Wireless system, lighting control system and controller

Abstract

To provide a radio system that enables a user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement to a control terminal from a controller.SOLUTION: A radio system 1 comprises: a controller 2 including an operation communication unit 21, a control communication unit 22, and a server 25; and a control terminal 3 including a radio transmission / reception unit 31, a load control unit 32, and a radio wave measurement unit 33 for creating a measurement result of received radio wave intensity with respect to a measurement signal. The server 25 comprises: a UI processing unit 250 that makes a user terminal 4 connected to the operation communication unit 21 display a radio wave measurement user interface (UI) and guides user input with respect to a measurement condition for received radio wave intensity on the radio wave measurement UI; a radio wave measurement instruction unit 255 that generates a measurement signal based on the measurement condition according to the user input and makes the measurement signal be transmitted from the control communication unit 22 to the control terminal 3; and a measurement result processing unit 257 that makes the UI processing unit 250 display a determination result based on the measurement result acquired via the control communication unit 22 on the radio wave measurement UI.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless system, a lighting control system using a wireless system, and a controller used in the wireless system. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, in a wireless system such as a lighting control system, radio wave measurement is required to check the normality of wireless communication of the wireless system during construction, maintenance, etc. For example, if the wireless system includes a controller and a control terminal that is controlled by a wireless control signal from the controller, it is necessary to measure and evaluate the received radio wave strength of the wireless control signal from the controller to the control terminal.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration for measuring the radio wave environment for lighting fixtures from a control terminal (wireless communication device) in a lighting system. The lighting system includes a wireless communication device that transmits a radio wave measurement signal, a plurality of lighting fixtures that measure the radio wave strength of the radio wave measurement signal when receiving the radio wave measurement signal and return radio wave strength information regarding the radio wave strength to the wireless communication device, and a determination unit that determines the state of the lighting system using the radio wave strength or the radio wave strength information. For example, the determination unit determines the lighting system to be good when the radio wave strength of all lighting fixtures exceeds a reference value, and determines the lighting system to be bad when the radio wave strength of at least one lighting fixture is equal to or lower than the reference value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-8951 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, there is a problem in that radio wave measurements of a control terminal in a low-power wireless system require specialized knowledge or dedicated equipment, and it is difficult for general users such as owners of the control terminal or wireless system, or construction companies, to smoothly perform radio wave measurements in a manual manner.

[0006] Specifically, it is difficult for general users to appropriately select the measurement conditions for radio wave measurement. The radio wave measurement is related to the sub-giga band (920 MHz band), and the radio wave measurement has various restrictions such as a transmission time limit. Skill is required to select and execute the radio wave measurement without being subject to these restrictions. Furthermore, even if sampling data of the radio wave measurement is obtained, it is often difficult for general users to judge the quality of the radio wave measurement results from the sampling data. Also, as in the lighting system of Patent Document 1, if a user terminal such as a personal computer holds data and programs related to information on the control terminal and the quality judgment of the radio wave measurement results, it seems that some of the above difficulties can be overcome. However, as a practical problem, installing the above data and programs on a user terminal for each user in charge of the work for radio wave measurement that is performed relatively infrequently is a macroscopic waste of resources (such as the memory of a personal computer), and is not preferable. Also, a control terminal usually has a longer life than a user terminal such as a personal computer, and reinstalling the above data and programs on a new user terminal every time the user terminal is replaced is an unnecessary burden for the user, which hinders smooth radio wave measurement.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless system that enables a user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement from a controller to a control terminal, and to provide a lighting control system that uses the wireless system and a controller that is used in the wireless system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The wireless system of the present invention comprises a controller including an operation communication unit, a control communication unit, a main control unit, and a server, a wireless transceiver unit wirelessly connected to the control communication unit, a load control unit that controls a load in response to a control signal generated by the main control unit, and a control terminal including a radio wave measurement unit that generates a measurement result of received radio wave strength for a measurement signal generated by the server. The server comprises a UI processing unit that displays a radio wave measurement user interface on a user terminal connected to the operation communication unit and induces a user input regarding measurement conditions for received radio wave strength on the radio wave measurement user interface, a radio wave measurement command unit that generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions in response to the user input and causes the control communication unit to transmit the measurement signal to the control terminal, and a measurement result processing unit that causes the UI processing unit to display a judgment result based on the measurement result acquired via the control communication unit on the radio wave measurement user interface.

[0009] According to the wireless system, the controller includes a server, and the server displays a radio wave measurement user interface on a connected user terminal to guide the user input regarding measurement conditions for received radio wave strength, and generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions according to the user input. The server then transmits the measurement signal, acquires measurement results for the measurement signal from the control terminal, and displays a determination result based on the measurement results on the radio wave measurement user interface. This allows the user to cause the controller to execute radio wave measurement determined by being guided by the radio wave measurement user interface provided by the server of the controller. Thus, a wireless system is realized that enables the user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement from the controller to the control terminal.

