installed in the house, a smartphone 6 is used to perform a process (hereinafter referred to as "fixture mapping process") to identify which fixture identification information each lighting fixture 4 placed at each installation location possesses. This makes it possible to identify the lighting fixture 4 installed at a particular location using its fixture identification information and to send control signals to control it.

[0038] Furthermore, conventionally, after performing this fixture mapping process, the operator would then perform setting processes (hereinafter referred to as "group setting processes") such as dividing the lighting fixtures 4, whose individual fixture identification information had been revealed, into groups for group control, dividing the groups and lighting fixtures 4 into rooms for room control, and setting up time-based controls for schedule control. However, the burden on the operator to perform these group setting processes was extremely heavy.

[0039] In contrast, in lighting system 1, the information generated by the group setting process is created in advance and stored in cloud 3 before the installation of the lighting fixture 4, and is downloaded to and stored on smartphone 6 at the time of installation.

[0040] As a result, when the device assignment process is completed, data equivalent to that which has already been set up for group configuration is stored in the smartphone 6. Therefore, it is no longer necessary for workers to perform the group configuration process that was previously done when installing the lighting fixtures 4, significantly reducing the workload on workers.

[0041] <1.2.2. Lighting Diagram 100> Figure 3 shows a lighting layout diagram 100 for a portion of a house designed by an architectural firm. The lighting layout diagram 100 shows where each lighting fixture is placed within the house.

[0042] <Room, Group> In the lighting diagram 100, names enclosed in gray rectangles (such as "kitchen" and "pantry") indicate rooms or groups. A group is a collection of lighting fixtures 4 that are controlled by the same system. A room is a collection of one or more groups and / or lighting fixtures 4 that do not belong to any group. Here, rooms include "living room," "kitchen," "pantry," "bathroom," "toilet," "children's room," "bedroom," and "corridor." Groups include "dining room," "sofa," and "indirect lighting," all of which belong to the room "living room." Here, groups and rooms are, for example, dining room and living room, respectively, and also represent the area and location where the lighting fixtures 4 are placed.

[0043] <Symbol> Symbols 101-120 each represent a lighting fixture. The shapes of symbols 101-120 represent classifications of lighting fixtures; for example, a circle represents a downlight, a square represents a square-shaped lighting fixture, and a rectangle represents a long, narrow base light. However, it is not always necessary to distinguish between the shapes of symbols 101-120 when drawing them.

[0044] Lighting diagram 100 is used by the worker when performing the fixture matching process. Therefore, it is assumed that the worker has obtained it before performing the fixture matching process.

[0045] <1.2.3. Group control, scene control, and schedule control> Here, we will explain the group control, scene control, and schedule control (hereinafter collectively referred to as "group control, etc.") used to control multiple lighting fixtures 4 together in the lighting system 1.

[0046] Group control is a method of controlling a group of lighting fixtures 4 as a whole unit. In group control, the same control is applied to all lighting fixtures 4 belonging to the same group. For example, group control can be used to control the dimming rate of all lighting fixtures 4 belonging to the same group to be the same, or to control all lighting fixtures 4 belonging to the same group to be turned off simultaneously.

[0047] Scene control is a control method that operates on a room-by-room basis, which is a collection of groups. In scene control, group control is performed for each of the one or more groups belonging to a room. For example, scene control might cause all lighting fixtures belonging to the first group to be dimmed to 50%, and all lighting fixtures belonging to the second group to be dimmed to 70%.

[0048] Note that a room may belong to just one group, in which case scene control is no different from group control. Furthermore, the term "room" is not intended to have any meaning beyond being a collection of multiple groups, and is not intended to limit control to units of literal "rooms".

[0049] Furthermore, if there are no groups belonging to a room, the lighting fixtures 4 belonging to the room will be controlled collectively as a unit, so the room is essentially the same as a group. In other words, scene control in this case can be considered group control in a broad sense.

[0050] Schedule control is a control system that modifies the operation of lighting fixtures, group control, and / or room control according to the passage of time.

[0051] For example, in a room containing both the first and second groups, at 10:00, the dimming rate of the lighting fixture 4 belonging to the first group is set to 50%, and the dimming rate of the lighting fixture 4 belonging to the second group is set to 70%. Then, at 13:00, the dimming rate of the lighting fixture 4 belonging to the first group is set to 60%, and the dimming rate of the lighting fixture 4 belonging to the second group is set to 77%.

[0052] <1.2.4. Data Creation Process> The following describes the settings for the lighting fixture 4 and the data for controlling the lighting fixture (hereinafter collectively referred to as "fixture information") that are created in advance by the data creation device 2 described above, prior to the installation of the lighting fixture 4.

[0053] <1.2.4.1. Data defining the composition of rooms and groups> <Room configuration data 400> Room configuration data 400, which is an example of equipment information, is data that describes information about the room, and is presented in a tabular format as an example.

[0054] Figure 4 shows the structure of room configuration data 400 and group configuration data 500, which are created using data creation software 26.

[0055] As shown in Figure 4, the room configuration data 400 consists of room configuration data entries, each row corresponding to one room, and each room configuration data entry includes the room ID, room name, fade time, room symbol, and number of units.

[0056] The Room Name indicates the name of the room. The Room ID is identification information that identifies the room. The Fade Time, measured in seconds, indicates the time until the lighting changes to the next state when using scheduled control.

[0057] Room symbols are letters or symbols that make it easy for users to understand what a room is and recognize its content. For example, in the case of room configuration data entry 420, the room symbol is "L," which represents the living room, and is the first letter of the English word "living room."

[0058] Furthermore, the room code only needs to be expressed in a way that is easily recognizable to people. For example, it could be the first two letters of the English translation of the content, the first letter of the Japanese translation (for example, "リ"), or the first two letters "リビ".

[0059] The number refers to the total number of controllable devices, such as lighting fixtures and sensors, included in the room.

[0060] As an example, in the case of room configuration data entry 420 shown in Figure 4, for the room whose room name is "Living Room", the room ID is 1, the fade time is 5, the room symbol is L, and the number of units is 7.

[0061] Furthermore, in the case of room configuration data entry 430, for the room whose room name is "Kitchen", its room ID is 2, fade time is 3, room symbol is K, and number of units is 7.

