WO2025070106A1 - Illumination device - Google Patents

Abstract

This illumination device is capable of irradiating an object to be irradiated with one or more beams of spot illumination light, said illumination device comprising: a plurality of light sources; a control unit that selectively controls the plurality of light sources and thereby controls an illumination light pattern of at least one beam of spot illumination light with which the object to be irradiated is irradiated; and a plurality of optical bodies that irradiate the object to be irradiated with spot illumination light in which light output from each of the plurality of light sources has been subjected to light distribution control, in a manner achieving one-to-one correspondence. The respective focal distances of the plurality of optical bodies are longer or shorter than the distance between the illumination device and the object to be irradiated.

Description

Lighting equipment

This disclosure relates to a lighting device.

　Lighting devices capable of emitting spot lighting for indoor use, particularly in stores, have been known for some time. These lighting devices are generally optically designed to emit spot lighting using LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) that emit lighting light with a narrow beam distribution angle, light reflectors, and optical lenses.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a spotlight that includes a main body with an opening on one side, a lens that covers the opening, a light source disposed within the main body, and a concave reflector that reflects the light emitted from the light source and emits it from the opening.

JP 2009-129805 A

However, with the spotlight in Patent Document 1, if spot illumination light is to be applied to multiple points on an object, multiple units must be installed. This poses the problem of increased installation space and increased costs due to the multiple spotlights.

The present disclosure provides a lighting device that can suppress an increase in the installation area of the lighting device and an increase in the cost required for lighting equipment in a space due to the increase in installation area.

The lighting device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a lighting device capable of irradiating one or more spot illumination lights onto an object to be irradiated, and includes a plurality of light sources, a control unit that controls an illumination light pattern of the one or more spot illumination lights irradiated onto the object to be irradiated by selectively controlling each of the plurality of light sources, and a plurality of optical bodies that irradiate the spot illumination lights, which are obtained by controlling the distribution of light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources, onto the object to be irradiated in a one-to-one correspondence, and the focal length of each of the plurality of optical bodies is longer or shorter than the distance between the lighting device and the object to be irradiated.

The lighting device disclosed herein can suppress the increase in installation area of the lighting device and the increase in costs required for lighting equipment in the space due to the increased installation area.

Further advantages and effects of one aspect of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and/or effects are provided by each of the features described in some of the embodiments and the specification and drawings, but not all of them necessarily need to be provided in order to obtain one or more identical features.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal structure of an illumination device according to an embodiment and an illumination light pattern of spot illumination light irradiated onto an illumination object. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a lighting device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal structure of the lighting device according to the embodiment and an illumination light pattern on an object to be illuminated, which is different from that shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal structure of the lighting device according to the embodiment and an illumination light pattern on an object to be illuminated, which is different from that shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an internal structure of the lighting device according to the embodiment and an illumination light pattern on an object to be illuminated, which is different from that shown in FIG. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a state in which the illumination device irradiates an object to be irradiated. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing how the space is illuminated. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing how a user sets the illumination mode of the illumination device for an illumination target using an external device. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a first irradiation region and a second irradiation region, and the illuminance of the first irradiation region and the illuminance of the second irradiation region. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a case where a spot illumination light is irradiated onto an irradiation object. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a case where a different spot illumination light is irradiated onto an illumination object. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a case where the illumination object is illuminated with yet another spot illumination light. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an internal structure of an illumination device according to the first modification and an illumination light pattern of spot illumination light irradiated onto an illumination object. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an internal structure of an illumination device according to Modification 3 and an illumination light pattern on an object to be illuminated, which is different from that shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an illumination device according to the fourth modification. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the lighting device installed on a stand. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a lighting device according to the fourth modification. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an illumination device according to the fourth modification. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a lighting device when connected to an external power source by wire. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a lighting device when wirelessly connected to an external power source.

The following describes the embodiment in detail with reference to the drawings.

The embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection forms, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in an independent claim are described as optional components.

Furthermore, each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a precise illustration. Furthermore, the same components are given the same reference numerals in each figure.

(Embodiment)
<Configuration>
First, a lighting device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a lighting device 1 according to an embodiment and the illumination light pattern of spot illumination light irradiated onto an object to be illuminated. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a lighting device 1 according to an embodiment.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the lighting device 1 is, for example, a spotlight, downlight, or bracket light. The lighting device 1 can be attached to, for example, building materials such as an indoor ceiling, floor, or wall, or to a lighting rail, to illuminate the surrounding space indoors, such as a store or facility. Specifically, the lighting device 1 can irradiate one or more spotlights onto an object to be irradiated, and can illuminate the object to be irradiated by irradiating the object with spotlights. For example, the lighting device 1 can irradiate multiple spotlights onto multiple objects to be irradiated in a space in one-to-one correspondence, illuminate the entire space, illuminate the entire surface of a specific wall in the space, or illuminate a portion of the wall. This can create an effect that makes the object to be irradiated stand out.

Spot lighting is lighting that can highlight the contours of an object by concentrating lighting on a part or the whole of the object. For example, lighting device 1 can display content (images) such as letters, pictures, figures, signs, patterns, etc. by illuminating the object with spot lighting.

Objects to be irradiated include, for example, building materials such as ceilings, floors and walls in facilities, exhibits in art galleries and museums, merchandise displayed in stores, people and/or crowds moving through aisles or standing still in a space, etc.

Next, the specific configuration of the lighting device 1 will be described.

Specifically, the lighting device 1 includes a light-emitting device 10, a control unit 50, a memory unit 51, a communication unit 52, a plurality of optical bodies 30, a wavelength conversion body 20, and a housing 40.

The light-emitting device 10 has a plurality of light sources 12 that emit light forward, and a substrate 11 on which the plurality of light sources 12 are arranged. Electric wires are connected to the substrate 11 to supply power for causing the plurality of light sources 12 to emit light and/or control signals for controlling the plurality of light sources 12.

The light sources 12 are, for example, light-emitting elements that emit blue light. Note that light-emitting elements that emit green light and/or red light can also be used. The light sources 12 are, for example, fine LEDs. The light sources 12 are, for example, arranged in a two-dimensional matrix. The light sources 12 are, for example, arranged regularly in a matrix (two-dimensional array) of M rows and N columns. M and N are both natural numbers of 2 or more. M and N may be the same value or different values. In other words, the arrangement intervals in the row direction and column direction of the light sources 12 may be the same or different. Also, the outer shape of the area in which the light sources 12 are arranged is rectangular in FIG. 2, but may be circular. Note that the light sources 12 can be in a form that emits light of the same color tone or in a form that emits light of different color tones.

The wavelength converter 20 includes a phosphor. The phosphor is, for example, a YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) yellow phosphor, but is not limited to this. The phosphor is arranged to face the multiple light sources 12. The phosphor is, for example, a phosphor that is excited by blue light to emit green light, yellow light, or red light. The wavelength converter 20 emits a mixture of, for example, blue light emitted by the multiple light sources 12 and passing through the yellow phosphor, and yellow light that has been wavelength-converted by the wavelength converter 20 as it passes through the yellow phosphor, as white light.

In this embodiment, the light source 12 may include a light-emitting element and a phosphor. In this case, the wavelength converter 20 may not be provided. In this case, in the multiple light sources 12, the phosphor may be disposed on the light emission side (front) of the light-emitting element.

The control unit 50, which controls the light emission of each of the multiple light sources 12, is electrically connected to the substrate 11. The control unit 50 outputs a control signal to the light-emitting device 10 to independently control each of the multiple light sources 12. For example, the control unit 50 turns on only one or more light sources 12 required to illuminate a specific area on the irradiation object, and turns off the remaining light sources 12 that do not illuminate the specific area. The control unit 50 can also individually control the turning on and off, light emission intensity, light emission time, etc. of each of the multiple light sources 12. In other words, the control unit 50 selectively controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to control the illumination light pattern of one or more spot illumination lights irradiated to the irradiation object. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 to change at least one of the light distribution characteristics, color tone, and intensity (brightness) of the spot illumination light.