[0010] In the lighting control system of the present invention, in the wireless system described above, the load is a lighting fixture, and the control signal is a lighting control signal for determining the lighting state of the lighting fixture. This realizes a lighting control system that allows a user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement from a controller to a control terminal, as described above.

[0011] The controller of the present invention includes an operation communication unit, a control communication unit, a main control unit that controls a control terminal wirelessly connected to the control communication unit, and a server. The server includes a UI processing unit that displays a radio wave measurement user interface on a user terminal connected to the operation communication unit and guides a user input on the radio wave measurement user interface regarding measurement conditions for the received radio wave strength in the control terminal, a radio wave measurement command unit that generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions according to the user input and transmits the measurement signal from the control communication unit to the control terminal, and a measurement result processing unit that acquires a measurement result of the received radio wave strength for the measurement signal in the control terminal from the control communication unit and displays a judgment result based on the measurement result on the radio wave measurement user interface by the UI processing unit. As a result, as in the above, the user can cause the controller to execute the radio wave measurement determined by being guided by the radio wave measurement user interface provided by the server of the controller. Therefore, a controller that enables a user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement on a control terminal from the controller in a wireless system is realized.

[0012] In the wireless system or lighting control system, the measurement signal includes at least a command portion indicating the measurement conditions and a measurement target portion for measuring the received radio wave intensity. This enables radio wave measurement with a simple processing configuration by transmitting a series of measurement signals, promotes smooth radio wave measurement, and increases the ease of introduction of each system.

[0013] In the wireless system or lighting control system, the radio wave measurement unit includes a measurement condition extraction unit that extracts measurement conditions from the command portion of the measurement signal, a sampling unit that samples the received radio wave strength of the measured portion of the measurement signal to generate sampling data, and a data aggregation unit that aggregates the sampled data according to the measurement conditions to generate a measurement result of the received radio wave strength and transmits the measurement result from the wireless transceiver unit to the controller. As a result, the control terminal does not transmit the sampling data sequentially to the controller, but transmits the measurement result, which is an aggregation of the sampling data. Therefore, the number of transmissions from the control terminal to the controller is reduced, and the time limit for radio wave measurement is avoided from being exceeded.

[0014] In the wireless system or lighting control system, the measurement conditions include a command measurement count, and the data tallying unit is configured to tally the sampling data sampled until the performed measurement count reaches the command measurement count to generate a measurement result. Also, the measurement conditions include a command measurement time, and the data tallying unit is configured to tally the sampling data sampled until the performed measurement time reaches the command measurement time to generate a measurement result. This makes it possible to generate a measurement result based on an appropriate amount of sampling data.

[0015] In the wireless system, lighting control system, or controller, the server further includes a control signal limiting unit that limits transmission of a control signal from the control communication unit while the control communication unit is transmitting a measurement signal. This prevents the control signal from interfering with radio wave measurement, and ensures that radio wave measurement is performed without any interference.

[0016] In the wireless system, lighting control system, or controller, the UI processing unit includes a measurement condition determination unit that presents measurement condition options indicating candidate measurement conditions for measuring received radio wave strength on a radio wave measurement user interface and determines the measurement conditions according to a user input to the measurement condition options. This allows the user to easily select the measurement conditions to be adopted in the radio wave measurement, enabling smoother radio wave measurement. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a lighting control system, which is a wireless system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a radio wave measurement method in a lighting control system, which is a wireless system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 11 is a flowchart of a sampling counting process in a control terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless system 1 includes a controller 2 and control terminals 3-1 to 3-n that are wirelessly connected to each other. The wireless system 1 may also include a user terminal 4 connected to the controller 2 and loads 5-1 to 5-m connected to the control terminals 3-1 to 3-n. In this embodiment, the wireless system 1 is a lighting control system, and each of the loads 5-1 to 5-m is a lighting fixture. Note that a plurality of loads 5 may be connected in series or in parallel to one control terminal 3. In this disclosure, since all of the control terminals 3-1 to 3-n have the same configuration in a block diagram, the control terminals 3-1 to 3-n are also referred to as a control terminal 3 collectively or as a representative of one of the control terminals. Furthermore, since all of the loads 5-1 to 5-m have the same configuration in a block diagram, the loads 5-1 to 5-m are also referred to as a load 5 collectively or as a representative of one of the loads. Note that in this embodiment, the load 5 is also referred to as a lighting fixture 5.

[0019] In outline of the operation, when the user connects the user terminal 4 to the controller 2 in a situation where the control terminal 3 is measuring the radio wave reception environment related to the controller 2, the controller 2 displays a radio wave measurement user interface (hereinafter also referred to as "radio wave measurement UI") on the user terminal 4, and guides the user to select the measurement conditions of the radio wave measurement. The controller 2 generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions according to the user's selection, and transmits the measurement signal to the control terminal 3. In response, the control terminal 3 performs radio wave measurement on the measurement signal according to the measurement conditions commanded by the measurement signal. The control terminal 3 transmits the measurement result of the received radio wave to the controller 2, and the controller 2 displays the judgment result on the radio wave measurement UI of the user terminal 4 based on the measurement result. This allows the user to know the radio wave environment of the control terminal 3 caused by the controller 2 without any effort. Such radio wave measurement is performed during construction, maintenance, etc. of the wireless system 1 (the controller 2 or the control terminal 3, or both).