[0062] The room name and room symbol represent the room to which the lighting fixture belongs, as they are attributes related to each lighting fixture.

[0063] <Group Composition Data 500> Group configuration data 500, which is an example of equipment information, is data that describes information about a group, and is presented in a tabular format as an example.

[0064] As shown in Figure 4, the group configuration data 500 consists of group configuration data entries, each representing a group, and includes the room name of the room to which the group indicated by these group configuration data entries belongs. The group configuration data entries include the group ID, group name, group symbol, and number of units.

[0065] The group name is the name of the group indicated by the group configuration data. The group ID is identification information that identifies the group. The fade time is measured in seconds and is the time until the lighting state changes when using scheduled control.

[0066] A group symbol is a character or symbol that makes it easy to understand the group and its contents for the user. For example, in the case of group configuration data entry 520, the group symbol is "D," which represents the location, the dining room, and is the first letter of the English name for dining room.

[0067] Furthermore, the group symbol only needs to be easily recognizable to people. For example, it could be the first two letters of the English spelling of "dining," or the initial letter "da" or the first two letters "dai" when written in Japanese. It could also represent the location where the lighting fixtures are placed, or the role and purpose of the lighting fixtures, such as for welcoming guests or as footlights.

[0068] The number of units refers to the total number of controllable devices, such as lighting fixtures and sensors, included in the group.

[0069] As an example, in the case of group configuration data entry 520 shown in Figure 4, for the group whose group name is "Dining", the group ID is 1, the group symbol is D, and the number of units is 2.

[0070] In addition, for group configuration data entry 530, the group whose group name is "Sofa" has a group ID of 2, a group symbol of S, and a number of units of 2.

[0071] The group name and group symbol represent the group to which each lighting fixture belongs, as they are attributes related to that fixture.

[0072] <Data on affiliated equipment names: 600> The data generation device 2 generates the affiliated fixture name data 600 by referring to the room configuration data 400 and the group configuration data 500. The affiliated fixture name data 600, which is an example of fixture information, is a list of affiliated fixture name data entries in which each row represents the correspondence between the room name, the group name, and the fixture name of the lighting fixture 4.

[0073] The fixture names included in the affiliated fixture name data 600 are associated with fixture identification information in the fixture mapping process described later. Each fixture name includes characters that represent attributes related to the lighting fixture, such as the room or group to which the lighting fixture belongs.

[0074] The data for the name of the affiliated equipment is automatically generated by the data generation device 2 using the following procedure, as an example.

[0075] (1) The data generation device 2 refers to each room configuration data entry in the room configuration data 400 and generates the same number of affiliated equipment name data entries as the number of units included in each room configuration data entry. The room name in all of the generated affiliated equipment name data entries is the room name from the referenced room configuration data entry.

[0076] For example, when data generation device 2 references room configuration data entry 420, it generates seven data entries for the names of affiliated equipment, indicated by the number of units. In the room name field of all seven generated data entries for the names of affiliated equipment, it enters "Living Room," which is the room name of the referenced room configuration data entry 420. The same process is performed for room configuration data entries other than room configuration data entry 420.

[0077] (2) Next, for each of the group configuration data entries, refer to the one in which the included room name matches the room name in the affiliated equipment name data entry. Then, for each group configuration data entry of the referenced group configuration data, enter the group name of the referenced group configuration data in the group name of the affiliated equipment name data entry whose room name matches, for the number of entries listed.

[0078] For example, when referring to group configuration data entry 520, the room name is "Living Room," which matches the room name of the affiliated equipment name data entries (610, 620, etc.) generated in (1). Since the group name is "Dining Room" and the number of units is "2," "Dining Room" is entered as the group name in two of the affiliated equipment name data entries whose room name is "Living Room" (for example, affiliated equipment name data entries 610 and 620).

[0079] The same process is performed for group configuration data entries other than group configuration data entry 520 for group configuration data data 500.

[0080] Furthermore, if there is group configuration data other than group configuration data 500, the same processing as for group configuration data 500 will be performed.

[0081] Through the above process, the room name and the group name to which the equipment belongs are associated in the affiliated equipment name data 600.

[0082] (3) Next, enter the name of the instrument in the instrument name field of each instrument name data entry.

[0083] The name of the equipment is expressed in the format "Room Symbol_Group Symbol_Sequential Number".

[0084] The room code in the equipment name corresponds to the room name in the equipment name data entry. The correspondence between room names and room codes is recorded in the room configuration data (e.g., 400), and can be identified by referring to this data.

[0085] For example, in the case of the equipment name data entry 610, since the room name is "Living Room", the room symbol listed in the equipment name is "L", which is associated with the room name "Living Room" in the room configuration data 400.

[0086] Furthermore, the group symbol in the instrument name corresponds to the group name in the instrument name data entry. The correspondence between the group name and the group symbol is described in the group configuration data (e.g., 500), and can be determined by referring to this data.

[0087] For example, in the case of equipment name data entry 610, the group name is "Dining," so the group symbol listed in the equipment name is "D," which corresponds to the group name "Dining."

[0088] The sequential numbers assigned to the names of the devices are, for example, natural numbers assigned in order, such as 1, 2, ...

[0089] For data entries of equipment names that are assigned a group name, the sequential numbering will range from "1" to "the number of units in the 500-unit group configuration data" for those belonging to that group.

[0090] For example, if an appliance belongs to the "Dining" group, the "Number of Appliances" for the group named "Dining" in group configuration data 500 is 2, so the sequential numbering of the appliance name will be 1 and 2. Specifically, if the room name is "Living" and the group name is "Dining," the appliance names will be "L_D_1" and "L_D_2," as shown in Figure 5 as an example in the belonging appliance name data entries 610 and 620.

[0091] Through the above processing, the data generation device 2 generates the affiliated equipment name data 600, as shown in Figure 5 as an example.

[0092] (4) The data generation device 2 transmits the room configuration data 400, group configuration data 500, and the generated affiliated equipment name data 600 to the cloud 3 and stores them. The smartphone 6 retrieves the room configuration data 400, group configuration data 500, and affiliated equipment name data 600 from the cloud 3 as appropriate.

