JP2011070881A - Lighting control device - Google Patents

Abstract

A lighting control device is provided that limits an area where a lighting fixture is controlled by an operation terminal such as a PC to a narrow range around the lighting fixture.
Lighting control terminal 2, communication controller 3 for outputting the terminal identification information signal together with its own address signal, terminal identification information transmitting means for transmitting identification information to the communication controller by wireless communication, and control of lighting control terminal Means for associating the address of the communication controller with the terminal identification information, the association means for associating the addresses of the communication controller and the lighting control terminal, and the storage means for storing the association information between the communication controller and the terminal, the terminal When the control signal is received from, the lighting control terminal 2 associated with the communication controller associated with the terminal is detected with reference to the association information, and the control signal is transmitted to the detected lighting control terminal 2 And a Web server 4 having control signal transmission means.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination control apparatus that controls on / off of a lighting fixture in a room or the like using a terminal such as a personal computer (PC).

  Conventionally, as an example of this type of lighting control device, one described in Patent Document 1 is known. This lighting control device is connected to a general-purpose information network client PC (personal computer) via a system I / F device in a lighting control monitoring system having a plurality of lighting fixtures and a plurality of lighting control terminals for controlling the respective lighting fixtures. The lighting fixture is controlled and monitored via the lighting control terminal by this client PC.

  For this reason, a plurality of lighting fixtures of a plurality of remote lighting monitoring systems can be controlled by the client PC.

JP 2001-102178 A

  However, in the thing of such patent document 1, since a lighting fixture can be controlled also by the client PC of the general-purpose information network far away from the lighting area of the room etc. where the lighting fixture is arrange | positioned, it exists in the said lighting area. There is a case where the lighting is suddenly controlled against the user's intention, which is inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an illumination control device that limits an area in which a lighting fixture is controlled by an operation terminal such as a PC to a narrow range around the lighting fixture. For the purpose.

  An illumination control device according to claim 1 includes: an illumination control terminal that controls driving of a lighting fixture; and a communication controller that outputs the terminal identification information signal together with its own communication controller address signal when receiving the terminal identification information signal; A terminal having terminal identification information transmitting means for transmitting self-identification information set in advance to the communication controller by wireless communication and a control means for outputting a control signal for controlling the illumination control terminal; and the communication controller An association means for associating the address of the communication controller with the terminal identification information when the terminal identification information signal is received together with the address signal from the association information, the association information associating the addresses of the communication controller and the lighting control terminal, and the communication controller And a memory for storing the association information of the terminal When the control signal is received from the terminal, the lighting control terminal associated with the communication controller associated with the terminal is detected with reference to the association information, and the control signal is transmitted to the detected lighting control terminal. A lighting controller having control signal transmitting means for transmitting.

  Here, the lighting control terminal is a control device that controls the lighting circuit of the lighting fixture, such as a relay or an electronic circuit that controls on / off of the lighting circuit of the lighting fixture. It may be arranged separately.

  The terminal is an operation terminal such as a PC (personal computer) equipped with a browser or the like. For example, the PC identification information may be a physical address (PC fixed) such as a MAC (Media Access Control) address, or the like. There are IPv4 and IPv6 which are logical addresses for physical addresses.

  The lighting controller is a Web server connected to a communication controller and a lighting control terminal, for example, via a transmission line, and screen information that can be browsed by the browser of the PC, for example, a lighting device controlled by the lighting control terminal is provided. It has a function of giving an indoor layout screen and an on / off operation screen for lighting on / off control to the PC and displaying these screens on the monitor of the PC.

  The lighting control terminal and the communication controller each have an address, and the lighting control terminal and the communication controller are previously grouped (grouped) by, for example, an address setting unit, and the addresses of the lighting control terminal and the communication controller are grouped for each group. They are associated with each other as the same group, and are stored in the storage means of the lighting controller as association information (address setting table).

  Further, identification information of a terminal that can communicate wirelessly with the communication controller is also stored in the storage unit in association with the same group as the address of the communication controller.

  For this reason, the terminals are also grouped into groups of lighting control terminals and communication controllers, and the lighting control terminals, that is, the lighting fixtures can be controlled only by the terminals belonging to the same group. Cannot be controlled.

  According to the lighting control device, when a control operation such as on / off control is performed at the terminal, a control signal is output. This control signal is controlled by the lighting controller having an address belonging to the same group as the terminal and the communication controller. Sent to the terminal.

  That is, only a terminal that can wirelessly communicate with the communication controller can locally control only the lighting control terminals in the same group as the communication controller, and control of the other groups of lighting control terminals can be prevented.