[0020] In normal operation, the controller 2 is a device that controls the lighting fixtures 5 via the control terminal 3. The controller 2 includes an operation communication unit 21, a control communication unit 22, a main control unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a server 25. All or part of the operation communication unit 21, the control communication unit 22, the main control unit 23, the storage unit 24, and the server 25 are contained in a housing (not shown), and the housing is installed at a predetermined location in the implementation area of ​​the wireless system 1. Although not shown, the controller 2 has an appropriate power supply unit, and an input voltage such as a commercial power supply is converted into a predetermined DC operating voltage by the power supply unit, and each unit of the controller 2 operates by this operating voltage. In addition, the operation communication unit 21, the control communication unit 22, the main control unit 23, the storage unit 24, and the server 25 are capable of transferring signals or data between each other via the bus B1. In addition, the storage unit 24 is a storage device including a ROM, a RAM, etc. that mainly stores programs and data required for the operation of the main control unit 23.

[0021] The operation communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 4 (communication unit 41) in a wired or wireless manner. The operation communication unit 21 and the user terminal 4 can be connected in a wired manner by a LAN cable or the like. Also, the operation communication unit 21 and the user terminal 4 can be connected wirelessly via a network in accordance with standards such as 3G, 4G, LTE, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0022] The control communication unit 22 is a communication interface for wirelessly connecting to the control terminal 3 (wireless transmission / reception unit 31). The control communication unit 22 and the wireless transmission / reception unit 31 are wirelessly connected by low-power radio using the sub-gigahertz band (920 MHz band (915 MHz to 928 MHz band)). Specifically, wireless communication is performed between the control communication unit 22 and the wireless transmission / reception unit 31 in accordance with the standard ARIB STD-T108 (920 MHz band radio equipment for telemetering, telecontrol, and data transmission).

[0023] The main control unit 23 is a processing unit including a CPU and the like, and controls the overall operation of the controller 2, and as a result, controls the control terminal 3. The main control unit 23 generates a control signal (a lighting control signal in this embodiment) based on the lighting control data stored in the storage unit 24. The lighting control signal is a control signal for determining the lighting state (on, off, dimming, etc.) of the lighting fixture 5. For example, the lighting control signal can determine the lighting state of the lighting fixture 5 according to the time or duration output by a timing function unit (not shown). The lighting control signal can also determine the lighting state of the lighting fixture 5 according to sensing data from various sensors (environmental illuminance sensor, human presence sensor, etc.) (not shown) installed near the controller 2 or near the control terminal 3. When various commands are input from the server 25 (described later), the main control unit 23 executes operations according to the commands.

[0024] The server 25 is a Web server connectable to a network. The server 25 includes a UI processing unit 250, a radio wave measurement command unit 255, a control signal limiting unit 256, a measurement result processing unit 257, and a storage unit 258, and the UI processing unit 250 includes a control terminal determination unit 251 and a measurement condition determination unit 252. The server 25 may be physical hardware externally attached to the main control unit 23, or may be software installed in the storage unit 24 (ROM) and executed by the CPU of the main control unit 23. The UI processing unit 250 (the control terminal determination unit 251 and the measurement condition determination unit 252), the radio wave measurement command unit 255, the control signal limiting unit 256, the measurement result processing unit 257, and the storage unit 258 are capable of transferring signals or data between each other via a bus B2 connected to the bus B1.

[0025] The UI processing unit 250 is configured to display a radio wave measurement UI on the user terminal 4 connected to the operation communication unit 21 and to guide the user to input information related to radio wave measurement conditions, etc. on the radio wave measurement UI. The UI processing unit 250 is configured to centrally control general processing related to the radio wave measurement UI.

[0026] The control terminal determination unit 251 reads out from the storage unit 258 control terminal options indicating the control terminals 3 (or groups thereof) to be the targets of radio wave measurement, and presents them on the radio wave measurement UI. In response to a user input from the user terminal 4 for the control terminal options, the control terminal determination unit 251 determines one or more (all or part of the selectable control terminals 3) control terminals 3 to be the targets of radio wave measurement. The control terminal options presented by the control terminal determination unit 251 may indicate all control terminals 3 that can be wirelessly connected to the controller 2, or may indicate only some control terminals 3 (or groups thereof) with high priority. Note that the priority order may be determined by the order of the ID or address of the control terminal 3, the order of the previous measurement results (ascending or descending order of radio wave strength), the order of the previous measurement date and time, an appropriate order of the installation positions, or the like.