[0093] Here, the fixture name includes a room symbol and a group symbol, so users can easily understand the room and group to which the lighting fixture belongs simply by looking at the fixture name.

[0094] <1.2.4.2. Data for Schedule Control> For schedule control purposes, the data creator uses the data creation device 2 to create schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, and scene data 900. The created schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, and scene data 900 are sent to and stored in Cloud 3.

[0095] The schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, and scene data 900 stored in Cloud 3 are downloaded by the smartphone 6 as needed.

[0096] Furthermore, download permissions for each data stored in Cloud 3 will be appropriately granted and managed by the data creator or other data administrator, ensuring security.

[0097] <Schedule data 1000> Schedule data 1000, an example of equipment information, represents a timetable for each room, showing the procedures to be performed on each day of the week.

[0098] As shown in Figure 9, the schedule data 1000 includes the schedule for each room (hereinafter referred to as "room schedule"). Each room schedule is presented in a tabular format, where each row is a schedule data entry indicating the correspondence between a day of the week and the name of the timetable to be executed on that day. The contents of the timetable to which this timetable name is assigned are defined in the timetable data 800.

[0099] For example, in the case of room schedule 1010, it specifies the room "Living Room," with schedule data entry 1011 indicating that the "Weekday" timetable will be executed on Monday, and schedule data entry 1012 indicating that the "Weekday" timetable will be executed on Tuesday.

[0100] Other schedule data entries in Room Schedule 1010 indicate that the "weekday" timetable is executed for each of the following days: Wednesday through Friday, and the "holiday" timetable is executed for Saturday and Sunday.

[0101] In the example of schedule data 1000, the schedule is only listed for the "Living Room," but if necessary, the schedule for rooms such as "Kitchen" and "Pantry" should be listed in the same way as for the "Living Room."

[0102] Note that while schedule data 1000 uses a table that associates days of the week with timetable names, this is not the only option; for example, you could associate days of the week with timetable IDs.

[0103] Furthermore, schedules are not limited to daily provisions; the timetable may be changed at regular intervals, such as weekly or monthly.

[0104] <Timetable data 800> As an example of equipment information, the timetable data 800 defines a timetable, as shown in Figure 8(b). The timetable is presented in a tabular format, with each row being a timetable data entry indicating the correspondence between each time of day and the scene name of the scene to be executed at that time. The content of the scene with this scene name is defined in the scene data 900.

[0105] For example, in the case of timetable data 800, for the "weekday" timetable 810, which has timetable ID 1, it indicates that the scene "morning" will be executed at 6:00 as shown in timetable data entry 811, the scene "noon" will be executed at 9:00 as shown in timetable data entry 812, the scene "evening" will be executed at 17:00, the scene "night" will be executed at 20:00, and the scene "midnight" will be executed at 23:00.

[0106] Furthermore, for the "Holiday" timetable 820, which has a timetable ID of 2, it indicates that the "Morning" scene will be executed at 7:00, the "Afternoon" scene at 9:00, the "Evening" scene at 17:00, the "Night" scene at 20:00, and the "Midnight" scene at 23:00.

[0107] <Scene data 900> Scene data 900, an example of fixture information, defines a scene table (910, 920, etc.) representing a scene, as shown in Figure 8(a). The scene table is presented in a tabular format, with each row being a scene data entry (911, 912, etc.) indicating the correspondence between the group ID, dimming rate, and color temperature value.

[0108] For example, in the case of scene data 900, for the "Morning" scene table 910 with scene ID 1, as shown in scene data entry 911, the lighting fixture 4 included in the group with group ID "1" is controlled to have a dimming rate of 50% and a color temperature of 6000K, as shown in scene data entry 912, the lighting fixture 4 included in the group with group ID "2" is controlled to have a dimming rate of 40% and a color temperature of 6000K, and the group with group ID "3" is controlled to have a dimming rate of 30% and a color temperature of 6000K.

[0109] Furthermore, for the "Day" scene table 920 with scene ID "2", the dimming rate of lighting fixture 4 included in group ID "1" is controlled to 50% and the color temperature is controlled to 9000K, the dimming rate of lighting fixture 4 included in group ID "2" is controlled to 40% and the color temperature is controlled to 9000K, and the dimming rate of group ID "3" is controlled to 30% and the color temperature is controlled to 9000K.

[0110] <Schedule control processing> As described above, the smartphone 6 can determine which group should have what dimming rate and color temperature values ​​at what time by cross-referencing the schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, and scene data 900. Furthermore, the lighting fixtures 4 belonging to each group can be identified by referring to the fixture name data 600. Therefore, the smartphone 6 can control the schedule by cross-referencing the schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, scene data 900, and fixture name data 600.

[0111] As mentioned above, the lighting fixtures to be controlled are controlled by specifying their fixture identification information, not their fixture name. Therefore, it is necessary to associate the fixture name with the fixture identification information. The fixture mapping process for performing this association is described below.

[0112] <1.2.5. Fixture Alignment Process> The following describes the fixture mapping process performed by the worker after installing the lighting fixtures 4 in the house. The worker's operation of the smartphone 6 is referred to as "user operation." In the fixture mapping process, the worker uses the smartphone 6 to identify which fixture identification information each lighting fixture 4 placed at each installation location possesses. Specifically, this process maps the aforementioned "fixture name" to the "fixture identification information."

[0113] (1) Specifically, the first step is to perform a device search. The operator displays the device search GUI 1100 on the smartphone 6, as shown in Figure 6(a), and touches the search button 1110. This triggers the smartphone 6 to acquire device identification information from each of the lighting fixtures 4 that it can communicate with.

[0114] (2) The smartphone 6 then displays the matching GUI 1200 shown in Figure 6(b) as an example of the search results on the touch panel 65.

[0115] GUI1200 includes mapping panels 1210, 1220, 1230, etc., corresponding to each acquired fixture identification information. Each mapping panel corresponds to one of the fixture identification information, i.e., one of the lighting fixtures 4. There are as many mapping panels as there are acquired fixture identification information, but since the display area of ​​the touch panel 65 is limited, they may not be displayed all at once. Instead, some may be displayed, and the remaining mapping panels may be displayed when scrolling is performed.