The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the illumination control apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the indoor layout screen displayed on the monitor of PC shown in FIG. The figure which shows the correspondence of the address (identification information) of PC in 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the address of a communication controller and a lighting control terminal. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the illumination control apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the correspondence of the address of PC in 2nd Embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and the address of a communication controller and a lighting control terminal. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the illumination control apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same or an equivalent part in several drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an illumination control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting control device 1 enables communication between the lighting control terminal 2, the communication controller 3, and the Web server 4 that is an example of the lighting controller by using one dedicated transmission line 5 that is an example of the transmission line. Connected. Further, a PC (personal computer) 6, which is an example of a terminal, is connected to the Web server 4 via a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) so that bidirectional data communication is possible.

  The lighting control terminal 2 is disposed for each lighting fixture (not shown), for example, and is a relay, an electronic circuit, or the like that controls on / off of the lighting circuit of the lighting fixture, and is configured integrally or separately from the lighting fixture. The lighting control terminal 2 has one or a plurality of lighting fixtures corresponding one-to-one or one-to-many, and an address is assigned to each lighting control terminal 2.

  The communication controller 3 includes a short-range wireless communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the PC 6 by a weak radio wave in a non-contact or short-distance manner, and a bidirectional data communication unit that performs bidirectional data communication with the Web server 4.

  The short-range wireless communication means uses, for example, a small amount of power between a desk on which the PC 6 is placed and a predetermined narrow area on the ceiling above the desk where one or more lighting fixtures (not shown) are arranged. It is a wireless communication means for performing wireless communication, and a communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used.

  The data communication means performs short-distance wireless communication with the PC 6 by the short-range communication means, and when the identification information (address) is received from the PC 6, the identification information of the PC 6 is given in advance to the communication controller 3 itself. Along with the address signal of the address, it is transmitted to the Web server 4 through the dedicated transmission line 5.

  The communication controller 3 is pre-set by an address setting unit (not shown), and is grouped as the same group as the address of the lighting control terminal 2, and the addresses of these 3 and 2 are associated with each other and stored in the Web server 4. It is stored in a storage device which is an example of the means.

  The identification information of the PC 6 is, for example, an IPv4 address, a logical address of the IPv6 address, or a physical address (PC fixed) of the MAC address.

  The Web server 4 includes the storage device, data communication means, association means, screen information provision means, control signal transmission means, and monitoring information provision means.

  When the association means receives the terminal identification information (PC address) signal of the PC 6 together with the address signal from the communication controller 3 by the data communication means, the association identification information and the address of the communication controller 3 are put into the same group. Associate as belonging, and store this in the storage device as association information (address setting table).

  The storage device stores the association information of the address of the communication controller 3 and the terminal identification information of the PC 6 and also stores the association information that associates the addresses of the lighting control terminals 2 belonging to the same group with the communication controller 3 in advance. is there.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the association information. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 7 denotes an address of the lighting control terminal 2 such as an ON / OFF relay, 8 denotes an address of the communication controller 3, and 9 denotes an address of the PC 6 ( Identification information). In the three-digit address notation in FIG. 3, the first digit at the head indicates the system of the dedicated transmission line 5, the second digit indicates the address, and the third digit indicates the number. In this embodiment, since the dedicated transmission line 5 is one system, the first digit at the head is “1”.

  The screen information providing means is installed on the PC 6 with the indoor layout screen 10 shown in FIG. 2 and an operation screen (not shown) for displaying, for example, “ON (ON), OFF (OFF)” of the lighting control terminal 2. It is to be browsed by a browser.

  The indoor layout screen 10 is a layout diagram 10 of the entire room in which lighting fixtures that can be controlled by the PC 6 are arranged, and displays a space (lighting area) in which the lighting fixtures are arranged by a grid or the like. The arrangement of itself is not displayed. However, the indoor layout screen 10 includes a layout diagram showing the layout of all the lighting fixtures arranged in the room, the position of the PC 6, and the lighting fixtures that cannot be controlled by the PC. The colors may be displayed in different colors. Moreover, you may display according to color the lighting state and light extinction state of a lighting fixture.

  When the control signal transmitting means receives, for example, an ON / OFF control signal for controlling the lighting control terminal 2 from the PC 6, the association information in which the addresses of the PC 6 and the communication controller 3 are associated as the same group is stored. The address of the lighting control terminal 2 belonging to the same group as the communication controller 3 with which the PC 6 communicated is detected with reference to the association information, and a control signal is sent to the detected lighting control terminal 2 via the dedicated transmission line 5. The lighting control terminal 2 is controlled according to the control signal.

  That is, when the address of the lighting control terminal 2 is ID1, the address of the communication controller 3 is ID2, the address of the PC 6 is ID3, and the address of the Web server 4 is ID4, the control means of the Web server 4 is the address of the communication controller 3. When ID2 and address ID3 of PC6 are received from communication controller 3, address ID1 of lighting control terminal 2 associated with address ID2 of communication controller 3 and address ID3 of PC6 is detected, and this lighting control terminal A control signal is transmitted to address ID1 of 2. Further, when a control signal is received from the PC 6 after the address ID 3 of the PC 6 is stored in the storage device of the Web server 4, lighting control that can be controlled by the PC 6 from the address ID 3 of the PC 6 added to the control signal. The address ID1 of the terminal 2 is detected.

