JP2010056611A - Load control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and reliably open and close a load even under environment having external noise in a load control system. <P>SOLUTION: A lighting control system has: a remote controller that can transmit a lighting signal by radio waves using a channel selected from three radio channels having mutually different frequencies; and a switch capable of receiving the lighting signal by the three channels. When the operation button of the remote controller is pressed, a radio transmission circuit section transmits the lighting signal by an antenna under the control of a control section. The control section changes a channel for transmitting signals to a first channel in the initial operation and changes the channel to second and third channels when second operation and third operation are performed, respectively, in a series of continuous operation interrupted by performing operation again within a prescribed amount of time after operation immediately before. Channels are changed automatically, thus enabling reliable communication even under environment having external noise. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a load control system that receives a signal transmitted by radio waves from a transmitter by a receiver and controls a load according to the signal.

  In recent years, a wireless signal transmitted from a transmitter is received by a switch disposed on a construction surface such as a wall surface, and the switch is configured to open and close a load such as a lighting device based on the signal received by the switch. A load control system is used. By using wireless communication, for example, a highly functional switch can be easily arranged in place of a new switch or newly, without performing wiring work with other parts of the load control system. be able to. In such a load control system using wireless communication, depending on the application, it may be more desirable to transmit and receive signals between the transmitter and the switch by wireless communication using radio waves than to transmit and receive by infrared light. This is because wireless communication has advantages such as a wider transmitter area that allows signals to be transmitted to the switch due to radio wave transmission and diffraction than with infrared light. . However, even in the case of wireless communication using radio waves as described above, communication may not be performed properly between the transmitter and the switch. In this case, for example, even if the user operates the transmitter, the user's intention As you can see, the load is no longer opened or closed.

  Such a problem may occur, for example, when external noise exists. That is, when an electronic device that emits radio waves that become noise in the same frequency band as the channel that performs communication between the transmitter and the switch is near the switch, the signal transmitted from the transmitter due to the influence of the noise It becomes difficult to receive. In that case, in order to enable communication, it is necessary for the user to take measures such as changing the settings of the transmitter and receiver and changing the channel for communication to another channel. The problem that increases.