[0116] The following explanation of the mapping panel will use mapping panel 1210 as an example, but mapping panels 1220, 1230, and other mapping panels have similar functions and configurations.

[0117] The mapping panel 1210 includes a temporary identifier 1211 and a checkbox 1212.

[0118] The temporary identifier 1211 is a name assigned by the smartphone 6 to uniquely identify the lighting fixture 4 within the GUI 1200. The lighting fixture 4 can be uniquely identified by its fixture identification information, but this information is, for example, a 48-bit MAC address, which is a string of alphanumeric characters that is difficult for humans to recognize. Therefore, the mapping panel 1210 displays the temporary identifier 1211, which is easy for humans to recognize, instead of the fixture identification information.

[0119] The temporary identifier 1211 is "Lamp 1," which is the name that the smartphone 6 has designated for use with the lighting fixture 4. As shown in Figure 6(b), the temporary identifier displayed on the mapping panel 1220 is "Lamp 2," and the temporary identifier displayed on the mapping panel 1230 is "Lamp 3," and so on. The temporary identifier is represented in the format of the letters "Lamp" + "sequence number," but it is not limited to this format; any name that is easily recognizable to humans and uniquely identifiable is sufficient.

[0120] Smartphone 6 creates a correspondence table between the temporary identification name 1211... and the acquired device identification information and stores it in ROM 62.

[0121] Checkbox 1212 is used to identify the lighting fixture 4 that is to be processed for fixture mapping. Each time the operator touches checkbox 1212, it switches between a selected state (a checkmark is displayed in checkbox 1212 as shown in Figure 6(b)) and a deselected state (no checkmark is displayed in checkbox 1212).

[0122] When checkbox 1212 is selected, and the import button 1250 is touched by the operator, the lighting fixture 4 corresponding to the mapping panel 1210 for which checkbox 1212 is selected becomes the target of the fixture mapping process.

[0123] (3) When an area of ​​the mounting panel 1210 other than the area displaying the checkbox 1212 (hereinafter referred to as the "switch area") is touched, the smartphone 6 sends a power-on command to the lighting fixture 4 corresponding to the mounting panel 1210. Upon receiving the power-on command, the lighting fixture 4 turns on the light source 40.

[0124] This allows the worker to determine where the corresponding lighting fixture 4 is located within the house, and which of the symbols 101-120 shown in the lighting diagram 100 corresponds to the lighting fixture 4 that has been turned on.

[0125] Therefore, the worker can determine whether to include this illuminated lighting fixture 4 in the matching process.

[0126] For example, if an operator intends to perform a mapping process on lighting fixture 4 in the "living room," and touches the mapping panel 1210 to turn on lighting fixture 4, and if lighting fixture 4 is actually located in the "living room," the operator will decide to make this lighting fixture 4 the target of the mapping process.

[0127] If the worker decides to perform the fixture mapping process for the lit-up lighting fixture 4, they select the checkbox 1212 on the mapping panel 1210.

[0128] If the operator touches the switch area on the mapping panel 1210, but the illuminated lighting fixture 4 is not visible from the operator's position, the fixture mapping process for this lighting fixture 4 can be postponed. In this case, the operator simply needs to deselect the checkbox 1212 on the mapping panel 1210. Even if postponed, the operator can move to a different location and perform the fixture mapping process again to find the corresponding lighting fixture 4 on the mapping panel 1210.

[0129] (4) For mapping panels other than mapping panel 1210, such as mapping panels 1220 and 1230, the same processing as in (3) above is performed.

[0130] In this manner, the worker narrows down the lighting fixtures 4 to be processed for fixture matching and touches the import button 1250.

[0131] Furthermore, in the lighting diagram 100, the mapping process can be simplified by selecting only the checkboxes on the mapping panel for lighting fixtures 4 belonging to the same group and performing the mapping process for each group. This is because the same control is applied to all lighting fixtures 4 within a group, so it does not matter which of the lighting fixtures 4 within the group an individual fixture name should be mapped to.

[0132] (5) Next, when the operator touches the capture button 1250, the smartphone 6 displays a mapping GUI, for example the GUI 1300 shown in Figure 6(c), for processing the process of associating the lighting fixture 4 corresponding to the mapping panel in which the checkbox is selected with the fixture name.

[0133] GUI1300 displays a list of fixture names from the fixture name data 600 obtained from Cloud 3. As described above, the displayed fixture names are expressed in the format "room symbol_group symbol_sequential number," so the operator can understand which room and which group the displayed fixture name belongs to.

[0134] The worker refers to the distribution diagram LD and, in (4), selects which equipment name to associate the matching panel, more specifically, the equipment identification information corresponding to the matching panel, with the equipment name represented by GUI1300, and touches it.

[0135] For example, if the lighting fixture 4 selected and turned on in steps (3) and (4) above corresponds to symbol 102 in the lighting diagram 100, which is the lighting fixture 4 for the room "Living" and group "Dining", the operator touches "L_D_1" among the fixture names displayed on the GUI 1300. The operator can easily understand that the fixture name "L_D_1" corresponds to the lighting fixture belonging to the room "Living" and group "Dining", and can therefore easily make the association.

[0136] After this mapping process, when controlling the lighting fixture 4 located at the position of symbol 102, the lighting fixture 4 can be identified by its fixture name "L_D_1".

[0137] Furthermore, GUI1300 has functions to sort the displayed list of equipment names in ascending or descending order based on the room symbol or group symbol in the equipment name, and to search for and extract equipment names that have a room symbol or group symbol specified by the operator.

[0138] Therefore, the display of equipment names in GUI1300 can be narrowed down to those that the operator is currently associating, for example, those with a specific group symbol, or sorted in ascending or descending order by group symbol.

[0139] In GUI1300, device names that have been mapped may be removed from the list display. This ensures that only device names requiring mapping are displayed, thus reducing the time required for mapping.

[0140] (6) Similarly, the worker will perform the same correspondence for the lighting fixtures 4 corresponding to symbols 101 to 120 in the lighting diagram 100. As a result of this correspondence, one example will be the correspondence between symbols 101 to 120 and fixture names 201 to 220 as shown in Figure 10. The lighting diagram 200 in Figure 10 is in which the fixture names of the lighting fixtures 4 corresponding to each symbol are written near the symbols in the lighting diagram 100 in Figure 3.

