Lighting control systems and lighting fixtures

Abstract

The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a lighting control system and lighting fixture that can write identification numbers to lighting devices without using a dedicated communication protocol, thereby reducing the burden on workers during the writing process. [Solution] The lighting control system of this disclosure comprises a lighting device capable of processing a first command for operating a light source and a second command for storing an identification number, and an identification number assigning device for creating the second command. The first command and the second command are commands transmitted to the lighting device using a common communication protocol. The identification number assigning device transmits the second command, to which identification number information has been added, as a communication signal of the communication protocol to the lighting device. The lighting device identifies the command contained in the communication signal received from the identification number assigning device, and if the identified command is a second command, stores the identification number specified in the second command in a storage device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a lighting control system and a lighting fixture.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which an identification number assigning device writes an identification number to a lighting device and manages monitoring information (cumulative lighting time, etc.) and device information (device type name, light distribution data, serial number, etc.) for each identification number. This can improve maintainability.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above method, a dedicated communication protocol is required for the identification number assigning device to write an identification number to the lighting device, which places a burden on the operator during the writing operation.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a lighting control system and a lighting fixture that can write an identification number to a lighting device without using a dedicated communication protocol and can reduce the burden on the operator during the writing operation in order to solve the above problems.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] Aspects of the present disclosure include a lighting device capable of processing a first command for operating a light source and a second command for storing an identification number, an identification number assigning device that creates the second command, and The first command and the second command are commands transmitted to the lighting device using a common communication protocol. The identification number assigning device transmits the second command, to which the identification number information has been added, to the lighting device as a communication signal of the communication protocol. The aforementioned lighting device is Having a memory device, The process of receiving the communication signal from the identification number assigning device, An identification process for identifying the command included in the communication signal, If the identified command is the second command, the process involves storing the identification number specified in the second command in the storage device, It is preferable that the lighting control system is configured to perform the following: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In this disclosure, commands for operating the light source and commands for storing identification numbers can be sent to the lighting device using a common communication protocol. Therefore, identification numbers can be written to the lighting device without using a dedicated communication protocol, reducing the burden on the operator during the writing process. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows the configuration of the lighting control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of a lighting device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This figure shows the configuration of the lighting control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing the communication protocol between a lighting device and a lighting control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This figure illustrates the commands transmitted to the lighting device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This figure illustrates the commands transmitted by the lighting device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding components will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and repetition of the description may be omitted.

[0010] Embodiment 1 Figure 1 shows the configuration of a lighting control system 500 according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The lighting control system 500 comprises a lighting device 100 and a lighting operation device 200.

[0011] First, let's describe the lighting control device 200. The communication device 230 of the lighting control device 200 is capable of communicating with the external device 400 by sending and receiving communication signals 700. When the communication device 230 receives a communication signal 700 from the external device 400, it notifies the control circuit 220 of the received signal. On the other hand, when the control circuit 220 receives information to be sent to the external device 400, the communication device 230 sends this information to the external device 400 in the form of a communication signal 700.

[0012] As a more specific example of its functions, the communication device 230 transfers data received from the lighting device 100 to the external device 400. The communication device 230 also receives commands from the external device 400 for the lighting device 100. Commands from the external device 400 include requests for data held by the lighting device 100, and commands for operating the light source 10.

[0013] The control circuit 220 is composed of, for example, a microcontroller and has the function of sending and receiving commands exchanged with the lighting device 100. The control circuit 220 receives commands from the lighting device 100 as communication signals 800. The control circuit 220 converts the received commands into communication signals 700 using its command reception function and transmits them to the external device 400 via the communication device 230.

[0014] Further, the control circuit 220 extracts a command from the external device 400 based on the communication signal 700 received by the communication device 230, and converts the extracted command into a command by means of the command transmission function. Further, the control circuit 220 transmits the created command to the lighting device 100 as the communication signal 800.

[0015] Next, the lighting device 100 will be described. The lighting device 100 receives the voltage from an external power source (also referred to as a commercial power source) 600 via a connector (hereinafter referred to as CN) 110. The lighting circuit 120 supplied with power from the external power source 600 lights the light source 10 via CN130. In the present disclosure, a configuration including at least the light source 10 and the lighting device 100 is a lighting fixture.

[0016] The lighting control circuit 140 included in the lighting device 100 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer, and controls the lighting circuit 120 by executing a control program. Specifically, the lighting control circuit 140 determines the value of the current flowing through the light source 10, and controls so that the current having the determined current value flows through the light source 10. The lighting control circuit 140 has a storage device 150 that stores a control program and an identification number unique to each lighting device 100. The storage device 150 is, for example, a non-volatile memory.

