Lighting devices and lighting equipment

Abstract

To provide a dimming device and a lighting device having the dimming device that can suppress cost increase.SOLUTION: In a dimming circuit 11, the microcontroller 115 identifies whether the signal type of the signal input to the input terminal 110a is an AC signal, a DC signal, or no signal, and controls dimming of the LED board 13 according to the identified signal type.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a light control device and a lighting device including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, lighting devices installed in road tunnels and the like adjust the illuminance (brightness) of lighting inside the tunnel depending on the outdoor brightness.

[0003] Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a contact input unit that is a means for receiving a binary contact signal of High level (ON level) / Low level (OFF level) that instructs lighting of a lighting fixture. The contact signal described in Patent Document 1 switches ON or OFF using a DC signal (High level or Low level), but it is also possible to use an AC signal as the contact signal and switch ON or OFF depending on the presence or absence of the AC signal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-149463 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The contact signal described in Patent Document 1 is sometimes used not only for switching lighting but also for dimming control. For example, when a high level is input, the light is dimmed to a predetermined brightness. In this case, by increasing the number of input contacts (input units), it becomes possible to combine high and low levels, and the dimming brightness can be adjusted to multiple levels. However, increasing the number of dimming levels increases the number of contacts, which leads to problems such as an increase in circuit board size and increased costs.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a light control device that can suppress an increase in costs and a lighting device including the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention described in claim 1, which has been made to solve the above problem, is a dimming device characterized by comprising: an identification means for identifying the signal type of a dimming signal input to an input section as either an AC signal, a DC signal, or no signal; and a dimming means for controlling the dimming of a light-emitting section in accordance with the signal type identified by the identification means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the discrimination means can discriminate between an AC signal, a DC signal, and no signal for one input, making it possible to discriminate between three states per input, thereby increasing the number of discriminable states. Therefore, even when performing multi-stage dimming, the number of inputs can be reduced, and cost increases can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system having a lighting device equipped with a light control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the lamp shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of signal identification in the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a graph of threshold values ​​used in the operation of signal discrimination in the lighting fixture shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system having a lighting device equipped with a light control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] The system shown in Fig. 1 comprises a plurality of lighting fixtures 1, a dimming control panel 20, and a power supply (AC 200V) 30. In the system shown in Fig. 1, for example, the lighting fixtures 1 can be installed as road lighting in road tunnels, expressways, etc. In this case, if the system is a road tunnel, the plurality of lighting fixtures 1 are installed along the road inside the tunnel, and the dimming control panel 20 and power supply 30 are installed outside the tunnel. The dimming control panel 20, power supply 30, and the plurality of lighting fixtures 1 are connected by cables such as power cables, and the length of the cables may be several hundred meters to several kilometers.

[0012] The lighting fixture 1 includes a dimming circuit 11, a power supply circuit 12, and an LED board 13. The circuit configuration within the lighting fixture 1 is shown in FIG. 2. As will be described later, the lighting fixture 1 is supplied with power from an external source and adjusts the brightness of the LED (light-emitting diode) elements mounted on the LED board 13 according to the type of dimming signal input. In other words, the lighting fixture 1 functions as a lighting device. Furthermore, the dimming circuit 11 functions as a dimming device, as will be described later.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the dimming circuit 11 includes diodes 111a and 111b, resistors 112a and 112b, photocouplers 113a and 113b, resistors 114a and 114b, and a microcomputer 115.

[0014] The anode of the diode 111a is connected to the input terminal 110a of the dimming circuit 11, and the cathode is connected to one end of the resistor 112a. The other end of the resistor 112a is connected to one end (e.g., the anode) of the light-emitting element of the photocoupler 113a. The other end (e.g., the cathode) of the light-emitting element of the photocoupler 113a is connected to the input terminal 110c of the dimming circuit 11. One end (e.g., the collector) of the light-receiving element of the photocoupler 113a is connected to one end of the resistor 114a and the input CH1 of the microcomputer 115. The other end (e.g., the emitter) of the light-receiving element of the photocoupler 113a is grounded. The other end of the resistor 114a is connected to a power supply voltage of 3.3V.

[0015] The anode of the diode 111b is connected to the input terminal 110b of the dimming circuit 11, and the cathode is connected to one end of the resistor 112b. The other end of the resistor 112b is connected to one end (e.g., the anode) of the light-emitting element of the photocoupler 113b. The other end (e.g., the cathode) of the light-emitting element of the photocoupler 113b is connected to the input terminal 110c of the dimming circuit 11. One end (e.g., the collector) of the light-receiving element of the photocoupler 113b is connected to one end of the resistor 114b and the input CH2 of the microcomputer 115. The other end (e.g., the emitter) of the light-receiving element of the photocoupler 113b is grounded. The other end of the resistor 114a is connected to a power supply voltage of 3.3V.