Patent Document 1 discloses that in a gas meter information collection system, a frequency channel with a low usage rate is preferentially selected and used in communication between a plurality of wireless master units and slave units. . However, in this information collection system, the wireless master unit selects a channel to be received, while the slave unit always transmits signals on a plurality of channels, so that the power consumption of the slave unit becomes relatively large. is there. In addition, since the channel is changed according to the number of communication failures between the wireless master unit and the slave unit, the channel is changed according to the number of communication failures, particularly when the load is opened and closed by a user operation. It may take time before the change can be made, and may make the user feel uncomfortable.
JP 2004-127176 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a load control system that can easily and surely open and close a load even in an environment with external noise and that has low power consumption of a transmitter. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 has a transmitter for transmitting a signal by radio waves and a function for receiving radio waves, and is connected to a load to control at least on / off of the load. The transmitter includes an antenna, a radio transmission circuit unit that transmits a signal from the antenna, an operation unit operated by a user, and an operation applied to the operation unit A control unit configured to control the wireless transmission circuit unit and transmit a predetermined signal, and the receiver includes an antenna, a wireless reception circuit unit that receives a radio wave using the antenna and extracts a signal, and a power source A load control circuit unit that opens and closes a power supply path to the load, and a control unit that performs operation control of the load control circuit in accordance with a signal received by the wireless reception circuit unit, and is added by a user Of the operation unit In the load control system configured to operate the load according to a predetermined operation, the wireless transmission circuit unit is configured to be able to transmit a signal by selecting a plurality of wireless channels having different frequencies. When the predetermined operation is performed again within a predetermined time after the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed, when the first predetermined operation is performed, a predetermined wireless channel among the plurality of wireless channels A wireless channel that transmits the same predetermined signal at the time and transmits a signal in accordance with at least the immediately preceding operation, among the plurality of wireless channels, each time the predetermined operation is performed within a predetermined time from the immediately preceding operation. The predetermined signal is transmitted through a radio channel different from the radio channel, and the radio reception circuit unit is configured to receive the plurality of radio channels.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the wireless transmission circuit unit is configured to perform the predetermined operation within a predetermined time after the previous operation after the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed. In the case where there are two or more times, after the first predetermined operation and the second operation are performed, each time the predetermined operation is performed, the plurality of wireless channels are operated according to the previous operation. The predetermined signal is transmitted continuously on a wireless channel different from the wireless channel that transmitted the signal and a wireless channel that is different from the wireless channel that has already transmitted the signal. Is.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the wireless transmission circuit unit is configured to perform the predetermined operation within a predetermined time from the immediately preceding operation after the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed. When the predetermined operation is performed after the first predetermined operation and the second operation are performed, a plurality of wireless channels that perform signal transmission according to the operation are set. The predetermined signal is transmitted a plurality of times for each wireless channel while switching in order.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the wireless transmission circuit unit performs a predetermined operation of the operation unit after a predetermined time from the previous operation, The predetermined signal is transmitted on the radio channel that previously transmitted the predetermined signal.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, for example, an attempt was made to transmit a predetermined signal in response to an operation of the operation unit performed by a user. However, even if communication fails due to the influence of external noise, within a predetermined time thereafter When transmitting according to the performed operation, signal transmission is performed on a wireless channel different from the previously transmitted wireless channel, so that the possibility of communication failure can be reduced. For example, when there is a high possibility that the user repeatedly operates the operation unit within a predetermined time, such as when communication fails and the load is not opened / closed, the radio channel is automatically changed according to the operation and signal transmission is performed. Therefore, troublesome work such as manually changing the setting of the wireless channel is not necessary, and the load can be easily and reliably opened and closed. In addition, since the signal transmission is not always performed on a plurality of radio channels when the operation unit is operated, the transmitter is compared with the conventional transmitter that always performs signal transmission on a plurality of radio channels. Power consumption can be kept small.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the signal transmission is performed again even in the wireless channel that has already transmitted the signal during the third and subsequent operations when the repetitive operation is performed, particularly when external noise is temporarily generated. For example, when it becomes possible to satisfactorily communicate with a radio channel that has already transmitted a signal at the time of the operation, communication can be performed with the radio channel more quickly.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, during the third and subsequent operations, the signal is transmitted a plurality of times for each wireless channel while sequentially switching the wireless channels, so that there has been a change in external noise in the surrounding environment until then. The communication can be made surely and promptly, for example.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when the first operation is performed, signal transmission is performed on the radio channel that was previously transmitted, which is considered to have succeeded in communication at the end. In comparison with the case where the transmission is always performed on the same channel, the possibility of communication failure during the operation can be reduced, and the communication can be performed more reliably and promptly.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a lighting control system as an example of a load control system according to the present embodiment. The lighting control system 1 includes a lighting device 150 as a load, a remote controller (transmitter) 151 that transmits a radio signal by radio waves, a power source (shown in FIG. 2) 50 that is, for example, a commercial AC power source, and an electric wire to the lighting device 150. The switch (receiver) 152 is connected in series via the. The remote controller 151 is provided with an operation button (operation unit) 151a that can be operated by the user. In addition, the switch 152 turns on or off the lighting device 150 in accordance with a wireless signal transmitted and received from the remote controller 151 as will be described later. That is, the illumination control system 1 employs a unidirectional communication method from the remote controller 151 to the switch 152. Here, in the present embodiment, the illumination device 150 made of an incandescent lamp is exemplified as the load. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other illumination devices such as a fluorescent lamp and a fluorescent lamp electronic ballast, as well as illumination. It may be a load other than the device. The switch 152 has an operation handle that can be operated by the user from the outside, for example, and the user can directly operate the operation handle in addition to the operation of the operation button 151a of the remote controller 151, so that the illumination device can be operated. It may be configured such that 150 can be turned on or off.

  FIG. 2 shows a block configuration of the remote controller 151 and the switch 152. In addition to the operation button 151a, the remote controller 151 includes, for example, an antenna 11 that is a small loop antenna having a large gain, a wireless transmission circuit unit 12 that transmits a signal from the antenna 11, and a control unit 13 that controls the operation of the remote controller 151. And a battery 14 for supplying electric power to these electric circuits. The remote controller 151 is configured, for example, in a box shape in which each unit is housed in a housing. The user can operate the operation button 151 a while holding the remote controller 151.