[0027] The measurement condition determination unit 252 reads out measurement condition options indicating candidate measurement conditions for radio wave measurement from the storage unit 258 and presents them on the radio wave measurement UI. In response to a user input from the user terminal 4 for the measurement condition options, the measurement condition determination unit 252 determines the measurement conditions to be adopted in the radio wave measurement. The measurement conditions include, for example, the number of radio wave measurements (or the number of samplings) and the duration of the radio wave measurement within a range conforming to the standard ARIB STD-T108. In addition, the measurement conditions may include, for example, a measurement signal pattern related to the frequency of the measurement signal (a frequency included in the 920 MHz band), output strength, modulation specifications, and the like. Since a user needs specialized knowledge to select an optimal measurement signal pattern and the selection may be difficult in some cases, it is desirable to present the minimum number of measurement condition options. In addition, the measurement condition determination unit 252 may preferentially display the measurement conditions previously adopted for the control terminal 3 determined by the control terminal determination unit 251 on the radio wave measurement UI.

[0028] The radio wave measurement command unit 255 reads out measurement conditions corresponding to a user input on the radio wave measurement UI from the storage unit 258, and generates a measurement signal corresponding to the measurement conditions. The radio wave measurement command unit 255 operates the main control unit 23 to transmit the measurement signal from the control communication unit 22 to the target control terminal 3. Note that the radio wave measurement command unit 255 may be configured to directly operate the control communication unit 22 to transmit the measurement signal from the control communication unit 22 to the target control terminal 3.

[0029] The measurement signal includes in the signal frame identification information of the control terminal 3, a command portion indicating the measurement conditions, and a measured portion that is the target of measurement of received radio wave strength. The identification information and command portion may be included, for example, near the header of the signal frame. Alternatively, the identification information and command portion and the measured portion may be included in different frames out of a series of multiple frames. However, even in this case, the frame of the identification information and command portion is transmitted prior to the frame of the measured portion. When multiple control terminals 3 are targets of radio wave measurement, the measurement signal may be transmitted simultaneously (multicast) or sequentially to the target control terminals 3 (unicast).

[0030] The control signal limiting unit 256 limits the control signals (signals other than the measurement signal) transmitted from the control communication unit 22 during the radio wave measurement operation in order to avoid the control signal from interfering with or disrupting the radio wave measurement. Specifically, the control signal limiting unit 256 may stop the transmission of the control signal, or may lock (fix) the control signal so as to transmit only a predetermined control signal. Alternatively, the control signal limiting unit 256 may thin out the transmission of the control signal to reduce the frequency of transmission. Note that locking and thinning may be applied in combination. By stopping or locking the control signal, the lighting device 5, which is the final control target, may be fixed to the previous lighting state (including off) or may be fixed to a default lighting state (including off). Alternatively, in response to the stopping or locking of the control signal, an operation in a closed loop between the control terminal 3 and the lighting device 5 may be performed. Alternatively, the main control unit 23 may be configured to cause the control communication unit 22 to transmit the measurement signal in priority to the control signal. As a result, the control signal is stopped or thinned out.

[0031] When there is a mixture of control terminals 3 to be measured and control terminals 3 to be not measured, the control signal limiting unit 256 may limit control signals to all control terminals 3 connected to the controller 2, or may limit only control signals to the control terminals 3 to be measured. When control signals to all control terminals 3 are limited, it is possible to prevent control signals to the control terminals 3 to be not measured from interfering with the radio wave measurement of the control terminals 3 to be measured, and the reliability of the radio wave measurement may be improved. On the other hand, when only the control signals to the control terminals 3 to be measured are limited, the control terminals 3 to be not measured can continue normal operation, and the effect of the radio wave measurement on the original function (lighting control function) of the wireless system 1 is minimized.

[0032] The measurement result processing unit 257 acquires the measurement result for the measurement signal from the control terminal 3 via the control communication unit 22 and the main control unit 23, and generates a judgment result (for example, a pass / fail judgment) based on the measurement result. For example, when the total value of the sampling data constituting the measurement result is a calculation processing value (average value, etc.) of the sampling data value as described later, the judgment result is a result of comparing the calculation processing value with a predetermined standard. It is assumed that the predetermined standard is stored in the storage unit 258 in advance. Also, when the total value of the sampling data constituting the measurement result is a judgment value (multi-stage evaluation value, etc.) as described later, the judgment result is substantially the same as the judgment value. The measurement result processing unit 257 operates the UI processing unit 250 to display the judgment result on the radio wave measurement UI. Also, when multiple control terminals 3 are the measurement targets, the measurement result processing unit 257 may sequentially display the judgment results of each control terminal 3, or may collectively display the judgment results of multiple control terminals 3. In the former case, the judgment result display can be obtained in real time on the radio wave measurement UI, and in the latter case, the judgment results can be obtained at a glance. The user can take necessary measures (measures to improve the poor radio wave environment of the control terminal 3) depending on the determination result displayed on the radio wave measurement UI.