For example, the control unit 50 may have a dimming function and a color adjustment function. In this case, the control unit 50 can adjust the dimming and color of the light to be irradiated to the irradiation object based on the control signal. For example, the lighting device 1 can irradiate the irradiation object with dynamic spot illumination light whose color tone changes over time or whose color tone changes periodically. For example, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that the color tone of the spot illumination light emitted from the lighting device 1 gradually changes over time from light with a low color temperature to light with a high color temperature, or the color tone of the spot illumination light emitted from the lighting device 1 gradually changes over time from light with a high color temperature to light with a low color temperature.

The lighting device 1 also controls the turning on and off of the multiple light sources 12 individually. This allows the lighting device 1 to emit spot illumination light with brightness and darkness for each area of the illuminated object, spot illumination light with adjusted color, and spot illumination light with adjusted shape. For example, when the spot illumination light is illuminated on the illuminated object, an image according to the brightness and darkness can be made to appear on the wall surface. The image may be a still image or a moving image.

The control unit 50 may also be electrically connected to a hook blade 60 that receives power from an external commercial power source. By connecting the hook blade 60 to the hook ceiling, power is supplied to the control unit 50 from an external commercial power source.

The control unit 50 is realized, for example, by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and a microcontroller. The microcontroller includes, for example, a non-volatile memory in which a program is stored, a volatile memory that is a temporary storage area for executing the program, and a processor that executes the program. The program may be stored in the memory unit 51. The control unit 50 may be a dedicated processing circuit that performs processing.

The storage unit 51 stores information necessary for the processing performed by the control unit 50, lighting data for controlling the lighting light pattern of the spot lighting light, and software for executing the lighting data. The storage unit 51 is, for example, a non-volatile storage medium such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory.

The communication unit 52 is a wireless communication interface or a wired communication interface capable of communicating with an external device. The communication unit 52 acquires control input data for controlling each of the multiple light sources 12 from the external device. For example, the communication unit 52 receives control input data transmitted from an external device operated by a user, and outputs the received control input data to the control unit 50. As a result, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the control input data acquired by the communication unit 52. Specifically, the control unit 50 acquires lighting data corresponding to the control input data input from the communication unit 52 from the storage unit 51 using software stored in the storage unit 51. The control unit 50 can control the multiple light sources 12 by outputting a control signal based on the lighting data acquired on the software to the multiple light sources 12.

Each of the optical bodies 30 is a lens for adjusting the output direction of the light emitted from each of the light sources 12, the distribution of the spot illumination light from the light emitting device 10, the distance at which a desired illumination light pattern can be drawn, etc., and is in particular a fixed lens that does not have a focal length adjustment function. The optical body 30 used in this embodiment is an aspheric lens, but is not limited to this. Each of the optical bodies 30 emits light forward by controlling the distribution of light emitted from each of the light sources 12 via the wavelength conversion body 20 so that an image based on the spot illumination light is displayed on the irradiation object. In other words, the light emitted from each of the light sources 12 becomes spot illumination light that is irradiated on the irradiation object via the wavelength conversion body 20 and the optical bodies 30. Each of the optical bodies 30 can irradiate the irradiation object with spot illumination light that has been distribution-controlled from the light emitted from each of the light sources 12 in a one-to-one correspondence. The optical axes of the spot illumination light corresponding to the light emitted from each of the light sources 12 are different from each other. The optical axis of the spot illumination light is parallel to the emission direction of the main spot illumination light emitted from the lighting device 1.

The number, shape, and outer diameter of the multiple optical bodies 30 are appropriately determined depending on, for example, the functions required of the lighting device 1. In this embodiment, the number of the multiple optical bodies 30 is four, but this is not limited to this; for example, the number of the multiple optical bodies 30 may be two or three. It is preferable that the number of the multiple optical bodies 30 is four or less. In this case, the optical system is simplified compared to a projector or the like that requires the use of five or more lenses to ensure focus. On the other hand, there is no problem in drawing the desired illumination light pattern on the irradiation surface or the like. Therefore, the lighting device 1 of this embodiment can suppress increases in size and cost.

The focal length of each of the multiple optical bodies 30 is set to be longer or shorter than the distance between the lighting device 1 and the object to be illuminated. In other words, one optical system (multiple optical bodies 30) can convert the spot illumination light into an unfocused illumination light pattern at least at an illumination distance of 0.5 m to 10 m. Each of the multiple optical bodies 30 is arranged so as to overlap along the optical axis of the light source 12 in the housing 40, but the focal length of each of the multiple optical bodies 30 is different from each other. Therefore, when the spot illumination light emitted by the lighting device 1 is irradiated to the object to be illuminated, the spot illumination light can blur the boundary of the image displayed on the object to be illuminated. In this way, it is expected that the spot illumination light can blur the boundary of the image displayed on the object to be illuminated, especially by setting the illumination distance to 0.5 m to 10 m.

In addition, in this embodiment, the multiple optical bodies 30 are arranged so that the outer diameter of the lens gradually increases as it moves away from the light emitting device 10.

The housing 40 is a container that houses the light emitting device 10, the multiple optical bodies 30, and the control unit 50. The housing 40 is cylindrical with a bottom and is open on one side. The multiple optical bodies 30 are arranged side by side on the opening side of the housing 40 so as to overlap along the optical axis of the light source 12 and cover the opening of the housing 40. The control unit 50 is housed in the bottom of the housing 40, and the light emitting device 10 is arranged in the housing 40 so as to be located between the control unit 50 and the multiple optical bodies 30.

<Irradiation mode>
Next, the illumination mode of the spot illumination light that the illumination device 1 of this embodiment irradiates on an illumination object will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment and a different illumination light pattern from that shown in FIG. 1 on an illuminated object. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment and a different illumination light pattern from that shown in FIG. 3 on an illuminated object. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the lighting device 1 according to the embodiment and a different illumination light pattern from that shown in FIG. 4 on an illuminated object.

The lighting device 1 can control the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the illumination object. As shown in FIG. 1, the lighting device 1 can irradiate the illumination object with two illumination light patterns in which the spot illumination light has a circular shape. In other words, the lighting device 1 can display multiple illumination light patterns on the illumination object.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the lighting device 1 can project an illumination light pattern in which the spot illumination light has a circular shape and another illumination light pattern in which the spot illumination light has a rectangular shape onto an illumination object. In other words, the lighting device 1 can freely select and change the shape of the illumination light pattern, and can display illumination light patterns of different shapes on an illumination object.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the lighting device 1 can irradiate an object with an illumination light pattern in which the spot illumination light has a circular shape and another illumination light pattern in which the spot illumination light has a large circular shape. In other words, the lighting device 1 can freely change the size of the illumination light pattern.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the lighting device 1 can also irradiate an object with an illumination light pattern in which the shape of the spot illumination light is circular, and another illumination light pattern in which the shape of the spot illumination light is circular and the irradiation position is changed. In other words, the lighting device 1 can freely change the position at which the spot illumination light is irradiated on the object.

In this way, by appropriately designing the multiple optical bodies 30, multiple spot illumination lights can be generated from the light emitted by each of the multiple light sources 12. In addition, in the lighting device 1, the control unit 50 can selectively control one or more light sources 12 from among the multiple light sources 12 to control the illumination light pattern of one or more spot illumination lights irradiated to the irradiation object. In other words, the control unit 50 controls to turn on only one or more light sources 12 necessary to illuminate a predetermined area on the irradiation object, and to turn off the remaining light sources 12 that do not illuminate the predetermined area. For example, by turning on all light sources 12 included in a circular range of a predetermined size among the multiple light sources 12 arranged in a two-dimensional array, spot illumination lights that form a circular illumination light pattern are irradiated to the irradiation object via the multiple optical bodies 30. By selectively controlling one or more light sources 12 from among the multiple light sources 12, the control unit 50 can simultaneously form illumination light patterns of different shapes, different sizes, and different positions on the irradiation object.