  The operation button 151 a is a push button provided so that an operation of switching the lighting device 150 between a lighting state and a light-off state can be performed. The operation button 151 a sends an operation signal to the control unit 13 when operated by the user. The control unit 13 is configured by a microcomputer or the like, and controls the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 and the like. When the operation signal is input, the control unit 13 generates a lighting signal for switching on / off of the lighting device 150 according to the operation signal. When the lighting signal is input from the control unit 13, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 modulates and amplifies the lighting signal, and transmits the signal from the antenna 11 using a radio wave of a predetermined frequency (hereinafter referred to as a channel). As described above, the remote controller 151 transmits the lighting signal superimposed on the carrier wave based on the pressing operation applied to the operation button 151a. The remote controller 151 is provided with other operation buttons in addition to the operation buttons 151a, and the control unit 13 controls the lighting device 150 in accordance with the operation buttons to which the operation has been applied. It may be configured to generate a signal or the like. With this configuration, the user can remotely control the operation of the lighting device 150 in a variety of ways.

  The switch 152 is connected to the lighting device 150 connected to the lighting device 150, for example, the antenna 21 such as a loop antenna, the wireless reception circuit unit 22 that receives radio waves by the antenna 21, the control unit 23 that controls the operation of the switch 152. A load control circuit unit 24 that opens and closes the power supply path and a power supply circuit 25 that supplies power to the lighting device 150 from a power supply 50 of 100 V, for example, are provided. The switch 152 is formed in a two-module size, for example, a wide handle type continuous switch (see JIS C 8304) having a rectangular box-shaped body made of synthetic resin, and is attached to a mounting frame or the like conforming to the standard. And placed in a switch box embedded in the wall surface. Note that the switch 152 is not limited to the one embedded in the wall surface as described above, and may be attached to, for example, a wall surface or a ceiling.

  The radio reception circuit unit 22 receives radio waves of a channel having a predetermined frequency under the control of the control unit 23. The load control circuit unit 24 includes a switching element (for example, a triac) that opens and closes a power supply path from the power supply circuit 25 to the lighting device 150. The control unit 23 is configured by a microcomputer or the like, and performs switching control of the switching element of the load control circuit unit 24 in accordance with the signal received by the wireless reception circuit unit 22. For example, when the lighting signal is received by the wireless reception circuit unit 22, the control unit 23 performs switching control for switching between a state where power is supplied to the lighting device 150 and a state where power is not supplied. The power supply circuit 25 supplies operating power to the control unit 23 and the like. In the switch 152, when the load control circuit unit 24 opens a power supply path to the lighting device 150, the power supply circuit 25 charges the capacitor to generate an operating power supply for the switch 152. On the other hand, when the load control circuit unit 24 closes the power supply path from the power supply circuit 25 to the lighting device 150, the power supply path is periodically set for a predetermined time within a range that does not affect the lighting state of the lighting device 150. The capacitor is opened and charged to the capacitor, and when closed outside a predetermined time, the capacitor is discharged to generate an operating power supply. Thereby, the switch 152 can connect the power supply circuit 25 and the illumination device 150 in series by two lines. Since this type of power supply circuit 25 is conventionally known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-357443, etc.), illustration and description of a detailed configuration and operation are omitted. The configuration of the power supply circuit 25 is not limited to this, and power may be constantly supplied from the power supply 50 to the switch 152.

  In the lighting control system 1, when the operation button 151a of the remote controller 151 is pressed, the control unit 23 of the switch 152 turns on / off the power supply to the lighting device 150 according to the operation. That is, every time when the operation button 151a is pushed by the user and a lighting signal or the like is sent from the remote controller 151, the switching element of the load control circuit unit 24 is switched by the control of the control unit 23 of the switch 152. The device 150 is switched on and off. Thereby, the user can switch the lighting device 150 between the lighting state and the extinguishing state from a position away from the switch 152.

  Here, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 of the remote controller 151 has, for example, a PLL synthesizer. The wireless transmission circuit unit 12 can select one channel from three channels having different frequencies, for example, a first channel, a second channel, and a third channel, and can transmit a signal by radio waves on the channel. The wireless reception circuit unit 22 of the switch 152 includes, for example, a PLL synthesizer, and can receive radio waves of three channels that can be transmitted from the remote controller 151 as described above. The selection of a channel when transmitting a signal from the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is performed based on the control of the control unit 13, for example. For example, the radio reception circuit unit 22 is configured to receive radio waves while switching between three channels each time a predetermined time elapses, so that no matter which channel the remote controller 151 transmits a signal on. The signal can be received. Note that the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 and the wireless reception circuit unit 22 may include, for example, a crystal multiplier transmitter instead of the PLL synthesizer, and may be configured to be able to transmit signals using a plurality of frequency channels.