[0141] As an example, the corresponding data 700 shown in Figure 7 is created.

[0142] The correspondence data 700, in addition to the affiliated equipment name data 600, shows the correspondence between each equipment name and equipment identification information.

[0143] <1.2.6. Control of Lighting Fixtures> <Group Control> Smartphone 6 can recognize items with the same group symbol as a single group by referring to the group name column in the mapping data 700. Specifically, smartphone 6 can recognize the fixture identification information of the lighting fixtures 4 that make up each of the groups "dining," "indirect," and "sofa." Specifically, it recognizes that the group "dining" consists of two lighting fixtures with fixture identification information "LF1" and "LF3." Here, the fixture identification information is expressed as "LF1," "LF3," etc., but this is a representation for the sake of explanation, and the content should be interpreted as appropriate, for example, if the fixture identification information is a MAC address, then "LF1" would be 48 bits of information.

[0144] Figure 11(a) shows GUI2100 as an example of a GUI for group control displayed on smartphone 6.

[0145] Smartphone 6 displays GUI2100 on its touch panel 65.

[0146] GUI2100 includes group panels 2110, 2120, ..., each representing a single group.

[0147] The group panel 2110 corresponds to the group "Dining" and includes a group name display area 2111, a dimming rate control bar 2112, and a dimming rate operation area 2113.

[0148] The group name display area 2111 displays the group name of the group corresponding to the group panel 2110.

[0149] The dimming rate control bar 2112 is used by the user to specify the dimming rate.

[0150] The dimming rate control area 2113 displays the current dimming rate. The dimming rate can be changed by the user entering a specified dimming rate in the dimming rate control area 2113.

[0151] The color tone value manipulation area 2114 displays the current color tone value. The color tone value can be changed by the user entering a specified color tone value in the color tone value manipulation area 2114.

[0152] Group panel 2120... has the same functionality as group panel 2110.

[0153] When the user specifies a dimming rate for each group using the GUI 2100, the smartphone 6 instructs the lighting fixtures 4 included in that group to turn on at the specified dimming rate. The smartphone 6 sends this instruction, specifying, for example, the fixture identification information as the destination address.

[0154] <Scene control> Smartphone 6 performs scene control while referring to scene data 900, group configuration data 500, and mapping data 700.

[0155] Figure 11(b) shows GUI2200 as an example of a GUI for scene control displayed by smartphone 6.

[0156] Smartphone 6 displays GUI2200 on its touch panel 65. GUI2200 is an example of a GUI for scene control in the "Living Room" room.

[0157] GUI2200 includes scene panels 2210, 2220, etc., corresponding to the scenes.

[0158] The scene panel 2210 corresponds to one scene, "Morning." When the scene panel 2210 is touched by the user, the smartphone 6 performs the necessary processing to realize the "Morning" scene.

[0159] Specifically, smartphone 6 refers to the "Morning" scene in scene data 900 related to the "Living Room". Then, smartphone 6 refers to group configuration data 500 and mapping data 700, and controls the lighting fixture 4 included in group "Dining" with group ID "1" to have a dimming rate of 50% and a color temperature of 6000K, the lighting fixture 4 included in group "Sofa" with group ID "2" to have a dimming rate of 40% and a color temperature of 6000K, and the lighting fixture 4 included in group "Indirect" with group ID "3" to have a dimming rate of 30% and a color temperature of 6000K.

[0160] Furthermore, the lighting fixtures 4 included in the "Dining" group have fixture identification information of "LF1" and "LF3", the lighting fixtures 4 included in the "Indirect" group have fixture identification information of "LF2" and "LF5", and the lighting fixtures 4 included in the "Sofa" group have fixture identification information of "LF10" and "LF4".

[0161] <Schedule control> Figure 12 shows GUI2300 as an example of a GUI for schedule control.

[0162] Smartphone 6 displays GUI2300 on its touch panel 65.

[0163] GUI2300 includes schedule panels 2310, 2320, etc., each corresponding to a single schedule.

[0164] The schedule panel 2310 corresponds to Schedule 1. When the schedule panel 2310 is touched by the user, the smartphone 6 refers to the schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, scene data 900, etc., and performs processing to realize Schedule 1.

[0165] <2. Second Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, the data creator used the data creation device 2 to operate the data creation software 26 and created tabular room configuration data 400 and group configuration data 500. The data creation device 2 then referenced the room configuration data 400 and group configuration data 500 to generate, for example, the affiliated equipment name data 600 shown in Figure 5.

[0166] However, the equipment name data 600 may be generated from a lighting diagram (for example, lighting diagram 100) rather than from tabular data.

[0167] Specifically, for example, the data creator uses the data creation device 2 to create the lighting diagram 100 shown in Figure 3. The lighting diagram 100 shows rooms, groups, and lighting fixtures 4 (indicated by symbols 101 to 120, respectively). It also shows which group belongs to each zone and the number of lighting fixtures 4 belonging to each group. Furthermore, the room name of each room and the group name of each group are also shown.

[0168] The data generation device 2 refers to the lighting diagram 100 and first generates the same number of fixture name data entries as the number of lighting fixtures (number of symbols) shown in the lighting diagram 100.

[0169] The room name in each fixture name data entry should be the name of the room to which each lighting fixture belongs. The group name in each fixture name data entry should be the name of the group to which each lighting fixture belongs.

[0170] The data generation device 2 then refers to the room name and group name of each affiliated equipment name data entry and generates the equipment name. Here, the data generation device 2 pre-stores conversion tables showing the correspondence between room names and room symbols, and conversion tables showing the correspondence between group names and group symbols. For each affiliated equipment name data entry, it refers to the conversion table, converts the listed room name to a room symbol, converts the group name to a group symbol, and generates an equipment name in the format "room symbol_group symbol_sequential number".

[0171] Based on the above, the data generation device 2 generates the affiliated equipment name data 600 shown in Figure 5.