[0017] Further, the lighting control circuit 140 is connected to the lighting operation device 200 via CN160, and transmits and receives the communication signal 800 to and from the lighting operation device 200. The lighting control circuit 140 identifies the command included in the communication signal 800, and executes processing according to the identified command. For example, when the identified command requests data, the lighting control circuit 140 transmits the communication signal 800 with the requested data added thereto to the lighting operation device 200.

[0018] On the other hand, when the identified command requests an operation of the light source 10, the lighting control circuit 140 controls the light source 10 according to the command.

[0019] Thus, the lighting control system 500 of this disclosure is able to communicate with an external device 400 by including a lighting operation device 200. The data of the lighting device 100 acquired by the external device 400 can be used for after-sales service by the manufacturer. For example, by using the external device 400, the manufacturer can obtain the identification number of the lighting device 100, and thereby refer to the manufacturing inspection data of the target lighting device 100 from the manufacturing inspection data managed for each identification number. This makes it possible for the manufacturer to accurately determine deterioration, malfunction, etc. of the target lighting device 100. Furthermore, since the identification number is a number linked to the lighting device 100, the administrator can manage the lighting device 100 regardless of which lighting operation device 200 is connected to the lighting device 100.

[0020] Figure 2 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of a lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The lighting device 100 is powered by an external power supply 600 via CN110. The supplied voltage is rectified by a rectifier 1. The rectified pulsating voltage is converted into a predetermined DC high voltage by a boost chopper circuit 20 and stored in a capacitor 2. The boost chopper circuit 20 consists of a coil 21, a MOSFET 22, and a diode 23.

[0021] The voltage across capacitor 2 is input to terminal 141 of the lighting control circuit 140 as a resistive voltage divider across resistors 3 and 4. Therefore, the voltage input to terminal 141 is kept constant as the voltage across capacitor 2 is maintained at a predetermined high DC voltage.

[0022] Therefore, the lighting control circuit 140 outputs a switching signal from terminal 142 to operate the MOSFET 22, thereby performing feedback control to keep the voltage input to terminal 141 constant. However, since the operating voltage of the lighting control circuit 140 does not reach the drive voltage of the MOSFET 22, the lighting control circuit 140 outputs a switching signal via the MOSFET driver 30. This output causes the voltage of the switching signal to reach the drive voltage, and the switching of the MOSFET 22 becomes stable.

[0023] Furthermore, the electricity stored in capacitor 2 is smoothed by the buck converter circuit 35 and stored in capacitor 5. The buck converter circuit 35 consists of a MOSFET 31, a coil 32, and a diode 33.

[0024] The buck converter circuit 35 also supplies power to the light source 10. The light source 10 consists of one or more LEDs. This power supply causes the light source 10 to light up.

[0025] Furthermore, the current supplied to the light source 10 is converted into a voltage by the resistor 6 and input to terminal 143 of the lighting control circuit 140. The voltage input to terminal 143 is feedback controlled to remain constant. The lighting control circuit 140 uses this voltage to output a switching signal from terminal 144 to operate the MOSFET 31. As a result, the current supplied to the light source 10 remains constant, and the light source 10 is controlled to operate at a constant current.

[0026] The switching signal that operates MOSFET 31 is output via MOSFET driver 30, similar to the switching signal that operates MOSFET 22. This output causes the switching signal voltage to reach the drive voltage, stabilizing the switching of MOSFET 31.

[0027] The control power for the lighting control circuit 140 and the MOSFET driver 30 is supplied from the voltage source 8. The voltage V1 of the voltage source 8 is generated when the voltage across capacitor 2 is stepped down by the control power supply circuit 40 and then smoothed by capacitor 7. The voltage V1 is lower than the voltage of the external power supply 600, for example, 15V.

[0028] The voltage V1 is further input to terminal 145 of the lighting control circuit 140 via the step-down circuit 45, thereby becoming the control power supply for the lighting control circuit 140. The voltage at this time is, for example, 5V.

[0029] The control power supply circuit 40 may be a step-down converter circuit such as a buck converter circuit, or a step-up / step-down converter circuit such as a flyback circuit.

[0030] As described above, the lighting control circuit 140 has a control program. The control program is used to control the light source 10 by controlling the lighting device 100. The control program also includes a program for processing commands included in the communication signal 800, for example, the operation sequence from when power is supplied to the light source 10, or when the light source 10 is turned on after the external power supply 600 is supplied.