  In the present embodiment, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is configured to change a channel for transmitting a signal under the control of the control unit 13 when the operation button 151a is operated in a predetermined operation mode as described below. Has been. For example, when the operation button 151a is pressed again within a predetermined time (for example, within 1 second) after the operation button 151a is pressed, each channel change operation of the operation button 151a is performed. This is performed according to the pressing operation. That is, in the present embodiment, when the operation button 151a is operated again within a predetermined time after the previous operation button 151a is pressed, each operation forms a series of continuous operations. Therefore, the channel changing operation is performed in response to each pressing operation of the operation button 151a constituting the continuous operation. Note that the series of continuous operations ends when no operation is performed before the predetermined time elapses from the last operation. Accordingly, if the operation button 151a is operated once when the continuous operation is not continued, that is, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous operation button 151a was pressed, this operation is a new continuous operation. However, if the operation is not performed after a predetermined time, the continuous operation is not configured after all.

  Hereinafter, an operation mode of the channel change operation in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of the operation mode of the channel change operation. The operation example shown in the figure is a case where the operation button 151a is pressed down about five times from a certain time (indicated as # 1 to # 5 in the figure). In this operation example, the second operation (# 2) is performed within a predetermined time after the first press of the operation button 151a (# 1), and the third operation (# 2) within a predetermined time from the second operation (# 2). # 3) has been made. Further, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the third operation, the fourth operation (# 4) is performed, and then the fifth operation (# 5) is performed within the predetermined time. At this time, the first operation, that is, the operation from the first operation to the third operation constitutes a series of continuous operations, and the fourth and fifth operations constitute a continuous operation different from the continuous operation. Of the five pressing operations of the operation button 151a, the first to third operations are, for example, the same lighting operation for lighting the lighting device 150, and the fourth and fifth operations are, for example, This is the same turn-off operation for turning off the lighting device 150.

  The control unit 13 transmits a signal by sequentially switching the three channels every time the same pressing operation of the operation button 151a is performed in the same continuous operation. That is, first, when the first operation (# 1) is performed, as shown in the figure, the control unit 13 generates a lighting signal and transmits the signal as a first channel (CH1), for example, and wirelessly. The transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission on the first channel. When the operation is performed within a predetermined time from the first operation, that is, when the second operation (# 2) is performed in the continuous operation, the control unit 13 generates a signal according to the immediately preceding operation. The channel is switched to the second channel (CH2) different from the first channel that transmitted the signal, and the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission on the second channel. Further, when the operation is performed within a predetermined time from the second operation, that is, when the third operation (# 3) is performed in the continuous operation, similarly, a signal is transmitted according to the immediately preceding operation. Signal transmission is performed on a third channel (CH3) different from the two channels. In this example, one continuous operation includes three pressing operations. However, for example, when four or more operations are included, the control unit 13 is operated from the third channel corresponding to the third operation. Each time, the channel is changed in the order of the first channel, the second channel, the third channel,.

  Further, when the continuous operation is newly started as in the fourth operation (# 4) in this example, since the operation is the first pressing operation in the continuous operation, for example, the control unit 13 sets the channel to the first channel. And Then, when the fifth operation (# 5), that is, the second operation in the continuous operation is performed within a predetermined time so as to constitute the same continuous operation, signal transmission on the second channel is performed. .

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in a series of continuous operations, every time a pressing operation is performed, signal transmission is performed in order on a channel different from the channel on which the three channels are switched and the previous signal is transmitted. Therefore, even if communication fails due to the influence of external noise or the like on the channel at the previous transmission, the influence of the external noise can be avoided during the current operation. Therefore, the possibility of communication failure can be reduced, and power consumption can be reduced compared to a remote controller that always transmits signals using a plurality of wireless channels. In addition, when there is an operation that is likely to be performed by the user when communication fails and the lighting device 150 does not turn on / off, such as repeatedly operating the operation button 151a within a predetermined time, the operation is automatically performed. Since the signal can be transmitted by changing the channel according to the operation, there is no need for troublesome work such as manually changing the channel setting, and the lighting device 150 can be turned on / off easily and reliably.