[0033] The storage unit 258 is a memory such as a ROM, a RAM, or an EPROM when the server 25 is a hardware server, and corresponds to a reference table in a program when the server 25 is a software server. The storage unit 258 is assumed to store information (ID, address, model name, etc.) of the control terminal 3 connected to the controller 2, various radio wave measurement conditions, and criteria for judging radio wave measurement results in advance. It is assumed that an initial storage process in the storage unit 258 is performed by a specialized user when the controller 2 is installed. In addition, in this embodiment, a configuration in which the storage unit 258 is included in the server 25 will be described, but a storage area similar to the storage unit 258 may be arranged in the storage unit 24. Also, a storage area similar to the storage unit 258 may be arranged on a cloud. In this case, it is assumed that the server 25 (particularly the UI processing unit 250, the radio wave measurement command unit 255, and the measurement result processing unit 257) can access the storage area via the operation communication unit 21 of the controller 2.

[0034] The control terminal 3 includes a wireless transmission / reception unit 31, a load control unit 32, a radio wave measurement unit 33, a power supply unit (not shown), etc., and the radio wave measurement unit 33 includes a measurement condition extraction unit 331, a sampling unit 332, a data collection unit 333, and a storage unit 334. The power supply unit may be a converter that converts an input voltage from an external power supply such as a commercial power supply into an operating voltage, or may include an internal power supply such as a battery and a converter that converts a voltage generated by the internal power supply into an operating voltage. The wireless transmission / reception unit 31, the load control unit 32, and the radio wave measurement unit 33 (the measurement condition extraction unit 331, the sampling unit 332, the data collection unit 333, and the storage unit 334) are capable of transferring signals or data between each other via the bus B3.

[0035] The wireless transceiver 31 is a communication interface for wirelessly connecting to the controller 2 (control communication unit 22). As described above, the wireless transceiver 31 and the control communication unit 22 are wirelessly connected by low-power radio using the sub-gigahertz band (920 MHz band (915 MHz to 928 MHz band)). The wireless transceiver 31 receives (takes in) the control signal and the measurement signal transmitted to its own control terminal 3 by referring to the identification information included in the detected measurement signal.

[0036] In normal operation, the load control unit 32 controls the operating state of the lighting fixtures 5 in response to the control signals generated by the main control unit 23. Specifically, the load control unit 32 generates a lighting input signal in response to the received lighting control signal and outputs the lighting input signal to the lighting fixtures 5. This causes the lighting fixtures 5 to be turned on, off, or dimmed. The load control unit 32 also includes a CPU and the like, and can control the overall operation of the control terminal 3.

[0037] During radio wave measurement, the radio wave measurement unit 33 measures the received radio wave intensity based on the measurement signal generated by the server 25 (radio wave measurement command unit 255). Specifically, the radio wave measurement unit 33 is configured to extract measurement conditions from the command portion of the received measurement signal, sample the received radio wave intensity of the measured portion of the measurement signal, and generate a measurement result by aggregating the sampling data according to the extracted measurement conditions.

[0038] The measurement condition extraction unit 331 extracts the measurement conditions (measurement count, measurement period, etc.) included in the command portion of the received measurement signal, and stores the measurement conditions in the storage unit 334. The measurement count and measurement time designated or commanded by the measurement signal are also called command measurement count and command measurement time, respectively.

[0039] In response to receiving the measurement signal, the sampling unit 332 samples the received radio wave intensity of the measured portion of the measurement signal. Specifically, the sampling unit 332 performs RSSI (received signal strength indicator) measurement on the measurement signal at a predetermined period, and stores the sampling data in the storage unit 334.

[0040] The data tallying unit 333 tallys up the sampling data over the commanded measurement count or commanded measurement time according to the extracted measurement conditions to generate a measurement result of the received radio wave intensity, and stores the measurement result in the storage unit 334. The data tallying unit 333 causes the wireless transceiver unit 31 to transmit the measurement result to the controller 2. The measurement result includes the identification information of the control terminal 3 and the tallying value of the sampling data. The identification information of the control terminal 3 may be the ID or address of the control terminal 3 that directly identifies the control terminal 3, or may be the identification information of the measurement signal (any information included in the measurement signal) that indirectly identifies the control terminal 3. The tallying value of the sampling data may be, for example, a calculation processing value such as the average value, median value, maximum value, minimum value, total value, standard deviation, variance, etc. of the sampling data (measurement value), or a combination of these. Alternatively, the tallying value of the sampling data may be a judgment value (for example, a graded evaluation value, a percentage value, etc.) obtained by comparing the above-mentioned calculation processing value with a predetermined reference value.

[0041] The storage unit 334 includes a ROM that stores a program (including the above-mentioned predetermined reference value) for executing the sampling and counting process. The storage unit 334 also includes a RAM that temporarily stores the extracted measurement conditions, the sampled data, the counted values, or the generated measurement results.