[0016] The above-mentioned input terminal 110a, diode 111a, resistor 112a, photocoupler 113a, input terminal 110b, diode 111b, resistor 112b, and photocoupler 113b function as an input section. In this embodiment, two (plural) input sections are provided. Of course, the number is not limited to two, and three or more input sections may be provided.

[0017] The microcomputer 115 is configured with a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, etc. The microcomputer 115 identifies the signal types of the dimming signals input to input CH1 and input CH2, and outputs an internal dimming signal OUT to the power supply circuit 12 so as to achieve a dimming level according to the combination of the respective signal types. That is, the microcomputer 115 functions as an identification means for identifying the signal type of the dimming signal, and as a dimming means for performing dimming control of the LED board 13 (light-emitting section) according to the identified signal type.

[0018] Here, for the dimming signals input to each input terminal shown in FIG. 2, AC(L) and DC(+) refer to the non-grounded side, and AC(N) and DC(-) refer to the grounded side.

[0019] The power supply circuit 12 receives a voltage of 200 V AC from the power supply 30. Based on the internal dimming signal OUT output from the dimming circuit 11, the power supply circuit 12 drives the LED board 13 with a constant current using a predetermined PWM signal to emit light.

[0020] The LED substrate 13 has a plurality of LED elements 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136 mounted on it in series connection. The LED elements 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136 mounted on the LED substrate 13 emit light at a predetermined dimming level (brightness) by the constant current drive described above by the power supply circuit 12. The LED elements mounted on the LED substrate 13 are not limited to being connected in series in one row; for example, a circuit configuration in which a group of series-connected LED elements are connected in parallel in multiple rows is also possible.

[0021] The dimming control panel 20 outputs a dimming signal, which is a control signal for adjusting the dimming level of the lighting fixture 1. As will be described later, the dimming signal outputs one of 200V DC, 200V AC, or 0V (no signal) per control signal.

[0022] The system shown in FIG. 1 and other figures is used for road lighting, and therefore the distance from the dimming control panel 20 to each luminaire 1 is long, as described above. Therefore, by transmitting at a higher voltage than that used for wiring within the device, the influence of signal attenuation and external noise is reduced. In this embodiment, the 200V AC dimming signal is the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply 30, and the 200V DC is the 200V AC converted to DC. In this way, by using the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply 30 as the voltage, the configuration of the dimming signal generation circuit, etc. is simplified.

[0023] The power supply 30 supplies power for emitting light from the lighting fixture 1. In Fig. 1, AC 200V is supplied, but this is not limiting.

[0024] Next, the operation of the lighting fixture 1 configured as described above, particularly the operation of the dimming circuit 11, will be described. First, a dimming signal generated based on the voltage supplied by the power supply 30 as described above is input to the input terminal 110a, and thus a relatively high-voltage signal having an amplitude of 200V AC signal and 200V DC signal is input. The dimming signal input to the input terminal 110a is then half-wave rectified by the diode 111a. The half-wave rectified signal is then transmitted, electrically isolated by the photocoupler 113a, to the low-voltage side operating on a 3.3V power supply.

[0025] The signal type of the signal transmitted by the photocoupler 113a is identified by the microcomputer 115. The signal types in the microcomputer 115 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0026] 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of the discrimination method when an AC signal (AC) is input (FIG. 3A) and when a DC signal (DC) is input (FIG. 3B). First, in the case of an AC signal, the signal is half-wave rectified by diode 111a, and is converted by photocoupler 113a into a pulse signal as shown at the right end, which is input to input CH1 of microcomputer 115. Microcomputer 115 measures the time that the signal input to input CH1 is at a high level, for example, by counting up at a predetermined time interval.

[0027] On the other hand, in the case of a DC signal, the signal is half-wave rectified by diode 111a and input as a level signal as shown at the right end via photocoupler 113a to input CH1 of microcomputer 115. Microcomputer 115 measures the time that the signal input to input CH1 is at a high level, for example, by counting up at a predetermined time interval.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, AC signals and DC signals have different High level times, so AC signals and DC signals can be distinguished from each other by the measured High level time. No signal is always Low level, so it can also be distinguished by the High level time. A specific example of distinction is shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, a DC signal refers to the input of a constant voltage other than 0 V, regardless of whether the voltage value is positive or negative. No signal refers to the input of 0 V.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between time (horizontal axis) and count number (vertical axis). In the case of FIG. 4, the High level is counted up in a 1 millisecond cycle, and the signal type is identified based on the count number per second. That is, the microcomputer 115 (identification means) identifies the signal type by measuring the time that the dimming signal is at a High level during a predetermined period (1 second). In the case of FIG. 4, if the count number per second is 800 or more but less than 1000, it is determined to be DC; if it is 20 or more but less than 800, it is determined to be AC; and if it is less than 20, it is determined to be no signal (0 V). Note that the threshold value for determining the signal type shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and can be changed as appropriate depending on the frequency of the AC signal, etc.