Furthermore, as described above, in the lighting device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the size of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the irradiation object can be changed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 etc., the area of the spot illumination light when viewed from the front can be made smaller than the area of the optical body 30 when viewed from the front. In this case, even if the area of the irradiation object when viewed from the front is smaller than the area of the optical body 30 when viewed from the front, the size of the spot illumination light can be adjusted to match the size of a small irradiation object. Furthermore, even for irradiation objects that are far from the lighting device 1, the size of the spot illumination light can be adjusted to match the size of the irradiation object.

Next, referring to FIG. 6A, a case where the illumination light pattern of spot illumination light is displayed on an actual object to be illuminated using the illumination device 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the illumination mode of the illumination device 1 on the object to be illuminated.

FIG. 6A shows a case where light is irradiated onto an object placed 2 m away from the lighting device 1. In FIG. 6A, a white polystyrene board is used as an example of an object to be irradiated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6A (a), the lighting device 1 can realize an illumination light pattern in which a large circular spot illumination light and a small circular spot illumination light are simultaneously irradiated onto the illumination object at a position that avoids at least a position directly in front of the optical body 30.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6A (b), the lighting device 1 can realize an illumination light pattern in which the circular spot illumination light moves to the right from the illumination light pattern state of FIG. 6A (a), gradually increasing the size of the spot illumination light, and the number of spot illumination lights increases as it moves from the left to the right. In this way, the lighting device 1 can simultaneously display illumination light patterns of multiple spot illumination lights of different sizes on the illuminated object.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6A (c), the lighting device 1 can realize a lighting pattern in which a single circular spotlight is displayed and the size of the spotlight changes over time.

As shown in FIG. 6A (d), the lighting device 1 can realize an illumination light pattern that displays a single circular spotlight darker than in FIG. 6A (c).

Also, as shown in FIG. 6A (e), the lighting device 1 can realize a lattice-like or mesh-like lighting light pattern. In this way, the lighting device 1 can display a complex-shaped lighting light pattern on the illuminated object.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6A (f), even when the distance between the lighting device 1 and the illuminated object is short, the lighting device 1 can realize a lattice-like or mesh-like illumination light pattern on the illuminated object. Note that when the distance between the lighting device 1 and the illuminated object is less than 0.5 m, the illumination light pattern is likely to disappear, making it difficult for the user to recognize the illumination light pattern. Note that from the illumination light pattern state of FIG. 6A (e), the lattice-like or mesh-like illumination light pattern can be gradually made smaller and the illumination position can be moved, as shown in FIG. 6A (f).

Also, as shown in FIG. 6A (g), the lighting device 1 can realize a square spotlight, a polygonal spotlight such as a hexagonal or pentagonal shape, and a star-shaped spotlight. Also, as shown in FIG. 6A (h), the lighting device 1 can realize spotlights such as emergency exit guide lights and passageway guide lights. In this way, the lighting device 1 can simultaneously display illumination light patterns of multiple spotlights of different shapes on the illuminated object.

Note that the spot illumination light shown in (a) to (h) of FIG. 6A is merely an example and is not limited to this embodiment, and other known shapes can also be realized as spot illumination light.

As shown in (a) to (h) of FIG. 6A, the contours of the boundary parts in the spot illumination light are blurred. This is because, as described above, the focal length of each of the multiple optical bodies 30 is set to be different from the distance between the illumination device 1 and the illuminated object. For example, in multiple spot illumination lights with light distribution control by the multiple optical bodies 30, the focus may be shifted in a range of 1 m to 3 m along the illumination direction from the optical body 30 that is arranged at the forefront of the multiple optical bodies 30. In the illumination device 1 of this embodiment, even though the contours of the boundary parts in the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light are blurred, the shape of this illumination light pattern can be displayed on the illuminated object so that the shape of this illumination light pattern can be recognized.

Next, referring to FIG. 6B, a case where an illumination light pattern of spot illumination light is displayed on an actual illuminated object using the illumination device 1 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing how a space is illuminated.

As shown in FIG. 6B (a), for example, the lighting device 1 can simultaneously emit multiple spot lighting lights in different directions, thereby simultaneously forming lighting light patterns at multiple locations on the illuminated object. Furthermore, for the multiple lighting light patterns, the lighting device 1 can individually control the dimming, light distribution, position, color tone, etc.

As shown in FIG. 6B (b), for example, when the lighting device 1 irradiates a target object with spot lighting light, it can perform lighting effects using lighting light patterns such as still images and moving images. In addition, the control unit 50 can use the lighting data in the storage unit 51 to play back lighting light patterns or set a schedule to play back a specified lighting light pattern.

As shown in (c) of FIG. 6B, for example, when the lighting device 1 irradiates an irradiation object with spot illumination light, the shape of the illumination light pattern irradiated onto the irradiation object can be appropriately changed. Furthermore, when the control unit 50 acquires information indicating the shape of the irradiation object, it can select one or more corresponding light sources 12 from among the multiple light sources 12 based on the information, and turn on the selected light sources 12. In this way, the lighting device 1 can irradiate spot illumination light according to the shape of the irradiation object, thereby displaying a flexible illumination light pattern according to the shape of the irradiation object. As shown in (c) of FIG. 6B, flexible illumination can be provided that matches the contours of a floor, which is an example of an irradiation object.

Next, a case where the illumination mode of the illumination device 1 is set will be described with reference to FIG. 6C. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing how the user sets the illumination mode of the illumination device 1 with respect to the illumination target object using an external device.

While viewing the illumination light pattern that the illumination device 1 projects onto the illuminated object, the user can operate the external device to set the illumination mode. By setting the illumination mode, for example, the illumination device 1 can produce a spot-like illumination light pattern, a pre-set pattern, an illumination light pattern that uses spot illumination light to draw a picture on the illuminated object in the same way that the user draws a picture on the screen of the external device, and the like.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the irradiation object will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a first irradiation area and a second irradiation area, and the illuminance of the first irradiation area and the illuminance of the second irradiation area. Specifically, FIG. 7(a) shows the first irradiation area and the second irradiation area included in the illumination light pattern when the spot illumination light having the irradiation pattern as shown in FIG. 6A is irradiated onto the irradiation object. FIG. 7(b) shows the illuminance of the first irradiation area and the illuminance of the second irradiation area in the case of FIG. 7(a).

As shown in FIG. 7A, the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated on the illumination object includes a first illumination region, which is the center of the illumination light pattern, and a second illumination region surrounding the periphery of the first illumination region. As shown in FIG. 7B, the illuminance of the illumination light pattern tends to decrease at a predetermined gradient at the boundary portion B. The first illumination region is an area with a higher illuminance than the second illumination region. The boundary portion B is an edge portion indicating a position at the outer periphery of the first illumination region where the illuminance is 50% of the sum of the maximum illuminance of the first illumination region and the minimum illuminance (background) of the second illumination region. Note that the boundary portion B is not limited to a position where the illuminance is 50% of the sum, and may be 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, etc. In this case, the illumination light pattern drawn by the spot illumination light can be made to stand out.

The multiple spot illumination lights, the light distribution of which is controlled by the multiple optical bodies 30, may have a first illumination area and a second illumination area formed in a range of 0.7 m to 4 m along the illumination direction from the optical body 30 that is arranged at the forefront of the multiple optical bodies 30. In this case, in the illumination device 1 of the embodiment, even if the outline of the boundary part in the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light is blurred, the illumination light pattern can be displayed on the illuminated object so that the shape of the illumination light pattern can be recognized.