  In the present embodiment, the number of channels that can be transmitted by the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 and can be received by the wireless reception circuit unit 22 is not limited to three, but may be two or four or more. May be. FIG. 4 shows an example of the operation mode of the channel change operation when signals can be transmitted and received by n or more channels. At this time, for example, when the pressing operation is performed to configure the same continuous operation from the first time (# 1) to the nth time (#n), the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 first performs the first operation according to the first operation. Transmit signals on the channel. Thereafter, each time the pressing operation is performed, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission on the channel changed in order of the second channel, the third channel,..., The nth channel under the control of the control unit 13. Further, for example, when there is an (n + 1) th pressing operation after a time exceeding a predetermined time from the nth time, a continuous operation different from the previous continuous operation is started. Under control, signal transmission on the first channel is performed in response to the operation. Even when the number of channels is large in this way, similarly, the channels can be automatically changed to enable reliable communication.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the change mode of a channel is not restricted to what is always changed in the same order about each continuous operation. That is, for example, the channels may be changed in an order opposite to the order changed in the previous continuous operation, and every time the operation button 151a is operated, at least according to the immediately preceding operation among the plurality of channels. The predetermined signal may be transmitted on a channel different from the channel that transmitted the signal. In addition, the channel for signal transmission at the first time of a new continuous operation may not always be the same predetermined channel as described above. That is, for example, if the previous continuous operation has been continued, the channel that should have been transmitted next may be configured as a predetermined channel that performs signal transmission corresponding to the first operation. .

  Next, an illumination control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the embodiment described below, each component of the illumination device 150, the remote controller 151, and the switch 152 is the same as that in the first embodiment described above. In the second embodiment, there are two channels that the remote controller 151 can transmit and the switch 152 can receive, for example, the first channel and the second channel, and the control unit 13 and the wireless transmission circuit unit 12. The channel change operation of the remote controller 151 performed by the above is different from the above-described first embodiment.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation mode of the channel change operation of the remote controller 151 in the second embodiment. When the first pressing operation (# 1) of the operation button 151a is performed in a series of continuous operations, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 controls the first channel (CH1) under the control of the control unit 13 as in the first embodiment. ) Signal transmission. When the second pressing operation (# 2) is performed in the same continuous operation, the channel is changed as in the first embodiment, and signal transmission is performed on the second channel (CH2). Here, in the second embodiment, when the third pressing operation (# 3) is subsequently performed in the same continuous operation, the control unit 13 generates a lighting signal and performs the immediately preceding second operation. In response, the channel is changed to a first channel different from the second channel that transmitted the signal. In addition, the control unit 13 subsequently changes the channel to a second channel that is a channel that has already transmitted a signal and is different from the first channel that performs the current signal transmission, and generates a lighting signal. As a result, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 transmits a signal on the first channel and then transmits a signal on the second channel. Although only the third pressing operation is shown in the figure, when there is a pressing operation so that the same continuous operation continues thereafter, a signal is transmitted for each operation according to the immediately preceding operation. Subsequent to signal transmission on a channel different from the channel, signal transmission is performed on a channel that is different from the channel and has already performed signal transmission in the continuous operation.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the operation button 151a is continuously pressed down due to communication failure or the like, signal transmission is automatically performed again even on a channel that has already performed signal transmission. Therefore, especially when there is temporary noise around you, the surrounding radio wave environment has changed since the previous signal was sent on that channel, and you can communicate well on that channel at the time of the operation. Thus, reliable communication can be performed more promptly.

  In the second embodiment, the number of channels that can be transmitted and received is not two but may be larger. In this case, for example, the channel change and signal transmission may be performed as follows. That is, first, in the same continuous operation, signal transmission is performed by changing to the first channel and the second channel, respectively, in accordance with the first and second operations. Next, in response to the third operation, transmission is performed using two channels, for example, a third channel that is different from the previously transmitted second channel and a first channel selected from the two channels that have already been transmitted. Further, according to the fourth operation, transmission is performed using a fourth channel that is different from the previously transmitted third channel, and a second channel selected from the three channels that have already been transmitted. As described above, by performing channel change and signal transmission, reliable communication can be performed promptly as described above. In addition, the above-mentioned channel change aspect is an illustration, and the channel change order may not be this. In addition, when signal transmission is performed in response to the third and subsequent operations in the same continuous operation, not only a total of two channels including one channel that has already transmitted a signal, but two or more signals that have already been transmitted. You may make it transmit on a total of three or more channels including a channel. That is, in the second embodiment, the number of channels and the number of channels that transmit signals in response to the third and subsequent pressing operations may be appropriately selected and set.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the operation mode of the channel change operation of the remote controller 151 in the illumination control system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the lighting control system 1 can transmit and receive signals through, for example, two channels, and the operation until the second pressing operation (# 2) of the operation button 151a is performed in a series of continuous operations. This is the same as in the second embodiment. In the third embodiment, when the third and subsequent operations (# 3) are subsequently performed in the same continuous operation, signals are transmitted on the first channel and the second channel as in the second embodiment. At this time, a total of four signal transmissions are performed while alternately switching the channels twice for each channel. That is, when the third pressing operation is performed, first, under the control of the control unit 13, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission on the first channel. Subsequently, subsequently, signal transmission is performed while alternately switching the channel to the second channel, the first channel, and the second channel.