[0030] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, by connecting each threshold value with the origin (0) by a straight line to create a linear function graph, it is possible to easily set the threshold value even in a time of less than one second, and to distinguish between AC signals, DC signals, and no signal. For example, a signal greater than or equal to line L2 but less than line L1 is classified as DC, a signal greater than or equal to line L3 but less than line L2 is classified as AC, and a signal less than line L3 is classified as no signal.

[0031] The above explanation is about the signal input from input terminal 110a, but the same applies to the signal input from input terminal 110b. That is, for input terminal 110b as well, microcomputer 115 distinguishes between an AC signal, a DC signal, or no signal based on the number of counts of high levels.

[0032] In this way, the microcomputer 115 adjusts the dimming level based on the identified signal type. For example, dimming can be performed by setting in advance in the microcomputer 115 a table or the like that sets the dimming level to 0% when an AC signal is input to the input terminal 110a and a DC signal is input to the input terminal 110b. In this embodiment, three states (AC signal, DC signal, no signal) can be identified from the input terminal 110a, and three states (AC signal, DC signal, no signal) can also be identified from the input terminal 110b. 2 This allows for nine levels of dimming adjustment.

[0033] According to this embodiment, the dimming circuit 11 uses the microcomputer 115 to identify whether the signal type of the signal input to the input terminal 110a is an AC signal, a DC signal, or no signal, and performs dimming control of the LED board 13 according to the identified signal type.

[0034] By configuring dimming circuit 11 as described above, microcomputer 115 can distinguish between an AC signal, a DC signal, and no signal for one input terminal, making it possible to distinguish between three states per input, thereby increasing the number of distinguishable states. Therefore, even when performing multi-stage dimming, the number of inputs can be reduced, and an increase in the number of parts such as connectors and photocouplers can be suppressed, thereby suppressing cost increases.

[0035] In addition, the microcomputer 115 has a plurality of input terminals, and performs dimming control based on a combination of signal types of the plurality of input terminals. N This makes it possible to achieve a wide range of dimming levels, and a greater number of dimming levels can be achieved with fewer input terminals than before.

[0036] Furthermore, the microcomputer 115 identifies the type of signal by measuring the time that the dimming signal is at a high level during a predetermined period, and therefore can easily identify an AC signal, a DC signal, or no signal.

[0037] Furthermore, the dimming circuit 11 includes a photocoupler, and the dimming signal input to the input terminal is electrically isolated from the microcomputer 115, so the dimming signal input to the dimming circuit 11 can be a voltage based on the power supply voltage supplied from an external source. This allows the dimming signal to be transmitted at a high voltage over long distances. Furthermore, the use of a photocoupler makes it easier to miniaturize the device compared to a transformer or the like.

[0038] Furthermore, the lighting fixture 1 is equipped with a dimming circuit 11 and an LED board 13, and is installed in multiple locations along a road, with power supplied from an external power source 30. This makes it possible to achieve multi-stage dimming at low cost for lighting installed in road tunnels, etc.

[0039] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. That is, a person skilled in the art can implement various modifications in accordance with conventionally known knowledge without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still include the configuration of the light control element and lighting device of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Lighting equipment (lighting equipment) 11 Dimming circuit (dimming device) 110a, 110b input terminals (input section) 111a, 111b Diodes (input section) 112a, 112b Resistors (input section) 113a, 113b Photocoupler (input section) 115 Microcomputer (identification means, dimming means) 13 LED board (light-emitting part)

Claims

1. An identification means for identifying whether a dimming signal input to one or more input units is an AC signal, a DC signal, or no signal; a dimming control unit that determines a dimming level of a light-emitting unit in accordance with the type of signal identified by the identification unit, A dimming device, characterized in that a dimming level of the light-emitting unit is set in advance for each combination of the signal types.

2. A plurality of the input units are provided, The light control device according to claim 1 , wherein the light control unit determines a dimming level of the light-emitting unit based on a combination of the plurality of signal types identified by the identification unit.

3. 3. The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the discrimination unit performs the discrimination by measuring the time during which the light control signal is at a high level in a predetermined period.

4. the input unit includes a photocoupler, 3. The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the light control signal input to the input unit and the identifying means are electrically insulated from each other.

5. A lighting device comprising: the light control device according to claim 1 or 2; and the light-emitting unit; A lighting device that is installed in multiple locations along roads and receives external power.

Images