In the case of multiple spot illumination lights whose light distribution is controlled by multiple optical bodies 30, the effective distance at which the illumination light pattern can be recognized along the irradiation direction from the optical body 30 arranged at the forefront of the multiple optical bodies 30 is set to be 0.5 m or more. In the case of multiple spot illumination lights whose light distribution is controlled by multiple optical bodies 30, the effective distance at which the illumination light pattern can be recognized along the irradiation direction from the optical body 30 arranged at the forefront of the multiple optical bodies 30 is set to be 10 m or less. If it is less than 0.5 m, the illuminated object may be hidden by the lighting device 1 and may not be visible from the surroundings. If it is less than 0.5 m or exceeds 10 m, the illumination light pattern may disappear, and the user may not be able to recognize the boundary part between the first illumination area and the second illumination area showing the illumination light pattern.

The above describes the lighting device 1 according to this embodiment, but the configuration of the lighting device 1 is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment. Therefore, modified examples of the configuration of the lighting device 1 will be described, focusing on the differences from the above embodiment.

<Luminance distribution>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, a luminance distribution when the illumination device 1 of this embodiment irradiates an illumination object with spot illumination light will be described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the case where spot illumination light is irradiated onto an object to be illuminated. FIG. 8 shows the luminance distribution when the small circular spot illumination light on the left side of FIG. 6A (a) is irradiated onto an object to be illuminated. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the case where another spot illumination light is irradiated onto an object to be illuminated. FIG. 9 shows the luminance distribution when the circular spot illumination light in FIG. 6A (c) is irradiated onto an object to be illuminated. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the case where yet another spot illumination light is irradiated onto an object to be illuminated. FIG. 10 shows the luminance distribution when the circular spot illumination light in FIG. 6A (d) is irradiated onto an object to be illuminated.

For example, the illuminance of the spot illumination light irradiated on the irradiation object may be as shown in Figures 8 to 10. Specifically, when the illuminance irradiated on the irradiation object has an inverted V-shaped waveform as shown in Figure 8, or when the illuminance irradiated on the irradiation object has an inverted U-shaped waveform as shown in Figure 9, the illuminance irradiated on the irradiation object may change smoothly as shown in Figure 10. In either case, the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated on the irradiation object forms a first illumination area and a second illumination area, and the user can recognize the first illumination area and the second illumination area.

Therefore, based on Figures 8 to 10, the average illuminance of the first irradiation area is set to 1.1 to 100 times the average illuminance of the second irradiation area. Preferably, the average illuminance of the first irradiation area may be set to 2, 3, 5, or 10 to 100 times the average illuminance of the second irradiation area. Also, the average gradient of the illuminance distribution in boundary portion B is larger than the average gradient of the illuminance distribution in the center of the first irradiation area and the outer periphery of the second irradiation area.

<Modification 1>
In this modification, the same components as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

First, we will explain the lighting device 1a of this modified example with reference to Figure 11.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the lighting device 1a according to the first modification and the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the illumination target.

The lighting device 1a of this modified example further includes a detection unit 71 in addition to the light-emitting device 10, a control unit 50, a memory unit 51, a communication unit 52, a plurality of optical bodies 30, a wavelength conversion body 20, and a housing 40.

The detection unit 71 is a sensor that detects at least one of the shape, size, and color tone of an object to be illuminated with spot illumination light. The detection unit 71 is, for example, an object detection sensor, a color sensor, an image sensor, etc.

The control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 based on the detection result detected by the detection unit 71. For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to have a shape corresponding to the shape of the irradiation object based on the detection result detected by the detection unit 71. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to have a shape similar to the shape of the irradiation object, so that the lighting device 1a can irradiate the irradiation object with spot illumination light to have a shape similar to the shape of the irradiation object.

Furthermore, for example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 so that the size of the light source 12 is approximately the same as the object of irradiation covering the irradiation object based on the detection result detected by the detection unit 71. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 so that the size of the light source 12 is approximately the same as the object of irradiation covering the irradiation object, so that the lighting device 1a can irradiate the irradiation object with spot illumination light so that the size of the light source 12 is approximately the same as the object of irradiation covering the irradiation object.

Furthermore, for example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 so that the color tone corresponds to the color tone of the irradiation object based on the detection result detected by the detection unit 71. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that white light is emitted if the color tone of the irradiation object is black. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 so as to make the color tone of the irradiation object stand out, and the lighting device 1a can irradiate the irradiation object with spot illumination light so that the color tone can make the irradiation object stand out.

In this modified example, the lighting device 1a includes a detection unit 71, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, this modified example may be applied to a lighting system including a lighting device 1a having a light-emitting device 10, a control unit 50, a memory unit 51, a communication unit 52, a plurality of optical bodies 30, a wavelength conversion body 20, and a housing 40, and a detection unit 71.

<Modification 2>
In this modification, the same components as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Since this modification has the same components as those in the first modification, the description will be given with reference to FIG.

First, we will explain the lighting device 1a of this modified example with reference to Figure 11.

The lighting device 1a of this modified example further includes a detection unit 71 in addition to the light-emitting device 10, a control unit 50, a memory unit 51, a communication unit 52, a plurality of optical bodies 30, a wavelength conversion body 20, and a housing 40.

The detection unit 71 is a sensor that detects at least one of the movement of an object to be irradiated with spot illumination light and the temperature of the object to be irradiated. The detection unit 71 is, for example, a motion sensor, a thermosensor, an image sensor, etc.

The control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 based on the detection results detected by the detection unit 71. For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to follow the movement of the object to be irradiated based on the detection results detected by the detection unit 71.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to have a shape similar to the shape of the irradiation object that changes in response to the movement of the irradiation object, or controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to continue irradiating the irradiation object in response to the movement of the irradiation object. When the control unit 50 identifies the trajectory of the moving irradiation object, which is the movement of the irradiation object, the lighting device 1a may continue to irradiate the irradiation object with light so as to follow the identified trajectory. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 to follow the irradiation object, so that the lighting device 1a can irradiate spot illumination light to the irradiation object or the surroundings of the moving irradiation object or in front of the direction of movement in response to the movement of the irradiation object.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 so as to change the color tone irradiated onto the irradiation object depending on the temperature of the irradiation object. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that if the irradiation object is at or above a predetermined temperature, reddish spot illumination light is irradiated onto the irradiation object, and if the irradiation object is below a predetermined temperature, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that bluish spot illumination light is irradiated onto the irradiation object. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 depending on the temperature of the irradiation object, so that the lighting device 1a can irradiate the irradiation object with spot illumination light of a color depending on the temperature of the irradiation object.

This modified example may also be applied to a lighting system including a lighting device 1a having a light-emitting device 10, a control unit 50, a memory unit 51, a communication unit 52, a plurality of optical bodies 30, a wavelength conversion body 20, and a housing 40, and a detection unit 71.

<Modification 3>
In this modification, the same components as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

First, we will explain the lighting device 1b of this modified example with reference to Figure 12.

FIG. 12 shows the internal structure of lighting device 1b relating to modification example 3 and a different illumination light pattern on an illuminated object from that shown in FIG. 11.

The lighting device 1b of this modified example further includes an acquisition unit 72 in addition to the light-emitting device 10, the control unit 50, the memory unit 51, the communication unit 52, the multiple optical bodies 30, the wavelength conversion body 20, and the housing 40.

The acquisition unit 72 acquires at least one of the following: season, calendar, time, weather, climate, temperature, and humidity. The acquisition unit 72 may be, for example, a data acquisition unit that acquires the season, calendar, time, weather, climate, temperature, and humidity from an external device, or may be a sensor such as a timing sensor, a temperature sensor, a weather sensor, or a humidity sensor.