  The monitoring information providing means includes the contents of the control signal transmitted from the control signal transmitting means to the illumination control terminal 2, such as an ON / OFF control signal, and the illumination control terminal 2 to which the control signal is transmitted. 2 provides the PC 6 with monitoring information (status information) indicating the current status of the PC 2. Further, the monitoring information providing means transmits a control signal to the lighting control terminal 2 and controls it, then reads the control means at predetermined time intervals and already transmits to the PC 6 and is displayed on the monitor 6a. It may be configured to match (refresh) with the monitoring information.

  The PC 6 is a general-purpose personal computer that is generally commercially available, such as a notebook type or a desktop type, and includes a monitor 6a, identification information transmission means, control means, and information browsing means. The identification information transmitting means transmits identification information (address) of the PC 6 to the communication controller 3 by short-range wireless communication. Bluetooth may be used as the short-range wireless communication.

  The control means turns on when an operation screen displayed on the monitor 6a, for example, one display (ON / OFF) of "ON (ON), OFF (OFF)" is clicked by a pointing device such as a mouse. Data communication of the / OFF control signal to the Web server 4 is performed.

  The information browsing means reads, for example, on / off operation screens provided from the Web server 4, screen information such as the indoor layout screen 10 and monitoring information provided by the web server 4 and displays them on the monitor 6a.

  Further, the information browsing means displays a plurality of areas, for example, by partitioning the entire room on the indoor layout screen 10 with a grid, and by designating these areas with a pointing device, the Web server 4 uses the area number, coordinates, etc. as control data. The application software for the function to send to is installed. Further, based on the monitoring information from the Web server 4, application software for displaying the on / off state of the grid area (local space) on the indoor layout screen 10 by color may be installed in the PC 6. In FIG. 2, the on / off color-by-color display is displayed by, for example, square dots or diagonal lines.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, first, the identification information (ID3) is wirelessly transmitted from the PC 6 to the communication controller 3 in the vicinity of the PC 6.

  Then, the communication controller 3 that has received the identification information (ID3) of the PC 6 transmits the identification information (ID3) and its own address (ID2) signal, that is, the ID2 + ID3 signal, to the Web server 4 via the dedicated transmission line 5. To do. Note that the Web server 4 may read these ID2 + ID3 into the communication controller 3 every predetermined time.

  Upon receiving these address signals (ID2 + ID3), the Web server 4 provides, for example, an ON / OFF operation screen to the PC 6 by the screen information providing means. Therefore, when this ON / OFF is clicked on the PC 6 with a mouse or the like, the ON / OFF control signal is transmitted from the PC 6 to the Web server 4 via the dedicated transmission line 5.

  When the Web server 4 receives this ON / OFF control signal, the control means refers to the address (ID1) of the lighting control terminal 2 to which this control signal is to be transmitted with reference to the related information (address setting table). To detect. Next, this control signal is transmitted to the detected address of the lighting control terminal 2. Thereby, this illumination control terminal 2 is controlled according to this control signal (that is, ON / OFF). For this purpose, a lighting fixture (not shown) controlled by the lighting control terminal 2 is controlled to be ON / OFF.

  The state of this lighting fixture, that is, the lighting control terminal 2, for example, the ON / OFF state is stored in the storage device as monitoring data of the Web server 4. For this reason, the PC 6 can browse the state of the lighting apparatus as appropriate using the browser.

  Once the identification information of the PC 6 is once stored (registered) in the storage device of the Web server 4 in this way, the procedure for transmitting the identification information from the PC 6 to the communication controller 3 is omitted, and the PC 6 ON / OFF operation screen is displayed. , The control signal can be transmitted to the Web server 4 and transmitted to the desired lighting control terminal 2 for control.

  That is, the Web server 4 reads the identification information ID3 of the PC 6 from the control signal received from the PC 6, and from the identification information ID3, addresses (ID2, ID2) of the communication controller 3 and the lighting control terminal 2 stored in the storage device. By referring to the related information of ID1), the address (ID1) of the lighting control terminal 2 in the same group as the PC 6 can be detected, and a control signal can be given to the detected lighting control terminal 2. Further, when the PC 6 communicates with the communication controller 3 and receives the address ID 2 of the communication controller 3 and transmits it to the Web server 4, the Web server 4 controls the lighting control associated with the address ID 2 of the communication controller 3. The address ID1 of the terminal 2 can be detected by referring to the association information. In addition, as a method of transmitting the address ID2 of the communication controller 3, the lighting apparatus may be turned on / off by the lighting control terminal 2 and transmitted by visible light.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a lighting control apparatus 1A according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the addresses.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lighting control device 1A includes the lighting control terminal 2, the communication controller 3, and the PC 6 of the lighting control device 1 shown in FIG. The lighting control terminal 2B, the communication controller 3B, and the PC 6B of the second group B are added, and the first and second groups A and B are inserted in series in one system dedicated transmission line 5.