[0172] <3. Third Embodiment> In the first embodiment, the location of each lighting fixture 4 was identified, and a correspondence was made between fixture identification information and fixture name so that each fixture could be controlled individually. However, the system is not limited to this, and lighting fixtures 4 may be controlled not individually, but on a room-by-room or group-by-group basis.

[0173] In this case, since each of the lighting fixtures 4 does not need to be individually identified by the user, it is sufficient for them to be associated with a room or group.

[0174] The following explanation uses the process of associating each of the 4 lighting fixtures with the room "Kitchen" as an example, but the process can be carried out similarly when associating them with other rooms and groups.

[0175] <Room Settings GUI4100> Figure 15(a) shows an example of the room setting GUI 4100 displayed on the smartphone 6 when the device assignment process is instructed by the user.

[0176] The room settings GUI 4100 includes room settings panels 4121-4125, scroll buttons 4141 and 4142, and a back button 4151, as shown in Figure 15(a).

[0177] Room setting panels 4121 to 4125 each correspond to one of the rooms shown in the room configuration data 400.

[0178] Room setting panel 4121 corresponds to the "Living Room". When an operator touches room setting panel 4121, a room-specific setting GUI for performing the appliance mapping process for the "Living Room" is displayed. Room setting panels 4122, 4123, 4124, and 4125 are panels with the same functionality as room setting panel 4121 and correspond to the "Kitchen", "Pantry", "Washroom", and "Toilet" rooms, respectively.

[0179] In this case, the rooms shown in the room configuration data 400 include, in addition to the above, the rooms "children's room," "bedroom," and "corridor," and corresponding room setting panels are also generated. However, because the display area of ​​the touch panel 65 on the smartphone 6 is limited, in the example shown in Figure 15(a), the room setting panels corresponding to the rooms "children's room," "bedroom," and "corridor" are not displayed.

[0180] Scroll buttons 4141 and 4142 can be used to display room settings panels that are not currently shown.

[0181] Scroll button 4141 is for scrolling the display upwards, and scroll button 4142 is for scrolling the display downwards.

[0182] When the operator touches the scroll button 4141, the display scrolls upwards, the room settings panel that was at the top before scrolling disappears, and the room settings panel that was not displayed before scrolling appears at the bottom. Similarly, when the operator touches the scroll button 4142, the display scrolls downwards, the room settings panel that was at the bottom before scrolling disappears, and the room settings panel that was not displayed before scrolling appears at the top.

[0183] Here, the room "Living Room" includes the group "Dining Room", the group "Sofa Room", and the group "Indirect Room", as shown in the group configuration data 500. The room settings panel for a room that includes groups is provided with an expand button (4171).

[0184] When the operator touches the expand button 4171, the group setting panels 4221 to 4223 corresponding to each group included in the "Living Room" are displayed using the tree structure display 4175, as shown in Figure 15(b). When the user touches the tree structure display 4175 in this state, the display returns to the one shown in Figure 15(a).

[0185] Group setting panels 4221 to 4223 each correspond to one of the groups shown in the room configuration data 400. More specifically, group setting panels 4221, 4222, and 4223 correspond to the group "Dining," the group "Indirect," and the group "Sofa," respectively.

[0186] Note that while group settings panels 4221, 4222, and 4223 are displayed by touching the expand button, this is not the only method; it is sufficient if group settings panels 4221, 4222, and 4223 can be displayed. For example, group settings panels 4221, 4222, and 4223 may be displayed separately from the room settings panel.

[0187] <Room Individual Settings GUI4111> Figure 16(a) shows the Room Individual Settings GUI 4111 that appears when the Room Settings GUI 4100 is displayed and the operator touches the Room Settings Panel 4122 corresponding to the room "Kitchen".

[0188] The Room Individual Settings GUI4111 is a GUI for identifying the 4 lighting fixtures to be included in the "Kitchen" room.

[0189] The room-specific settings GUI 4111 includes a search button 4411, as shown in Figure 16(a). When an operator touches the search button 4411, this triggers the smartphone 6 to acquire fixture identification information from each of the lighting fixtures 4 with which it can communicate.

[0190] The smartphone 6 then displays the matching GUI 4112, shown as an example in Figure 16(b), on the touch panel 65 as a search result.

[0191] GUI4112 includes mapping panels 4510, 4520, 4530, etc., corresponding to each acquired fixture identification information. Each mapping panel corresponds to one of the fixture identification information, i.e., one of the lighting fixtures 4. There are as many mapping panels as there are acquired fixture identification information, but since the display area of ​​the touch panel 65 is limited, they may not be displayed all at once. Instead, some may be displayed, and the remaining mapping panels may be displayed when scrolling is performed.

[0192] The following explanation of the mapping panel uses the mapping panel 4510 as an example, but the mapping panels 4520, 4530, and other mapping panels have similar functions and configurations.

[0193] The mapping panel 4510 has the same functionality as the mapping panel 1210 and includes a temporary identifier 4511 and a checkbox 4512. The temporary identifier 4511 is the same as the temporary identifier 1211 described above. The smartphone 6 creates a correspondence table between the temporary identifier 4511... and the acquired device identification information and stores it in the ROM 62.

[0194] Check box 4512 is the same as the check box 4512 described above. When check box 4512 is selected, and the operator touches the import button 4550, the lighting fixture 4 corresponding to the mapping panel 4510 for which check box 4512 is selected becomes the target of the fixture mapping process.

[0195] When an area of ​​the mapping panel 4510 other than the area displaying checkbox 4512 is touched by the operator, the smartphone 6 sends a power-on command to the lighting fixture 4 corresponding to the mapping panel 4510. Upon receiving the power-on command, the lighting fixture 4 turns on the light source unit 40.

[0196] This allows the worker to understand where the corresponding lighting fixture 4 is located within the house, which room or group it belongs to, and which of the symbols 101-120 shown in the lighting diagram 100 corresponds to the lighting fixture 4 that has been turned on.

[0197] Therefore, the worker can determine whether to include this illuminated lighting fixture 4 in the matching process.

[0198] For example, if an operator intends to perform a mapping process on lighting fixture 4 in the "kitchen" room, and touches the mapping panel 4510 to turn on lighting fixture 4, and if lighting fixture 4 is actually located in the "kitchen" room, the operator will decide to make this lighting fixture 4 the target of the mapping process.