The control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 72.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the season. Specifically, when the season is spring, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a spring appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. When the season is summer, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a summer appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. When the season is autumn, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that an autumn appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. When the season is winter, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a winter appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the season, and the lighting device 1b can irradiate the irradiation object with spot lighting light such as letters, pictures, figures, and patterns according to the season.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to a calendar. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a calendar showing the current month and day is displayed on the object to be illuminated. As a result, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the calendar, and the lighting device 1b can illuminate the object to be illuminated with spot lighting light of characters, pictures, figures, patterns, etc. according to the calendar.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the time. Specifically, when the time is morning, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a morning scene is displayed on the irradiation object. When the time is daytime, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a daytime scene is displayed on the irradiation object. When the time is evening, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that an evening scene is displayed on the irradiation object. When the time is night, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a night scene is displayed on the irradiation object. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the time, and the lighting device 1b can irradiate the irradiation object with spot lighting light of characters, pictures, figures, patterns, etc. according to the time. The time itself can also be displayed as a clock as shown in FIG. 12.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the weather. Specifically, when the weather is sunny, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a sunny appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. When the weather is cloudy, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a cloudy appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. When the weather is rainy, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a rainy appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. When the weather is snowy, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that a snowy appearance is displayed on the irradiation object. In this way, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the weather, and the lighting device 1b can irradiate the irradiation object with spot lighting light such as letters, pictures, figures, and patterns according to the weather.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the climate, such as weather, temperature, precipitation, and wind. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that the current climate is displayed on the illuminated object. As a result, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the climate, and the lighting device 1b can illuminate the illuminated object with spot lighting light that displays letters, pictures, figures, patterns, and the like according to the climate.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the temperature. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that the current temperature is displayed on the illuminated object. As a result, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the temperature, and the lighting device 1b can illuminate the illuminated object with spot lighting light that shows characters, pictures, figures, patterns, and the like according to the temperature.

For example, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the humidity. Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 so that the current humidity state is displayed on the illuminated object. As a result, the control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the humidity, and the lighting device 1b can illuminate the illuminated object with spot lighting light that shows letters, pictures, figures, patterns, and the like according to the humidity.

In this modified example, the lighting device 1b includes the acquisition unit 72, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, this modified example may be applied to a lighting system including a lighting device 1b having a light-emitting device 10, a control unit 50, a storage unit 51, a communication unit 52, a plurality of optical bodies 30, a wavelength conversion body 20, and a housing 40, and an acquisition unit 72.

<Modification 4>
In this modification, the same components as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

First, the lighting devices 1c, 1c1, 1d, 1e, and 1f of this modified example will be described with reference to Figures 13 to 18.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing lighting device 1c of modified example 4. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing lighting device 1c1 installed on stand 110. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of lighting device 1d of modified example 4. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing lighting device 1d of modified example 4. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing lighting device 1e when connected to an external power source by wire. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing lighting device 1f when connected to an external power source wirelessly.

As shown in FIG. 13, the lighting device 1c may have a grip 41 so that the user can easily carry it. The housing 40 is cylindrical, and the grip 41 is integrally connected to the outer circumferential surface of the housing 40, which houses the multiple light sources 12, the control unit, and the multiple optical bodies 30. Integral connection means that the housing 40 and the grip 41 cannot be separated without being destroyed. In this embodiment, the grip 41 has a U-shaped, D-shaped, or C-shaped grip, for example, and can be easily grasped by the user. Note that as long as the user can grasp the grip 41, the shape of the grip 41 is not limited to a U-shaped, D-shaped, or C-shaped grip, and may be another known shape.

As shown in FIG. 14, the lighting device 1c1 may have a stand 110 for placing the lighting device 1c1 in a predetermined position. The stand 110 is connected to the housing 40. That is, the housing 40 may have a connecting portion for attaching it to the stand 110. The connecting portion is connected to the stand 110, thereby fixing the lighting device 1c1 to the stand 110. The stand 110 may also allow rotation, including panning and tilting, so as to change the position of the housing 40.

Specifically, the stand 110 has legs 111, a support portion 112, and a pivot connection portion 113. The legs 111 support the support portion 112. The legs 111 are, for example, a tripod, a tetrapod, a plate-shaped base, or the like. The support portion 112 is supported by the legs 111 and extends in the vertical direction. The pivot connection portion 113 is connected to the support portion 112 so as to be pivotable in the circumferential direction with the longitudinal direction of the support portion 112 as the central axis. In other words, the pivot connection portion 113 is pivotable in the pan direction (left and right direction) relative to the support portion 112. Since the pivot shaft portion 114 extending horizontally provided on the pivot connection portion 113 is pivotally connected to the connection portion of the housing 40, the pivot connection portion 113 is capable of pivoting the housing 40 in the tilt direction (up and down direction). Therefore, the lighting device 1c1 connected to the stand 110 can rotate in the pan direction and the tilt direction. The rotation in the pan direction and the tilt direction provided on the stand 110 may be performed automatically or manually. When the rotation in the pan direction and the tilt direction is performed automatically, the stand 110 is equipped with an actuator such as a motor that rotates in the pan direction and the tilt direction.

Such a stand 110 is required to have a certain level of strength in order to support the lighting device 1c1. For this reason, the stand 110 may be made of a metal material or the like.

In addition, the lighting device 1c1 is detachable from the stand 110. When the lighting device 1c1 is attached to the pivot connection part 113 of the stand 110, the pivot connection part 113 rotates relative to the support part 112, allowing the lighting device 1c1 to rotate in the pan direction, and the lighting device 1c1 rotates relative to the pivot connection part 113, allowing it to rotate in the tilt direction.

Also, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the lighting device 1d may further include a battery 54 and a power supply unit 53 for supplying power to the multiple light sources 12. In this case, the battery 54 and the power supply unit 53 may also be housed in the housing 40.

The power supply unit 53 can convert power from an external power supply into DC power of a predetermined level, and supply the converted DC power to each light source 12. When the external power supply is a commercial power supply, the power supply unit 53 can convert the AC power from the external power supply into DC power of a predetermined level by rectifying, smoothing, stepping down, etc., and supply the converted DC power to each light source 12.

The power supply unit 53 can also supply power from the battery 54 to the multiple light sources 12. When the external power source is a commercial power source, the power supply unit 53 can rectify, smooth, step down, etc. the AC power from the external power source to convert it into DC power of a predetermined level, and supply it to the battery 54 to charge it. The power supply unit 53 can also convert DC power from the battery 54 into DC power of a predetermined level, and supply the converted DC power to each light source 12.

The battery 54 may be a primary battery or a secondary battery. If the battery 54 is a secondary battery, the stand 110 may have a function capable of charging the battery 54 of the lighting device 1d.

Even if the battery 54 of the lighting device 1d runs out of power, the lighting device 1d can be turned on by replacing the battery 54. For this reason, the lighting device 1d cannot be connected to a power supply cable, i.e., it does not need to be connected to an external power source via a power supply cable.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the lighting device 1e may be powered by a wired connection. Specifically, the lighting device 1e may be powered by being connected to an external power source such as a commercial power source via a power supply cable.

In this case, the lighting device 1e may further include a power supply connector 55 in addition to the battery 54 and the power supply unit 53. The power supply connector 55 is a connector for supplying power to the power supply unit 53, and is provided on the housing 40. The power supply connector 55 may be connected to a power supply cable, and outputs power supplied from an external power source via the power supply cable to the power supply unit 53. In other words, the lighting device 1e is supplied with power from the external power source via the power supply cable.

The power supply cable is, for example, a USB cable, a power supply cable with an adapter, etc. The power supply connector 55 is, for example, a USB terminal, a DC plug, etc.

The external power source may also be another lighting device having a battery 54. The other lighting device may have a similar configuration to lighting device 1e. In this case, the power supply connector 55 of lighting device 1e may be connected to the connector of the other lighting device via a power supply cable, or may be directly connected to the connector of the other lighting device. In this case, lighting device 1e may be able to be charged from the other lighting device, or may cause the other lighting device to be charged.