[0042] The user terminal 4 is a general information and communication terminal such as a tablet terminal, a smartphone, or a notebook computer. Therefore, the user terminal 4 includes a communication unit 41, a CPU 42, a memory 43, and an input / output unit 44 similar to those of the general information and communication terminals. The input / output unit 44 has at least a screen for displaying a radio wave measurement UI. When the user terminal 4 is a tablet terminal or a smartphone, the input / output unit 44 is a display screen made of a touch panel, and when the user terminal 4 is a notebook computer or the like, the input / output unit 44 is a display screen and an input device (mouse, keyboard, etc.).

[0043] The lighting fixture 5 includes a drive circuit 51 and a light source 52. The drive circuit 51 converts power input from a commercial power source or the like into an output current in response to a lighting input signal input from the control terminal 3, and supplies the output current to the light source 52. In this way, the drive circuit 51 drives the light source 52 (i.e., turns on, turns off, or dims the light). The light source 52 is, for example, an LED array, a discharge lamp, or the like.

[0044] A radio wave measurement method executed in the wireless system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, the operation communication unit 21 and the server 25 of the controller 2 are generally described as the server side, and the control communication unit 22 and the main control unit 23 are generally described as the main control side. It is also assumed that at the start of this flow, a control signal has been transmitted from the controller 2 to the control terminal 3. In this case, the control terminal 3 is executing a lighting control process (not shown) by the load control unit 32.

[0045] In step S10, a user connects the user terminal 4 to the controller 2. In response to this, in step S11, the server 25 (UI processing unit 250) of the controller 2 displays a radio wave measurement UI on the screen of the user terminal 4 (the input / output unit 44).

[0046] In step S12, the server 25 (control terminal determination unit 251) presents control terminal option options indicating the control terminals 3 that are targets of radio wave measurement on the radio wave measurement UI of the user terminal 4. In step S13, the user selects and inputs the target control terminal 3 from the radio wave measurement UI displayed on the user terminal 4. In step S14, the server 25 (control terminal determination unit 251) determines the target control terminal 3 in response to the user input.

[0047] In step S15, the server 25 (measurement condition determination unit 252) presents measurement condition options indicating candidate measurement conditions for radio wave measurement on the radio wave measurement UI of the user terminal 4. In step S16, the user selects and inputs measurement conditions from the radio wave measurement UI displayed on the user terminal 4. In step S17, the server 25 (measurement condition determination unit 252) determines the measurement conditions to be adopted in the radio wave measurement in response to the user input. Note that steps S15 to S17 may be executed before steps S12 to S14.

[0048] In step S20, the server 25 (radio wave measurement command unit 255) generates a measurement signal based on the target control terminal 3 determined in step S14 and the measurement conditions determined in step S17. This measurement signal includes identification information of the control terminal 3 to be measured, a command portion indicating the measurement conditions (command measurement count and command measurement time), and a measured portion.

[0049] In step S21, the server 25 (control signal limiting unit 256) causes the main control unit 23 to limit the control signal. Note that, although the transmission of the control signal is stopped in Fig. 2, the control signal may be locked to a predetermined signal or may be thinned out.

[0050] In step S22, the server 25 (radio wave measurement command unit 255) operates the main control unit 23 or the control communication unit 22 to transmit the measurement signal generated in step S20 from the control communication unit 22.

[0051] In step S30, the control terminal 3 (radio wave measurement unit 33) samples the measurement signal at a predetermined period, and compiles the sampling data according to the measurement conditions to generate a measurement result (sampling compilation process). This sampling compilation process will be described in detail later. Note that in FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, step S30 of the sampling compilation process is positioned after step S22 of transmitting the measurement signal, but in reality, the transmission of the measurement signal and the sampling compilation process (especially sampling) are performed in substantially the same period. In step S31, the control terminal 3 (radio wave measurement unit 33) transmits the measurement result generated in step S30 to the controller 2.

[0052] In step S40, the server 25 (measurement result processing unit 257) acquires the measurement result via the control communication unit 22 and the main control unit 23, and generates a judgment result (e.g., pass / fail judgment) based on the measurement result. In step S41, the server 25 (measurement result processing unit 257) operates the UI processing unit 250 to display the judgment result on the radio wave measurement UI displayed on the user terminal 4. This ends the radio wave measurement.

[0053] In step S45, the server 25 (radio wave measurement command unit 255, control signal limiting unit 256, or measurement result processing unit 257) releases the restriction on the control signal in step S21. In this example, the transmission of the control signal is resumed. Step S45 may be executed by the radio wave measurement command unit 255 or the control signal limiting unit 256 due to the end of the measurement signal transmission, or may be executed by the measurement result processing unit 257 due to the acquisition of the measurement result. Also, step S45 may be executed before step S41 if it is after the end of step S22.

[0054] The sampling and counting process executed by the wireless transmitting / receiving unit 31 and the radio wave measuring unit 33 in step S30 of the radio wave measuring method will be described with reference to FIG.

[0055] In step S300, the wireless transceiver 31 refers to the identification information of the detected measurement signal to determine whether or not a measurement signal has been received for the own control terminal 3. If a measurement signal has been received (step S300, YES), the process proceeds to step S301.