[0199] If the worker decides to perform the fixture mapping process for the lit-up lighting fixture 4, they select the checkbox 4512 on the mapping panel 4510.

[0200] For other mapping panels besides mapping panel 4510, such as mapping panels 4520 and 4530, the same processing as that performed on mapping panel 4510 is carried out.

[0201] In this manner, the worker identifies the lighting fixture 4 to be processed and touches the import button 4550.

[0202] When the operator touches the capture button 4550, the smartphone 6 stores the lighting fixture 4 corresponding to the matching panel with the checkbox selected, more specifically, the fixture identification information of the lighting fixture 4, associating it with the room "kitchen".

[0203] Then, as shown in Figure 16(c), the mapping GUI 4113, which displays a message indicating that the device mapping process is complete, is shown to the operator that the device mapping process is finished.

[0204] According to the above process, it is not necessary to associate the fixture identification information of each lighting fixture 4 with a fixture name, as was done in the first embodiment, and each lighting fixture 4 can be associated with a room. Therefore, when individual control of the lighting fixtures 4 is not required, the effort required for the operator to set them up can be reduced.

[0205] Furthermore, groups can also be associated with equipment, similar to rooms. The group setting panels 4221 to 4223 shown in Figure 15(b) each correspond to one of the groups shown in the room configuration data 400. More specifically, group setting panels 4221, 4222, and 4223 correspond to the group "Dining," the group "Indirect," and the group "Sofa," respectively.

[0206] By touching each of the group setting panels 4221 to 4223, the operator can associate the selected lighting fixtures 4 with groups using the same process and GUI as described above with the individual room setting GUI 4111, mapping GUI 4112, and mapping GUI 4113. The lighting fixtures 4 can then be controlled on a group basis.

[0207] <4. Variation> While embodiments of the lighting system according to the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the embodiments described above. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications in the sense and scope equivalent to the claims. The illustrated lighting system can also be modified as follows, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the lighting fixtures shown in the embodiments described above.

[0208] (1) In the above embodiment, the smartphone 6 directly controls multiple lighting fixtures in the lighting system 1. However, the system is not limited to this, and some of the functions of the smartphone 6 for controlling the lighting fixtures 4 may be made executable by the gateway 5.

[0209] In this way, even if the smartphone 6 is taken out and is not within the communication range of the lighting fixture 4, or in other cases where the smartphone 6 cannot directly send control signals to the lighting fixture 4, the gateway 5 can store the dimming and color adjustment schedule and send control signals for dimming and color adjustment to each lighting fixture 4 according to the schedule, thereby enabling the dimming and color adjustment of the lighting fixtures 4.

[0210] The gateway 5 can be configured as shown in Figure 14 as an example. The gateway 5 includes a wireless communication unit 51, a wired communication unit 52, a control unit 53, a ROM 54, and a RAM 55.

[0211] The wireless communication unit 51 has the function of performing wireless communication and holds a MAC address as an example of identification information. The MAC address is used as the address for wireless communication. When the wireless communication unit 51 receives communication data, it notifies the control unit 53 if the communication data is addressed to itself, and forwards the communication data to the other device via the mesh network if it is addressed to another device.

[0212] The wired communication unit 52 has the function of performing data communication via a wired network cable. The wired network is, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network). For example, when multiple gateways 5 work together, the multiple gateways 5 are connected to each other by wire. The wired communication unit 52 exchanges necessary information with other gateways 5 using wired communication. Note that the wired communication unit 52 can be omitted if wired communication is not required.

[0213] ROM 54 is a non-volatile memory that stores the lighting control program and other data used to operate the control unit 53. RAM 55 is a memory device into which the lighting control program stored in ROM 54 is loaded.

[0214] The control unit 53 has the function of controlling the operation of the gateway 5. The control unit 53 is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Each function of the gateway 5 is realized by the control unit 53 executing a lighting control program that is loaded from the ROM 54 and stored in the RAM 55.

[0215] (2) In the above embodiment, the data created in the data creation device 2 is downloaded to the smartphone 6 via the cloud 3 in the lighting system 1. However, the system is not limited to this, and it is sufficient if the data created in the data creation device 2 can be stored in the smartphone 6. For example, the smartphone 6 may acquire the data from the data creation device 2 via a communication line such as a network. Alternatively, the data created in the data creation device 2 may be recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card, and the smartphone 6 may acquire the data by reading the recording medium.

[0216] (3) In the above embodiment, the data creator uses the data creation device 2 to create room configuration data 400 and group configuration data 500, and the data creation device 2 uses the room configuration data 400 and group configuration data 500 to create the affiliated equipment name data 600. However, the invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient if equipment names can be generated. For example, the data creator may input the equipment names using the data creation device 2.

[0217] (4) In the above embodiment, room configuration data 400, group configuration data 500, affiliated equipment name data 600, schedule data 1000, timetable data 800, and scene data 900 were described as examples of data created by the data creation device 2, but the data is not limited to these, and any data that can be created prior to the installation settings and is used for controlling the lighting fixture 4 by the smartphone 6 is sufficient.

[0218] Furthermore, the data content is not limited to this; tables and information tables necessary for controlling the lighting fixture 4 may be added, and unnecessary information may be deleted as appropriate.

[0219] (5) In the above-described embodiment, an LED was used as the light source, but it is not limited to this and other light sources may be used. For example, an organic EL or organic LED (Organic Electroluminescence or Organic Light Emitting Diode), a field emission display, etc. may be used.

[0220] (6) In the embodiments described above, the data creation device 2 was a computer system, but examples include personal computers, workstations, tablet terminals, and smartphones. Also, although a smartphone 6 was given as an example of a lighting control device, other examples of portable terminals include remote control devices and tablet terminals.

[0221] (7) In the above-described embodiment, the data created by the data creator using the data creation device 2 was in a list format, but it is not limited to this, and any data format that is easy for humans to input and recognize is sufficient, for example, CSV (Comma Separated Value) or SSV (Space-Separated Value).

[0222] (8) The embodiments and modifications described above may be partially combined.