For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the lighting device 1f may be powered by a wireless connection (non-contact power supply). Specifically, the lighting device 1f may further include a power receiving unit 56 capable of receiving power non-contact from a power transmitting unit 57, in addition to a battery 54 and a power supply unit 53. The power transmitting unit 57 is composed of a power transmitting coil connected to an external power source. The power receiving unit 56 is provided in the housing 40 of the lighting device 1f and is composed of a power receiving coil connected to the power supply unit 53. When the lighting device 1f is powered, the lighting device 1f is placed near the power transmitting unit 57, so that the power receiving unit 56 is supplied with power from the power transmitting unit 57. The power receiving unit 56 outputs the power supplied from the external power source via the power transmitting unit 57 to the power supply unit 53. In other words, the lighting device 1f is supplied with power from the external power source via the power receiving unit 56 and the power transmitting unit 57.

The lighting device 1f may also have a power supply connector 55. In this case, the power supply connector 55 of the lighting device 1f may be connected to a connector of another lighting device via a power supply cable, or may be directly connected to a connector of another lighting device. In this case, the lighting device 1f may be capable of being charged by the other lighting device, or may charge the other lighting device. The other lighting device may have a similar configuration to the lighting device 1f.

In the lighting devices 1e and 1f, an operation switch may be provided on the housing 40 that allows the user to select whether to charge the lighting device 1e or 1f or another lighting device, and to charge the selected lighting device. By operating the operation switch, the user can switch between charging the lighting device 1e or 1f from the other lighting device, or charging the other lighting device from the lighting device 1e or 1f.

For example, lighting devices 1e and 1f may act as master devices, and connect the power supply connector 55 to the connector of another lighting device to charge the other lighting device as a slave device. When multiple other lighting devices are connected to lighting devices 1e and 1f, a lighting device that should be given priority for charging from among the multiple other lighting devices may be charged. The lighting device that should be given priority for charging is a lighting device that is executing an illumination light pattern of spot illumination light and has a low charging capacity of its battery 54. The user can input the settings in advance via an external device to charge the lighting device that should be given priority.

For example, if there are two lighting devices 1e and 1f that are slave devices, and the two lighting devices 1e and 1f share their charge capacity as in a peer-to-peer format, power may be supplied from the lighting device 1e or 1f that is executing a lighting light pattern with a low level of importance to the lighting device 1e or 1f that is executing a lighting light pattern with a high level of importance.

In either case of wired or wireless connection, the lighting devices 1e and 1f may not be equipped with a battery 54. In this case, the power supply unit 53 may convert AC power from an external power source into DC power of a predetermined level by rectifying, smoothing, stepping down, etc., and supply the converted DC power to each light source 12.

In this modified example, the battery 54 is mounted on the housing 40 of the lighting device 1d, 1e, 1f, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the battery 54 may be provided outside the lighting device 1d, 1e, 1f. In this case, the user may carry the battery 54 and the lighting device 1d, 1e, 1f while holding the lighting device 1d, 1e, 1f, such as by being carried on the user's shoulder or attached to the arm or torso.

The configuration of the grip 41 and stand 110 in the lighting devices 1c and 1c1 may also be included in the lighting devices 1d, 1e, and 1f.

<Action and effect>
Next, the effects of the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to the present embodiment will be described.

As described above, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 1 of this embodiment are lighting devices capable of irradiating one or more spot illumination lights onto an irradiation object, and include a plurality of light sources 12, a control unit 50 that controls the illumination light pattern of the one or more spot illumination lights irradiated onto the irradiation object by selectively controlling each of the plurality of light sources 12, and a plurality of optical bodies 30 that irradiate the irradiation object with spot illumination lights that have been light distribution controlled from the light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources 12 in a one-to-one correspondence. The focal length of each of the plurality of optical bodies 30 is longer or shorter than the distance between the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b and the irradiation object.

With this, a single lighting device 1, 1a, 1b can simultaneously irradiate multiple illumination objects with light, or irradiate light that changes over time. This eliminates the need to install multiple lighting fixtures in a space to illuminate multiple illumination objects, as was previously the case, and thus reduces the need to install multiple lighting devices in a space.

Therefore, according to the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the increase in the installation area of the lighting device and the increase in costs required for lighting the space due to the increase in installation area, and it is expected that the number of lighting fixtures installed can be reduced, so that a lighting space with excellent design can be realized without lining up a large number of lighting fixtures.

In particular, according to the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b of the present embodiment, when the focal length of each of the multiple optical bodies 30 is longer than the distance between the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b and the object to be illuminated, it is possible to create spot lighting that allows the illumination light pattern to be recognized while blurring the contour of the spot lighting like the illumination light of a general lighting fixture. Therefore, it is possible to allow the user to recognize the illumination light pattern of the spot lighting that can display content, etc., while the light is closer to the illumination light illuminated by a general lighting fixture than the light illuminated by a projector to the object to be illuminated, with the contour of the light being clearly separated.

In addition, when the focal length of each of the multiple optical bodies 30 is shorter than the distance between the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b and the object to be illuminated, by using a fisheye lens or the like, as in a single focus projector, it is possible to create spot lighting that blurs the contours in the lighting light pattern of the spot lighting light, like the lighting light of a general lighting fixture, while still allowing the lighting light pattern to be recognized.

In this way, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b of this embodiment can use the lighting pattern of the spot lighting light to display a recognizable lighting light pattern like light emitted by a projector, while also displaying a blurred outline like general lighting light. As a result, there is no need to use an expensive device such as a projector, and an increase in the number of lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b installed can be suppressed, thereby suppressing an increase in the costs required for lighting facilities in a space.

Furthermore, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 arranged in a two-dimensional array, so that each of the multiple spot illumination lights can be controlled independently. This makes it possible to irradiate one or more spot illumination lights to a necessary location, and to prevent spot illumination light from being irradiated to an unnecessary location. Therefore, the illumination devices 1, 1a, and 1b of this embodiment can suppress an increase in power consumption and are easy to use.

In addition, according to the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b of this embodiment, even when multiple spot illumination lights are irradiated onto multiple small objects such as dolls, ornaments, etc. that are the illumination objects, spot illumination lights adjusted to fit the size of each small object can be irradiated from a distance.

Furthermore, lighting fixtures using conventional gobo filters can only emit a single lighting pattern, making it difficult to change the lighting pattern emitted to the object, and the gobo filter blocks the light emitted by the light source 12, resulting in wasted power for the amount of light blocked. Therefore, it is possible to use a projector to emit lighting to the object, but projectors require an air-cooled fan, which increases power consumption, makes embedding difficult, increases costs for maintenance and inspection due to dust accumulation, increases the size of the equipment, and generates noise.

However, it is possible to change the illumination light pattern irradiated on the object to be illuminated and to suppress the increase in costs required for lighting equipment in the space.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 2 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in technology 1. In this case, the focal lengths of the multiple optical bodies 30 are different from each other.

As a result, when multiple spot illumination lights emitted from the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b are irradiated onto an object to be illuminated, an illumination light pattern of the spot illumination lights with blurred contours can be displayed on the object to be illuminated.

The lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 3 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in technology 1 or 2. In this case, the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the illumination object includes a first illumination area that is the center of the illumination light pattern, and a second illumination area that surrounds the periphery of the first illumination area. The average gradient of the illuminance distribution in the boundary part B between the first illumination area and the second illumination area is larger than the average gradient of the illuminance distribution in the center of the first illumination area and the outer periphery of the second illumination area.

This allows the first illumination area to display the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light in a recognizable manner, like a projector, and the second illumination area to blur the contours of the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light, like general illumination light.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 4 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in technology 3. In this case, the average illuminance of the first irradiation area is 1.1 to 100 times the average illuminance of the second irradiation area.

For example, if the average illuminance of the first illumination area is less than 1.1 times the average illuminance of the second illumination area, it may become impossible to recognize the contours in the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light.

However, according to this embodiment, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b can display the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light in a recognizable manner, like light emitted by a projector, while also displaying the outlines in a blurred manner, like general illumination light.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 5 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in any one of technologies 1 to 4. In this case, the multiple spot illumination lights that are light distribution controlled by the multiple optical bodies 30 are out of focus in a range of 1 m to 3 m along the irradiation direction from the optical body 30 that is located at the forefront of the multiple optical bodies 30.