[0056] In step S301, the measurement condition extraction unit 331 extracts the measurement conditions (command measurement count and command measurement time) from the command portion of the received measurement signal. The extracted measurement conditions are stored in the storage unit 334.

[0057] In step S302, the sampling unit 332 samples the received radio wave intensity of the measured portion of the measurement signal at a predetermined period. The sampling operation of the sampling unit 332 can be started by the measurement condition extraction unit 331. The sampled data is stored in the storage unit 334.

[0058] In step S303, the data tallying unit 333 judges whether the number of measurements performed has reached the number of measurements commanded. If the number of measurements performed is less than the number of measurements commanded (step S303, NO), the process proceeds to step S304, and if the number of measurements performed has reached the number of measurements commanded (step S303, YES), the process proceeds to step S305. The data tallying unit 333 may stop the operation of the sampling unit 332 in response to the judgment of YES in step S303.

[0059] In step S304, the data tallying unit 333 judges whether or not the actual measurement time has reached the commanded measurement time based on the measurement conditions stored in the memory unit 334. If the actual measurement time is less than the commanded measurement time (step S304, NO), the process returns to step S302, and if the actual measurement time has reached the commanded measurement time (step S304, YES), the process proceeds to step S305. Note that the data tallying unit 333 may stop the operation of the sampling unit 332 in response to the judgment of YES in step S304.

[0060] Note that, if the measurement signal includes the command measurement count but not the command measurement time, step S303 may be performed and step S304 may not be performed. Also, if the measurement signal does not include the command measurement count but includes the command measurement time, step S303 may not be performed and step S304 may be performed. Alternatively, although this is a different flow from that of FIG. 3, when the performed measurement count reaches the command measurement count and the performed measurement time reaches the command measurement time, the process may proceed to step S305. In this case, if either the performed measurement count or the performed measurement time has not reached the command, step S302 is repeated.

[0061] In step S305, the data tallying unit 333 tallys up the sampling data stored in the memory unit 334 at that time, and generates the above-mentioned measurement result (the tally value of the sampling data and the identification information of the control terminal 3). In step S306, the data tallying unit 333 transmits the measurement result to the controller 2 via the wireless transceiver unit 31. This ends the sampling tallying process.

[0062] As described above, the wireless system 1 of the present embodiment includes the controller 2 and the control terminal 3. The controller 2 includes the operation communication unit 21, the control communication unit 22, the main control unit 23, and the server 25. The control terminal 3 includes the wireless transceiver 31 wirelessly connected to the control communication unit 22, the load control unit 32 that controls the load 5 in response to a control signal generated by the main control unit 23, and the radio wave measurement unit 33 that generates a measurement result of the received radio wave strength for a measurement signal generated by the server 25. The server 25 includes a UI processing unit 250 that causes the user terminal 4 connected to the operation communication unit 21 to display a radio wave measurement UI and induces a user input regarding measurement conditions of the received radio wave strength on the radio wave measurement UI, a radio wave measurement command unit 255 that generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions in response to the user input and causes the control communication unit 22 to transmit the measurement signal to the control terminal 3, and a measurement result processing unit 257 that acquires the measurement result from the control communication unit 22 and causes the UI processing unit 250 to display a determination result based on the measurement result on the radio wave measurement UI. Furthermore, when the load 5 is a lighting fixture and the control signal is a lighting control signal that determines the lighting state of the lighting fixture, the wireless system 1 is configured as a lighting control system.

[0063] According to the above configuration, the controller 2 includes the server 25, and the server 25 displays a radio wave measurement UI on the connected user terminal 4 to guide the user to input information about measurement conditions for the received radio wave strength, and generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions according to the user input. The server 25 then transmits the measurement signal, acquires a measurement result for the measurement signal from the control terminal 3, and displays a determination result based on the measurement result on the radio wave measurement UI. This allows the user to cause the controller 2 to execute the radio wave measurement determined by being guided by the radio wave measurement UI. Thus, a wireless system (lighting control system) 1 is realized that allows the user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement from the controller 2 to the control terminal 3. Also, in the wireless system 1, a controller 2 is realized that allows the user to smoothly perform radio wave measurement from the controller 2 to the control terminal 3.

[0064] The measurement signal includes at least a command portion indicating the measurement conditions and a portion to be measured that is the object of measurement of the received radio wave intensity. This enables radio wave measurement with a simple processing configuration by transmitting a series of measurement signals, promotes smooth radio wave measurement, and makes it easier to introduce the wireless system 1.

[0065] Moreover, the radio wave measurement unit 33 includes a measurement condition extraction unit 331 that extracts measurement conditions from the command portion of the measurement signal, a sampling unit 332 that samples the received radio wave strength of the measured portion of the measurement signal to generate sampling data, and a data aggregation unit 333 that aggregates the sampling data according to the measurement conditions to generate a measurement result of the received radio wave strength and transmits the measurement result from the wireless transceiver unit 31 to the controller 2. As a result, the control terminal 3 does not transmit the sampling data sequentially to the controller 2, but transmits the measurement result, which is an aggregation of the sampling data. Therefore, the number of transmissions from the control terminal 3 to the controller 2 is reduced, and the time limit for radio wave measurement is prevented from being exceeded.