  In the third embodiment, signal transmission is performed while changing the channel alternately in turn once for each channel in this way, so that even if there is a change in external noise in the surrounding radio wave environment until then. It is possible to reliably and promptly communicate. Note that the order of switching channels is not limited to the above. For example, in response to a third pressing operation, signal transmission is performed twice on the first channel, and then signal transmission is performed twice on the second channel. Also good. Further, the signal may be transmitted three times or more for each channel. In the third embodiment, it may be configured such that signals can be transmitted and received by three or more channels. At this time, for example, a channel for transmitting a signal in response to a pressing operation after the third time and the number of times transmission is repeated in each channel. The transmission order may be appropriately selected and set.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation mode of the channel change operation of the remote controller 151 in the illumination control system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the radio transmission circuit unit 12 operates the operation button 151a after a predetermined time from the previous operation under the control of the control unit 13, in addition to the channel change operation similar to that in the first embodiment. When it is interrupted, it is configured such that signal transmission corresponding to the operation is performed on the channel on which signal transmission was performed last time. In other words, when the first operation is performed in a series of continuous operations, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission corresponding to the operation in the channel that has performed signal transmission last in the previous continuous operation. For example, as shown in the figure, when a signal is transmitted on the first channel in the previous continuous operation, and after the predetermined time has passed and the continuous operation has ended, the first operation of the new continuous operation (# 1) Is performed, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission on the first channel. Thereafter, when the second operation (# 2) is performed in the continuous operation, the channel is changed as in the first embodiment, and the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 performs signal transmission on the second channel. When a predetermined time elapses after the second operation is performed and then the first operation (# 3) of another new continuous operation is performed, the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is controlled by the control unit 13. Performs signal transmission on the second channel transmitted at the end of the previous continuous operation.

  In this way, in the fourth embodiment, when the first operation is performed, signal transmission is performed on the channel that is considered to have succeeded in communication at the end. For example, this is compared with the case where transmission is always performed on the same channel. The possibility of communication failure during operation can be reduced, and communication can be performed more reliably.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible suitably in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, the operation buttons are not limited to push buttons, and may include touch sensors or other types of switches. The operation button 151a has an on button and an off button, and the control unit 13 turns on or turns off the lighting device 150 each time an operation signal corresponding to the operated button is input. It may be configured to generate a turn-off signal for the purpose. In this case, the channel may be changed in a continuous operation that is continued when the same operation of turning on or off of the operation buttons 151a is repeatedly performed within a predetermined time. Further, the mode of signal transmission by the wireless transmission circuit unit 12 is not limited to the above, and is configured to perform signal transmission in such a manner that a plurality of characteristic parts of the first to fourth embodiments are provided. It may be. For example, as in the second embodiment, in the same continuous operation, the third operation involving signal transmission on the first channel by channel change and signal transmission on the second channel, which has already been transmitted, is performed. It is assumed that the continuous operation is finished. At this time, when the next pressing operation is performed, as shown in the fourth embodiment, for example, the signal transmission is performed on the first channel in which the signal transmission is performed by the channel change when the last operation is performed. Alternatively, signal transmission may be performed on the second channel that has performed signal transmission last in response to the last operation. As described above, even when the configuration is combined with the above-described embodiments, communication failure due to external noise can be prevented by automatically changing the channel and performing signal transmission in the same continuous operation. .