As a result, the spot illumination light can be illuminated to blur the contours of the object in a range of 1 m to 3 m from the optical body 30 along the illumination direction. In other words, the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the object can be recognized in a range of 1 m to 3 m. In this distance range, an illumination light pattern that is recognizable by the user can be presented to the object. In particular, it is expected that the lighting device 1 of this embodiment can be used within the distance range that is used exclusively for general lighting, store lighting, and street lighting.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technique 6 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in technique 3. In this case, the first and second illumination areas are formed in the multiple spot illumination lights that are light distribution controlled by the multiple optical bodies 30, within a range of 0.7 m to 4 m along the illumination direction from the optical body 30 that is located at the forefront of the multiple optical bodies 30.

By forming a first illumination area and a second illumination area in a range of 0.7 m to 4 m from the optical body 30 along the illumination direction, it is possible to illuminate the illumination object so as to blur the contour of the spot illumination light. In other words, it is no longer necessary to irradiate multiple illumination objects with focused illumination light. This eliminates the need for a focus adjustment function, and it is possible to prevent the illumination devices 1, 1a, 1b from becoming larger and the structure of the illumination devices 1, 1a, 1b from becoming more complicated. In particular, it is expected that the illumination device will be used within a distance range that is used exclusively for general lighting, store lighting, and street lighting.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technique 7 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in any one of techniques 1 to 6. In this case, in a plurality of spot illumination lights whose light distribution is controlled by a plurality of optical bodies 30, the effective distance at which an illumination light pattern can be recognized along the irradiation direction from the optical body 30 arranged at the forefront among the plurality of optical bodies 30 is 0.5 m or more.

For example, when an object to be illuminated is placed at a position less than 0.5 m from the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b, the object to be illuminated may be hidden by the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b. Furthermore, when the distance is less than 0.5 m, the illumination light pattern may disappear, making it difficult for the user to recognize the illumination light pattern. For this reason, it is expected that the user will be able to recognize the object to be illuminated, so that the object to be illuminated is not partially or completely hidden by the spot illumination light. Furthermore, it is expected that the user will be able to recognize the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light illuminated on the object to be illuminated, so that the illumination light pattern does not disappear.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 8 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in any one of technologies 1 to 7. In this case, in a plurality of spot illumination lights in which light distribution is controlled by a plurality of optical bodies 30, the effective distance at which an illumination light pattern can be recognized along the irradiation direction from the optical body 30 arranged at the forefront among the plurality of optical bodies 30 is 10 m or less.

For example, when spot lighting is applied to an object located more than 10 m away from the lighting device, the contours of the lighting pattern of the spot lighting may become blurred.

However, with the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b of this embodiment, it is expected that the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light can be recognized.

In addition, in this embodiment, since spot illumination light is not irradiated to an illumination target located at a position exceeding 10 m, there is no need to use optical design to achieve a narrower light angle distribution or a control mechanism to accurately irradiate spot illumination light toward a specified position. Therefore, by suppressing the complexity of the optical design and control mechanism in the illumination devices 1, 1a, and 1b, it is possible to suppress an increase in the manufacturing costs of the illumination devices 1, 1a, and 1b.

Also, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technique 9 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b described in any one of techniques 1 to 8. In this case, the control unit 50 controls the multiple light sources 12 to change at least one of the light distribution characteristics, color tone, and intensity of the spot illumination light.

This allows multiple spot illumination lights with different characteristics to be irradiated onto the irradiation object. Therefore, multiple irradiation objects with different characteristics can be irradiated with corresponding spot illumination lights. Since the irradiation object can be enhanced by the spot illumination lights, it is expected that the appearance of the irradiation object can be improved.

The lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technology 10 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to any one of technologies 1 to 9. In this case, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b further include a communication unit 52 capable of communicating with an external device. The communication unit 52 also acquires control input data for controlling each of the multiple light sources 12 from the external device. The control unit 50 then controls each of the multiple light sources 12 according to the control input data acquired by the communication unit 52.

This allows the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b to be controlled at a location away from the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b, so that the user can adjust the spot lighting while checking the lighting light pattern of the object illuminated by the spot lighting. In other words, the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b can irradiate the object with spot lighting whose shape, position, size, color tone, intensity, etc. are dynamically changed so that the lighting devices 1, 1a, 1b are linked to the user's operation on an external device. This improves usability for the user.

The lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to technique 11 of this embodiment are the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b according to any one of techniques 1 to 10. In this case, the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b further include a storage unit 51 that stores software for controlling the illumination light pattern of each of the multiple light sources 12. The control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 using the software stored in the storage unit 51.

By installing the software in an external device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, it is possible to operate the lighting devices 1, 1a, and 1b using the external device.

In addition, since it will be easier to upgrade the software, it is expected to become more widely used and become easier for users to use.

The lighting device 1a according to technique 12 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1a according to any one of techniques 1 to 11. In this case, the lighting device 1a further includes a detection unit 71 that detects at least one of the shape, size, and color tone of an object to be illuminated with the spot illumination light. The control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 based on the detection result detected by the detection unit 71.

This allows spot illumination light to be emitted according to at least one of the shape, size, and color tone of the object to be illuminated, so that the object to be illuminated can be illuminated with spot illumination light in a lighting mode that suits the object to be illuminated. Since the object to be illuminated can be presented with spot illumination light, it is expected that the appearance of the object to be illuminated can be improved.

The lighting device 1a according to technique 13 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1a according to any one of techniques 1 to 11. In this case, the lighting device 1a further includes a detection unit 71 that detects at least one of the movement of an object to be irradiated with the spot illumination light and the temperature of the object to be irradiated. The control unit 50 controls each of the multiple light sources 12 based on the detection result detected by the detection unit 71.

This allows spot illumination light to be emitted according to at least one of the movement of the object to be irradiated and the temperature of the object to be irradiated, so that the object to be irradiated can be irradiated with spot illumination light in a lighting mode according to the object to be irradiated. Since the object to be irradiated can be presented with spot illumination light, it is expected that the appearance of the object to be irradiated can be improved.

Also, the lighting device 1b according to technique 14 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1b according to any one of techniques 1 to 11. In this case, the lighting device 1b further includes an acquisition unit 72 that acquires at least one of the following: season, calendar, time, weather, climate, temperature, and humidity. The control unit 50 then controls each of the multiple light sources 12 based on the content acquired by the acquisition unit 72.

This allows at least one of the season, calendar, time, weather, climate, temperature, and humidity to be displayed on the illuminated object using the illumination light pattern of the spotlight. This allows the user to recognize the illumination light pattern displayed on the illuminated object.

Also, the lighting device 1c according to technique 15 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1c according to any one of techniques 1 to 14. In this case, the lighting device 1c includes a housing 40 that houses multiple light sources 12, a control unit 50, and multiple optical bodies 30, and a grip unit 41 connected to the housing 40.

As a result, when the lighting device 1c is turned on, the housing 40 may become hot. Even in this case, the user can grasp the grip portion 41 without feeling much heat, and can therefore carry the lighting device 1c while it is turned on by grasping the grip portion 41.

Also, the lighting device 1c1 according to technique 16 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1c1 described in any one of techniques 1 to 15. In this case, it includes a housing 40 that houses multiple light sources 12, a control unit 50, and multiple optical bodies 30, and a stand 110 for setting the housing 40.

Accordingly, by installing the lighting device 1c1 on the stand 110, the lighting device 1c1 can be maintained in a desired posture. This suppresses shaking of the posture of the lighting device 1c1 and suppresses fluctuations in the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated on the illumination target. Note that the lighting device 1c1 may be equipped with a camera stabilizer function structure and a vibration sensor in case the stand 110 has a weak structure. In this case, if the vibration detection result of the vibration sensor exceeds an allowable range, the control unit 50 may operate the camera stabilizer function. This makes it possible to suppress illumination blurring of the lighting device 1c1 due to vibrations caused by a person walking near the lighting device 1c1, for example.