  That is, it is clear that the lighting control device 1A can control the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B only by the PCs 6A and 6B in the same group, and cannot be controlled by the PCs 6A and 6B in different groups. There are features.

  That is, the illumination control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is also characterized in that the illumination control terminal 2 can be controlled only by the same group of PCs 6, but the illumination control device 1A shown in FIG. By providing the terminals 2A and 2B, the communication controllers 3A and 3B, and the PCs 6A and 6B with a plurality of groups A and B, the characteristics of the lighting control device 1 are further clarified.

  For example, when a plurality of lighting fixtures (not shown) respectively controlled by the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B of the plurality of groups A and B are arranged in one room, the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B of these groups A and B Are grouped in advance for each of the communication controllers 3A and 3B, and the addresses of these communication controllers 3A and 3B and the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B are associated with each of the groups A and B as shown in FIG. The address association information is stored in advance in the storage device of the Web server 4X.

  The groups A and B of the PCs 6A and 6B are determined by the Web server 4X depending on which of the communication controllers 3A and 3B of the groups A and B is capable of short-range wireless communication, and the lighting control of the same group AB It is stored in the storage device in a state associated with the addresses of the terminals 2A and 2B and the communication controllers 3A and 3B. The basic configuration of the Web server 4X is almost the same as that of the Web server 4 shown in FIG. 1, but is different in that the identification information and control signals from the plurality of PCs 6A and 6B are processed.

  Therefore, after the PCs 6A and 6B transmit the identification information to the communication controllers 3A and 3B, the groups A and B of the PCs 6A and 6B are already determined and are associated with the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B. By omitting the procedure for transmitting the identification information to the communication controllers 3A and 3B, the control signals can be directly transmitted from the PCs 6A and 6B to the Web server 4X to control the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B.

  Thereby, the range which can control each lighting control terminal 2A, 2B by each PC6A, 6B can be limited to the local range of the required area for each group A, B. For this reason, the state where the lighting control terminals 2A and 2B of the plurality of groups A and B are simultaneously controlled by one PC 6A or 6B can be prevented.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an illumination control device 1B according to the third embodiment of the present invention. This illumination control device 1B is provided with two dedicated transmission lines 5A and 5B shown in FIG. 4, and two groups of the illumination control terminal 2 and the communication controller 3 are provided in each of these two dedicated transmission lines 5A and 5B. This is characterized in that a total of four groups A, B, C, and D are provided. Further, the Web server 4Y determines the groups of the PCs 6A to 6D as the same group as the groups A to D of the communication controllers 3A to 3D capable of short-range wireless communication with them, and the communication controllers 3A to 3D of the same group. One of them is associated with one of the addresses of the lighting control terminals 2A to 2D and stored in the storage device. Similarly to the lighting control devices 1 and 1A, the lighting control device 1B controls the lighting control terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D of each group only by any of the PCs 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D of the same group, It is possible to prevent the lighting control terminals 2A to 2D of a plurality of groups or all groups A to D from being controlled by any one of the PCs 6A to 6D.

  In addition, although the case where two or four groups such as the lighting control terminal 2 are provided has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or five or more groups are provided. May be. In addition, the number of lighting control terminals 2 and 2A to 2D in each group may be three or five or more.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A, 1B ... Lighting control apparatus, 2, 2A-2D ... Lighting control terminal, 3, 3A-3D ... Communication controller, 4, 4X, 4Y ... Web server, 5, 5A-5D ... Dedicated transmission line, 6, 6A-6D ... PC.

Claims (1)

A lighting control terminal for controlling the driving of the lighting fixture;
A communication controller for outputting the terminal identification information signal together with its own communication controller address signal when receiving the terminal identification information signal;
A terminal having terminal identification information transmitting means for transmitting the identification information set in advance to the communication controller by wireless communication and a control means for outputting a control signal for controlling the illumination control terminal;
When the terminal identification information signal is received together with the address signal from the communication controller, an association means for associating the address of the communication controller with the terminal identification information, association information associating the addresses of the communication controller and the lighting control terminal, and Storage means for storing the association information between the communication controller and the terminal, and when receiving a control signal from the terminal, refer to the association information to determine a lighting control terminal associated with the communication controller associated with the terminal. A lighting controller having control signal transmitting means for detecting and transmitting this control signal to the detected lighting control terminal;
An illumination control device comprising:

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