  Further, the present invention is not applicable only to the remote controller 151 that can be held and operated by the user as described above. FIG. 8 shows an example of an illumination control system 201 using a transmitter 251 that is provided on a wall surface and has an operation button 251a that can be operated by a user, instead of the remote controller 151, for example. The configuration of the transmitter 251 is substantially the same as the configuration of the remote controller 151 described above, and the user turns on / off the lighting device 150 by operating the operation button 251a of the transmitter 251 provided on the wall surface. It can be carried out. Even in such a configuration, the transmitter 251 automatically changes the channel by the same continuous operation, so that the lighting device 150 can be reliably turned on / off even in an environment with external noise or the like. It can be turned off. Note that a plurality of transmitters 251 may be used in combination with one switch 152.

  In addition to the illumination control system that controls on / off of the illumination device as described above, the present invention provides an air conditioning system, a hot water supply system, or a transmitter that turns on / off the operation according to a signal transmitted from the transmitter. It can also be used in a load control system used for other purposes, such as a security system that receives a predetermined signal transmitted from the terminal and performs a notification operation. That is, in a transmitter used to remotely control the operation of the load control system by transmitting a signal by radio waves, the channel is automatically changed in the manner as described above to transmit the signal. By configuring, it is possible to prevent a communication failure and easily and reliably control the load even in an environment with external noise.

The figure which shows an example of the illumination control system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the remote controller and switch of the said illumination control system. The figure which shows an example of the signal transmission aspect of the said remote controller. The figure which shows the modification of the signal transmission aspect of the said remote controller. The figure which shows an example of the signal transmission aspect of the remote controller of the illumination control system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the signal transmission aspect of the remote controller of the illumination control system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the signal transmission aspect of the remote controller of the illumination control system which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the modification of the said illumination control system.

1,201 Lighting control system (load control system)
11 (transmitter) antenna 12 wireless transmission circuit unit 13 (transmitter) control unit 21 (receiver) antenna 22 radio reception circuit unit 23 (receiver) control unit 24 load control circuit unit 25 power supply circuit 50 power supply 150 Lighting device (load)
151 Remote controller (transmitter)
151a, 251a Operation buttons (operation unit)
152 switch (receiver)
251 transmitter

Claims (4)

A transmitter that transmits a signal by radio waves, and a receiver that has a function of receiving radio waves and that is connected to a load and has a control function of controlling at least on / off of the load,
The transmitter controls the radio transmission circuit unit based on an antenna, a radio transmission circuit unit that transmits a signal from the antenna, an operation unit operated by a user, and an operation applied to the operation unit, A control unit for transmitting a predetermined signal,
The receiver includes an antenna, a radio reception circuit unit that receives a radio wave using the antenna and extracts a signal, a load control circuit unit that opens and closes a power feeding path from a power source to the load, and the radio reception circuit unit A control unit for controlling the operation of the load control circuit according to the received signal,
In the load control system configured to operate the load according to a predetermined operation of the operation unit applied by a user,
The wireless transmission circuit unit includes:
It is configured so that signals can be transmitted by selecting multiple wireless channels with different frequencies.
When the predetermined operation is performed again within a predetermined time after the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed, when the first predetermined operation is performed, a predetermined wireless channel among the plurality of wireless channels A wireless channel that transmits the same predetermined signal at the time and transmits a signal in accordance with at least the immediately preceding operation, among the plurality of wireless channels, each time the predetermined operation is performed within a predetermined time from the immediately preceding operation. And transmitting the predetermined signal on a different radio channel,
The load control system, wherein the radio reception circuit unit is configured to receive the plurality of radio channels.   When the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed and the predetermined operation is performed twice or more within a predetermined time after the predetermined operation, the wireless transmission circuit unit performs the first predetermined operation and Each time the predetermined operation is performed after the second operation is performed, a wireless channel different from the wireless channel that transmitted a signal according to the immediately previous operation among the plurality of wireless channels, and 2. The load control system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined signal is continuously transmitted through at least one radio channel among radio channels that are different from the radio channels and have already transmitted signals.   When the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed and the predetermined operation is performed twice or more within a predetermined time after the predetermined operation, the wireless transmission circuit unit performs the first predetermined operation and After the second operation, when the predetermined operation is further performed, the predetermined operation is performed a plurality of times for each wireless channel while sequentially switching a plurality of wireless channels performing signal transmission according to the operation. The load control system according to claim 2, wherein the signal is transmitted.   When the predetermined operation of the operation unit is performed after a predetermined time from the previous operation, the wireless transmission circuit unit transmits the predetermined signal on the wireless channel that transmitted the predetermined signal last time. The load control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:

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