Also, the lighting device 1d according to technique 17 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1d according to any one of techniques 1 to 16. In this case, the lighting device 1d includes a battery 54 and a power supply unit 53 for supplying the power of the battery 54 to the multiple light sources 12, and the battery 54 and the power supply unit 53 are housed in the housing 40.

As a result, even if the battery 54 of the lighting device 1d runs out of power, the lighting device 1d can be turned on simply by replacing the battery 54. Therefore, the lighting device 1d can be carried in a turned-on state without connecting the lighting device 1d to an external power source such as a commercial power source, thereby improving the convenience of the lighting device 1d.

Also, the lighting device 1e according to technique 18 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1e according to any one of techniques 1 to 17. In this case, the lighting device 1e includes a power supply unit 53 for supplying power to the multiple light sources 12, and a power supply connector 55 for supplying power to the power supply unit 53, and the power supply connector 55 is supplied with power from an external power source.

Accordingly, when the external power source is a commercial power source, the lighting device 1e is powered from the external power source via the power supply connector 55, and can be turned on by power supplied from the commercial power source. Also, when the external power source is another lighting device, the lighting device 1e is powered from the other lighting device via the power supply connector 55, and can be turned on by power supplied from the commercial power source. With the lighting device 1e, it is possible to select the external power source to be used for power supply, making it highly versatile.

Also, the lighting device 1f according to technique 19 of this embodiment is the lighting device 1f described in any one of techniques 1 to 18. In this case, it includes a power receiving unit 56 capable of receiving power from a power transmitting unit 57 in a non-contact manner, and a power supply unit 53 for supplying the power received by the power receiving unit 56 to the multiple light sources 12.

As a result, power is supplied to the lighting device 1f simply by placing the lighting device 1f near the power receiving unit 56, so power can be easily supplied to the lighting device 1f.

(Other Modifications)
Although the lighting device according to the present disclosure has been described based on the above-mentioned embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. As long as the modifications do not deviate from the spirit of the present disclosure, modifications that a person skilled in the art may make to the embodiments may also be included in the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, in the lighting device of this embodiment, a light source and a wavelength converter are exemplified, but this is not limiting. For example, the lighting device does not need to have a separate wavelength converter, as in this embodiment. In this case, the light emitting device is composed of multiple light sources and a light emission control circuit, etc. Each of the multiple light sources may include a red LED chip, a blue LED chip, and a green LED chip. The light source may be realized by other light emitting elements, such as a semiconductor laser, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence), or an inorganic EL.

The lighting device in this embodiment is installed indoors, such as in a store or facility, but may also be used in manned transport vehicles, such as ships, vehicles, and aircraft, or as outdoor lighting.

The control unit included in the lighting device in this embodiment is typically realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. These may be implemented individually as single chips, or may be implemented as a single chip that includes some or all of them.

In addition, the integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. It is also possible to use an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of the circuit cells inside the LSI.

In the above embodiment, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a storage medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

Furthermore, all the numbers used above are examples to specifically explain this disclosure, and the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to the numbers exemplified.

Furthermore, the division of functional blocks in the block diagram is one example, and multiple functional blocks may be realized as one functional block, one functional block may be divided into multiple blocks, or some functions may be transferred to other functional blocks. Furthermore, the functions of multiple functional blocks having similar functions may be processed in parallel or in a time-shared manner by a single piece of hardware or software.

Note that this disclosure also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to the above-described embodiments that would come to mind by a person skilled in the art, and forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of the embodiments without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. In other words, this disclosure also includes forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of this embodiment, modifications 1 to 4, and other modifications.

In addition, the lighting device in this embodiment includes the lighting devices in Modifications 1 to 4 and other modifications, and the present disclosure also includes configurations that are realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of the lighting devices in Modifications 1 to 4 and other modifications.

Reference Signs List 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1c1, 1d, 1e, 1f Illumination device 12 Light source 30 Optical body 41 Holding unit 50 Control unit 51 Storage unit 52 Communication unit 53 Power supply unit 54 Battery 55 Power supply connector 56 Power receiving unit 57 Power transmitting unit 71 Detection unit 72 Acquisition unit 110 Stand

Claims (19)

A lighting device capable of irradiating one or more spot illumination lights onto an illumination object,
A plurality of light sources;
a control unit that selectively controls each of the plurality of light sources to control an illumination light pattern of one or more of the spot illumination lights irradiated onto the illumination object;
a plurality of optical bodies that irradiate the illumination object with the spot illumination light obtained by controlling the light distribution of the light emitted from each of the plurality of light sources in a one-to-one correspondence;
A lighting device, wherein a focal length of each of the plurality of optical bodies is longer or shorter than a distance between the lighting device and the object to be illuminated. The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the optical bodies have different focal lengths. the illumination light pattern of the spot illumination light irradiated onto the illumination object includes a first illumination region that is a central portion of the illumination light pattern and a second illumination region that surrounds a periphery of the first illumination region,
3 . The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein an average gradient of the illuminance distribution in a boundary portion between the first irradiation region and the second irradiation region is greater than an average gradient of the illuminance distribution in a central portion of the first irradiation region and an outer periphery of the second irradiation region. The lighting device according to claim 3 , wherein an average illuminance of the first illumination area is 1.1 to 100 times an average illuminance of the second illumination area. 3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of spot illumination lights, the light distribution of which is controlled by the plurality of optical bodies, are out of focus within a range of 1 m or more and 3 m or less along the illumination direction from the optical body that is arranged at the forefront of the plurality of optical bodies. 4. The lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the first illumination area and the second illumination area are formed in the plurality of spot illumination lights subjected to light distribution control by the plurality of optical bodies within a range of 0.7 m to 4 m along an illumination direction from the optical body that is arranged at the forefront of the plurality of optical bodies. 3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein in the plurality of spot illumination lights whose light distribution is controlled by the plurality of optical bodies, an effective distance at which the illumination light pattern can be recognized along an irradiation direction from the optical body that is arranged at the forefront of the plurality of optical bodies is 0.5 m or more. 3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein in the plurality of spot illumination lights whose light distribution is controlled by the plurality of optical bodies, an effective distance at which the illumination light pattern can be recognized along an irradiation direction from the optical body arranged at the forefront among the plurality of optical bodies is 10 m or less. The illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls the plurality of light sources to change at least one of a light distribution characteristic, a color tone, and an intensity of the spot illumination light. Further comprising a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device;
the communication unit acquires control input data for controlling each of the plurality of light sources from the external device;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls each of the plurality of light sources in response to the control input data acquired by the communication unit. a storage unit that stores software for controlling the illumination light pattern of each of the plurality of light sources;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls each of the plurality of light sources by using the software stored in the storage unit. a detection unit configured to detect at least one of a shape, a size, and a color tone of the illumination object irradiated with the spot illumination light,
The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls each of the plurality of light sources based on a detection result obtained by the detection unit. a detection unit configured to detect at least one of a movement of the irradiation object irradiated with the spot illumination light and a temperature of the irradiation object;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls each of the plurality of light sources based on a detection result obtained by the detection unit. An acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the following: season, calendar, time, weather, climate, temperature, and humidity;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls each of the plurality of light sources based on the content acquired by the acquisition unit. a housing that accommodates the light sources, the control unit, and the optical bodies;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a grip portion connected to the housing. a housing that accommodates the light sources, the control unit, and the optical bodies;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a stand for mounting the housing. A battery;
a power supply unit for supplying power from the battery to the plurality of light sources;
The lighting device according to claim 15 , wherein the battery and the power supply unit are housed in the housing. A power supply unit for supplying power to the plurality of light sources;
a power supply connector for supplying power to the power supply unit,
The lighting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the power supply connector is powered from an external power source. a power receiving unit capable of receiving power from the power transmitting unit in a non-contact manner;
The lighting device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a power supply unit for supplying the power received by the power receiving unit to the plurality of light sources.

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