[0223] <5. Extraction of Inventions> The following describes the configuration of a lighting fixture as one embodiment of the present invention, as well as its variations and effects.

[0224] (1) A lighting system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a lighting system comprising a plurality of lighting fixtures and a lighting control device that wirelessly controls the plurality of lighting fixtures, wherein the lighting control device is equipped with a display unit and acquires fixture information that represents a group of the plurality of lighting fixtures that are controlled by the same entity, and in setting up to enable control of each lighting fixture installed at the installation location, it acquires fixture identification information that identifies each of the plurality of lighting fixtures, and associates the fixture identification information selected from the acquired fixture identification information based on user operation with the group.

[0225] According to the above configuration, the effort required for workers to configure groups after installing multiple lighting fixtures at their locations can be significantly reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0226] (2) In addition, in the above setting, fixture identification information that identifies each of the multiple lighting fixtures may be obtained, the fixture information may be displayed on the display unit, and the fixture information and the fixture identification information may be associated based on user operations performed by referring to the displayed fixture information.

[0227] According to the above configuration, users can associate the equipment information with equipment identification information while confirming the groups represented by the equipment information.

[0228] (3) The storage means may be a cloud system, and the lighting control device may acquire the equipment information by receiving the equipment information from the cloud system via a network.

[0229] This configuration allows for the creation of fixture information even at locations far from the installation site of the lighting fixtures, eliminating the need to create fixture information at the installation site and significantly reducing the workload for workers at the installation site.

[0230] (4) The storage means is a recording medium, the equipment information is recorded on the recording medium, and the lighting control device may acquire the equipment information by reading the equipment information from the recording medium.

[0231] With this configuration, fixture information can be created in advance at a location away from the installation site of the lighting fixtures, and the fixture information can be transported using a recording medium and read by the lighting control device. This eliminates the need to create fixture information at the installation site of the lighting fixtures, significantly reducing the workload for workers at the installation site.

[0232] (5) The equipment information may be created using a data creation device, and the data creation device may cause the storage means to store the equipment information.

[0233] With this configuration, since fixture information can be created in advance using a data creation device, it becomes unnecessary to create fixture information using a lighting control device at the installation site of the lighting fixtures, significantly reducing the workload for workers at the installation site.

[0234] (6) The data creation device may receive input of attributes relating to the plurality of lighting fixtures, generate a fixture name including characters representing the attributes, and store the fixture information including the fixture name in the storage means. The lighting control device may receive fixture identification information from the communicationable lighting fixtures, retrieve the fixture information from the storage means, and display a graphical user interface for associating the fixture name included in the fixture information with the fixture identification information.

[0235] This configuration allows for the association of fixture names with fixture identification information while referring to the attributes of the lighting fixtures, thereby improving the efficiency of the work when workers associate fixture names with fixture identification information.

[0236] (7) The graphical user interface may also sort and display the instrument names based on the characters.

[0237] According to the above configuration, the names of lighting fixtures with the same attributes can be displayed together, thereby improving the efficiency of the work when operators associate fixture names with fixture identification information.

[0238] (8) The name of the fixture may also include, as an attribute, characters representing a group of the multiple lighting fixtures that are to be controlled under the same conditions.

[0239] According to the above configuration, the names of lighting fixtures belonging to the same group can be displayed together, thereby improving the efficiency of the work when workers associate fixture names with fixture identification information.

[0240] (9) The group name may also reflect the location in which each of the multiple lighting fixtures is installed.

[0241] According to the above configuration, the location of the lighting fixture can be recognized from the fixture name, allowing for configuration work to be performed on lighting fixtures located nearby. This improves the efficiency of the work when operators associate fixture names with fixture identification information.

[0242] (10) The equipment information may also include schedule data that indicates a schedule control that changes the operation of the lighting equipment over time.

[0243] According to the above configuration, schedule data can be created in advance, and the effort required for workers to configure groups after installing multiple lighting fixtures at their locations can be significantly reduced compared to conventional methods. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0244] 1. Lighting System 2. Data generation device 3 Cloud 4 Lighting fixtures 5 Gateways 6. Smartphone 25 displays 26. Data creation software 40 Light source section 43 Circuit section 44 WM section 44a Wireless Communication Section 44b Control Unit 51 Wireless Communication Section 52 Wired Communications Department 53 Control Unit 54 ROM 61 Control Unit 62 ROM 63 RAM 64 Wireless Communication Section 65 Touch Panel 102 Symbols 400 Room Configuration Data 420, 430 Room Configuration Data Entries 500 Group Composition Data 520, 530 Group Configuration Data Entries 600 Affiliated Equipment Name Data 610 Affiliated Equipment Name Data Entry 610, 620 Affiliated Equipment Name Data Entry 700 Corresponding data 800 Timetable Data 810, 820 Timetable 811, 812 Timetable data entries 900 scene data 910, 920 Scene Table 911, 912 Scene data entries 1000 Schedule Data 1010 Room Schedule 1011, 1012 Schedule data entries 1110 Search button 1210, 1220, 1230 panels 1211 Temporary Identifier 1212 checkbox 1220, 1230 panels 1250 Import button 2110, 2120 Group Panel 2111 Group Name Display Area 2112 Dimming Control Bar 2113 Dimming rate operation area 2114 Tone Adjustment Value Manipulation Area 2210, 2220 Scene Panel 2310, 2320 Schedule Panel 100, 200 Lighting Diagram

Claims

1. A lighting system comprising a plurality of lighting fixtures and a lighting control device that wirelessly controls the plurality of lighting fixtures, The aforementioned lighting control device includes a display unit, The device information, which includes data used to control the lighting fixture and which can be created prior to the installation settings, is acquired by a device other than the aforementioned lighting control device, where the data creator inputs multiple items displayed in a list. From the multiple lighting fixtures installed at the installation location, fixture identification information is obtained to identify each fixture, and by associating the fixture identification information with the fixture information, a setting is made so that each of the multiple lighting fixtures can be controlled based on the fixture information. Lighting system.

2. In the above setting, fixture identification information is obtained from each of the multiple lighting fixtures to identify each of them. The device information is displayed on the display unit, and the device information and the device identification information are associated based on user operations performed by referring to the displayed device information. The lighting system according to claim 1.

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