[0031] Furthermore, the lighting control circuit 140 has a terminal 146 which is a receiving terminal for the communication signal 800 and a terminal 148 which is a transmitting terminal. Terminals 146 and 148 are connected to the CN160 together with the voltage source 8 and the ground terminal 147. The lighting control circuit 140 executes processing according to the commands contained in the communication signal 800 received at terminal 146.

[0032] For example, if a command requesting dimming adjustment is received, the lighting control circuit 140 controls the light source 10 to achieve the dimming ratio specified in the command.

[0033] Furthermore, when a command requesting a circuit status check is received, the lighting control circuit 140 determines whether the circuit status of the lighting circuit 120 and the circuit status of the light source 10 are normal based on the voltage values ​​at terminals 141 and 143. The lighting control circuit 140 then transmits a communication signal 800 with the determined result to the lighting control device 200. Note that the lighting control circuit 140 does not necessarily have to determine whether the circuit status of the lighting circuit 120 and the circuit status of the light source 10 are normal. That is, by transmitting a communication signal 800 with data such as the voltage values ​​at terminals 141 and 143 to the lighting control device 200, the lighting control device 200 or an external device 400 can be made to determine the circuit status.

[0034] Furthermore, when a command requesting an identification number response is received, the lighting control circuit 140 reads the identification number from the storage device 150 and transmits a communication signal 800 with the information of the identification number added to it to the lighting control device 200.

[0035] Figure 3 shows the configuration of the lighting control device 200 according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The lighting control device 200 has a CN210 connected to the CN160 of the lighting control circuit 140.

[0036] Terminals 146 and 148 shown in Figure 2 are connected to terminals 221 and 225 of the control circuit 220, respectively, via CN210. Terminal 221 is the transmission terminal for the communication signal 800, and terminal 225 is the reception terminal. Also, the voltage source 8 shown in Figure 2 is connected to terminal 222 of the control circuit 220 via CN210 and step-down circuit 240. The voltage at this time is, for example, 5V. As a result, the voltage V1 of the voltage source 8 becomes the power supply for the control circuit 220 of the lighting control device 200. Furthermore, the ground terminal 147 shown in Figure 2 is connected to the ground terminal 223 of the control circuit 220 via CN210.

[0037] Furthermore, terminal 224 of the control circuit 220 is connected to the communication device 230. The control circuit 220 transmits or receives communication signals 700 via the communication device 230.

[0038] The communication signal 700 may be transmitted and received using wireless communication such as Bluetooth®, or it may be transmitted and received using wired communication such as UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter) communication.

[0039] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the communication protocol between a lighting device 100 and a lighting control device 200 according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. The communication protocol consists of STX (start command), CM (command), and FD (frame data). STX is a command that signals the start of a command, and a fixed command is input. That is, the receiving side of the command will follow the instructions from STX onward. CM is a command in which the type of command is input. FD is a command that indicates the specific instruction value, etc., of the command specified in CM. The lighting device 100 and the lighting control device 200 exchange commands by sending and receiving communication signals 800 based on this communication protocol.

[0040] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the commands transmitted to the lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. The CMs that can be set in the communication signal 800 transmitted to the lighting device 100 include ON / OFF operation, dimming rate operation, circuit status confirmation request, identification number request, identification number storage, etc. For example, if the CM is an ON / OFF operation, ON or OFF is input to FD. If the CM is a dimming rate operation, the dimming rate is input to FD. If the type of CM is identification number storage, the identification number is input to FD.

[0041] The lighting control circuit 140 of the lighting device 100 identifies the CM of the received communication signal 800. If the identified CM is an identification number storage, it stores the identification number specified by the FD in the storage device 150. On the other hand, if the identified CM is a command to operate the light source 10, such as ON / OFF operation or dimming rate operation, the lighting control circuit 140 controls the light source 10 to the operation value specified by the FD.

[0042] As shown in Figure 5, in this disclosure, commands for operating the light source 10 and commands for storing an identification number can be sent to the lighting device 100 using a common communication protocol. Therefore, an identification number can be written to the lighting device 100 without using a dedicated communication protocol.

[0043] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the commands transmitted by the lighting device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. The CM that can be set in the communication signal 800 transmitted by the lighting device 100 is a circuit status confirmation response, an identification number response, etc. For example, if the CM is a circuit status confirmation response, the FD contains the confirmation result of the circuit of the lighting device 100 and the circuit of the light source 10, indicating whether it is normal or abnormal. If the CM is an identification number response, the FD contains an identification number.