[0066] Furthermore, the measurement conditions include the command measurement count, and the data tallying unit 333 is configured to tally the sampling data sampled until the performed measurement count reaches the command measurement count to generate the measurement result. Furthermore, the measurement conditions include the command measurement time, and the data tallying unit 333 is configured to tally the sampling data sampled until the performed measurement time reaches the command measurement time to generate the measurement result. This makes it possible to generate the measurement result based on an appropriate amount of sampling data.

[0067] Moreover, the server 25 further includes a control signal limiting unit 256 that limits the transmission of a control signal from the control communication unit 22 while the control communication unit 22 is transmitting a measurement signal. This prevents the control signal from interfering with the radio wave measurement, and ensures that the radio wave measurement is performed without any interference.

[0068] The wireless system and UI processing unit 250 include a measurement condition determination unit 252 that presents measurement condition options indicating candidate measurement conditions for measuring received radio wave strength on the radio wave measurement UI and determines the measurement conditions according to a user input to the measurement condition options. This allows the user to easily select the measurement conditions to be adopted in radio wave measurement, enabling smoother radio wave measurement.

[0069] <Modification> Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be modified in various ways, for example, as described below.

[0070] (1) Use of Wireless System 1 In the above embodiment, the wireless system 1 is a lighting control system, but the application of the wireless system 1 is not limited to lighting control systems. For example, the wireless system 1 can be applied to a system in which the load 5 is a relay, a sensor, or the like.

[0071] (2) Modifications regarding the operation communication unit 21 In the above embodiment, the operation communication unit 21 has been described as being separate from the server 25, but when the server 25 is a hardware server, the operation communication unit 21 may be provided directly in the server 25. Even in this case, it can be said that "the controller 2 includes the operation communication unit 21 and the server 25." [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1. Wireless system (lighting control system) 2. Controller 3, 3-1~3-n Control terminal 4. User terminal 5, 5-1~5-m load (lighting equipment) 21 Operation and communication unit 22 Control and communication section 23 Main control unit 24 Memory section 25 Server 31 Radio transmitter / receiver 32 Load control section 33 Radio wave measurement section 250 UI processing section 251 Control Terminal Determination Unit 252 Measurement Condition Determination Unit 255 Radio wave measurement command section 256 Control signal limiter 257 Measurement result processing section 258 Storage section 331 Measurement condition extraction section 332 Sampling section 333 Data Collection Department 334 Storage section

Claims

1. A wireless system, comprising: a controller including an operation communication unit, a control communication unit, a main control unit, and a server; a control terminal including a wireless transceiver unit wirelessly connected to the control communication unit, a load control unit that controls a load in response to a control signal generated by the main control unit, and a radio wave measurement unit that generates a measurement result of received radio wave intensity for a measurement signal generated by the server; Equipped with The server, a UI processing unit that displays a radio wave measurement user interface on a user terminal connected to the operation communication unit and guides a user to input information regarding a measurement condition of the received radio wave intensity on the radio wave measurement user interface; a radio wave measurement command unit that generates a measurement signal based on the measurement conditions according to the user input and transmits the measurement signal from the control communication unit to the control terminal; a measurement result processing unit that causes the UI processing unit to display a determination result based on the measurement result acquired via the control communication unit on the radio wave measurement user interface; Equipped with the measurement signal includes at least a command portion indicating the measurement condition and a measurement target portion that is to be measured for the received radio wave intensity, The radio wave measuring unit, a measurement condition extracting unit for extracting the measurement condition from the command portion of the measurement signal; a sampling unit that samples the received radio wave intensity of the measured portion of the measurement signal to generate sampling data; a data collection unit that collects the sampling data in accordance with the measurement conditions to generate a measurement result of the received radio wave intensity, and transmits the measurement result from the wireless transmission / reception unit to the controller; Including, The measurement condition includes a command measurement number, The data aggregation unit is configured to aggregate sampling data sampled until the number of performed measurements reaches the commanded number of measurements, and generate the measurement result.

2. the measurement condition includes a command measurement time; The wireless system according to claim 1 , wherein the data collection unit is configured to generate the measurement result by collecting sampling data sampled until an actual measurement time reaches the command measurement time.

3. 3. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein the server further includes a control signal limiting unit that limits transmission of the control signal from the control communication unit while the control communication unit is transmitting the measurement signal.

4. 4. The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein the UI processing unit presents measurement condition options indicating candidate measurement conditions for measuring the received radio wave strength on the radio wave measurement user interface, and includes a measurement condition determination unit that determines the measurement conditions in response to user input for the measurement condition options.

5. A lighting control system comprising the wireless system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the load is a lighting fixture, and the control signal is a lighting control signal for determining a lighting state of the lighting fixture.

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