[0044] As explained above, in this disclosure, commands for operating the light source 10 and commands for storing identification numbers can be sent to the lighting device 100 using a common communication protocol. Therefore, identification numbers can be written to the lighting device 100 without using a dedicated communication protocol. Since identification numbers can be efficiently stored in the lighting device 100, the burden on the operator during the identification number writing operation can be reduced.

[0045] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made during implementation without departing from its essence. For example, the device for storing the identification number in the lighting device 100 is not limited to the lighting control device 200. The same effects as in Embodiment 1 can be obtained by using an identification number assigning device capable of transmitting a communication signal 800 based on the communication protocol of Figure 4.

[0046] More specifically, during the manufacturing of the lighting device 100, it is possible to transmit a communication signal 800 from the identification number assigning device to the lighting device 100 by connecting the identification number assigning device to terminal 146 of the lighting device 100. The identification number assigning device adds an identification number to the FD and then transmits the CM containing the stored identification number as a communication signal 800 to the lighting device 100, thereby writing the identification number to the lighting device 100 during its manufacturing.

[0047] Furthermore, during the manufacturing of the lighting device 100, the voltage V1 of the voltage source 8 can be used as the power source for driving the identification number assigning device by connecting the identification number assigning device to the voltage source 8 and the grounding terminal 147. As mentioned above, since the voltage source 8 is a lower voltage power source than the external power supply 600, it can contribute to improving power consumption compared to driving the identification number assigning device with an external power supply.

[0048] However, by using the lighting control device 200, it is naturally possible for the administrator or user of the lighting control system 500 to write an identification number to the lighting device 100.

[0049] <Explanation of terms used in claims> In the claims, the command for operating the light source 10 is referred to as the first command. The command for storing the identification number is referred to as the second command. The command for requesting the identification number is referred to as the third command. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1: Rectifier, 2: Capacitor, 3: Resistor, 4: Resistor, 5: Capacitor, 6: Resistor, 7: Capacitor, 8: Voltage source, 10: Light source, 20: Boost chopper circuit, 21: Coil, 22: MOSFET, 23: Diode, 30: Driver, 31: MOSFET, 32: Coil, 33: Diode, 35: Buck converter circuit, 40: Control power supply circuit, 45: Step-down circuit, 100: Lighting device, 110: CN (connector), 120: Lighting circuit, 130: CN (connector), 140: Lighting control circuit 141: Terminal, 142: Terminal, 143: Terminal, 144: Terminal, 145: Terminal, 146: Terminal, 147: Grounding terminal, 148: Terminal, 150: Memory device, 160: CN (connector), 200: Lighting control device, 210: CN (connector), 220: Control circuit, 221: Terminal, 222: Terminal, 223: Grounding terminal, 224: Terminal, 225: Terminal, 230: Communication device, 240: Step-down circuit, 400: External device, 500: Lighting control system, 600: External power supply, 700: Communication signal, 800: Communication signal

Claims

1. A lighting device capable of processing a first command for operating a light source and a second command for storing an identification number, An identification number assigning device that creates the second command, Equipped with, The first command and the second command are commands transmitted to the lighting device using a common communication protocol. The identification number assigning device transmits the second command, to which the identification number information has been added, to the lighting device as a communication signal of the communication protocol. The aforementioned lighting device is Having a memory device, The process of receiving the communication signal from the identification number assigning device, An identification process for identifying the command included in the communication signal, If the identified command is the second command, the process involves storing the identification number specified in the second command in the storage device, A lighting control system configured to perform the following actions.

2. The lighting device comprises a connector for receiving an external power supply and a voltage source generated by stepping down the voltage applied to the connector. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the identification number assigning device is connected to the voltage source, and the voltage source is used as a driving power source to transmit the communication signal to the lighting device.

3. The identification number assigning device further performs the process of transmitting the first command, to which the operation value of the light source has been added, as a communication signal of the communication protocol to the lighting device. The aforementioned lighting device is The lighting control system according to claim 1, further comprising: if the command identified in the identification process is the first command, a process to control the light source so that it becomes the operation value.

4. The identification number assigning device further performs the process of transmitting a third command requesting an identification number as a communication signal of the communication protocol to the lighting device. The aforementioned lighting device is If the command identified in the identification process is the third command, the process involves reading the identification number stored in the storage device, The process involves transmitting the communication signal of the communication protocol, to the identification number assigning device, to which the read identification number information has been added. The lighting control system according to claim 3, further comprising the following steps.

5. A lighting fixture comprising a lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the light source.

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