KR101826752B1 - Apparatus and method thereof for controlling lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments relate to wirelessly receiving user commands and configuring removable communication modules in a lighting device.
In order to allow the communication module configured in the lighting apparatus to be detachably attached, an interface unit is constituted, and a 5-pin connection means is formed in the interface unit.
The use of the 5 pins is different depending on the communication control method between the communication module and the lighting device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a lighting system control apparatus,

An embodiment relates to an illumination system in which a communication module is detachably attached to a lighting device.

(Lighting temperature, dimming value, brightness, and the like) can be selectively controlled in a state where the lighting market is diversified, and speed, distance, and power consumption among various wireless communication methods (Zigbee, WiFi, and BLUETOOTH) And the like are increasing.

In addition, since the communication module for receiving / processing / transmitting the user's command is integrated with the lighting device, the power supply unit (PSU) failure in the lighting device and / or failure in the LED, general lighting device, If so, all lighting devices including the communication module must be replaced.

Embodiments propose to detachably configure a communication module in a lighting device of an illumination system.

(Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH, etc.) are used between the remote controller and the communication module in order to control the communication module using a remote controller or the like which is one of the means for inputting a user command Lt; / RTI >

Embodiments propose selecting a control via a direct control method or a communication method (such as a UART) in a communication module in controlling a lighting device in a communication module.

In the embodiment, in the control of the lighting device in the communication module as described above, a control signal (PWM) is generated in the communication module based on the user control command received from the remote controller to directly control the power unit (PSU) (LED, general lighting equipment, etc.).

According to the embodiment, in controlling the illumination device in the communication module as described above, the user control command received from the remote controller is transmitted to the control unit in the illuminator through the serial interface (for example, UART method) It is proposed that the control unit in the lighting apparatus controls the power supply unit (PSU) based on the transmitted control signal (signal for controlling the color temperature and the dimming value).

In an embodiment, the communication module includes an antenna unit for receiving a user command by a receiving means, for example, a remote controller; (WIFI, Zigbee, Bluetooth, etc.) corresponding to the wireless command scheme (WIFI, Zigbee, Bluetooth, etc.) selected by the user and supports at least two or more wireless systems An RF unit for transmitting an instruction based on the selected communication serial system (UART, PWM, etc.); And an interface unit in which the usage purpose of the PINs, which are the connection means, is changed based on the selected communication method.

In the embodiment, it is proposed that the interface unit configured in the detachable communication module is connected to another interface unit configured on one side of the illuminating device, and each of the interface units is configured so that the pins which are at least five connection means for signal transmission correspond to each other .

By configuring the communication module separately from the lighting device as described above, when only the lighting device fails, for example, when the PSU (power supply) or the lighting unit is broken, only the faulty lighting device is replaced, To be reused.

An illumination system control device according to an embodiment includes: a lighting device including a power source unit and an illumination unit; And a communication module detachably connected to one side of the lighting device, the communication module receiving a command of the user and transmitting the command to the lighting device.

Receiving means for receiving a user command; An RF unit receiving and processing a user command corresponding to a wireless scheme selected by the user, supporting at least two wireless schemes, and transmitting the received user command to a lighting apparatus according to a selected communication control scheme; An interface unit in which the use of the connection unit is different according to the selected communication control method; .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a lighting system, including: setting a control method between a communication module and a lighting device; Transmitting a signal according to the selected control method in a communication module that has received a control signal commanded by a user; And controlling the illuminator based on the transmitted signal.

In the embodiment, the communication module is configured separately from the lighting device, so that when the illumination device fails, for example, when the PSU (power supply part) or the illumination part fails, the communication module is reused and only the lighting device is used .

Embodiments can effectively control the characteristics (color temperature, dimming value, brightness, etc.) of a lighting device in a communication module by selectively using a PWM control method, a UART control method, or the like based on the characteristic to be controlled .

     In the embodiment, various RF communication methods (Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH, etc.) are implemented in the RF module in the communication module, thereby selecting and using an optimal wireless communication method considering speed / distance / power consumption, Control can be performed.

In the embodiment, the interface part of the detachable communication module is connected to another interface part formed on one side of the illuminating device, and each interface part is configured so that the pins which are connection means for five signals are mutually mutually compatible and can be used.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a lighting system according to an embodiment;
2 is a perspective view of a lighting system according to an embodiment.
3 is a diagram illustrating a communication module according to an embodiment;
4 is a block diagram of a lighting device according to an embodiment
5 is a block diagram of a remote controller for inputting a user command according to an embodiment
6 is a block diagram showing an operation of the interface unit by selecting a communication control method between the communication module and the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment
7 is a diagram illustrating a data format embodiment in which a user command is transmitted to a communication module in accordance with a Zigbee communication method
8 is a diagram showing an example of a data format transmitted from a communication module to a lighting device
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting a user command from a remote controller to a communication module,
Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing an operation flow between a communication module and a lighting device,

Hereinafter, an apparatus and method for controlling a lighting system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are selected as general terms that are widely used as far as possible. However, in some cases, terms selected arbitrarily by the applicant may be used. It is to be understood that the present embodiment should be grasped as an action / meaning of a term that is not a name of a simple term.

In the description of the embodiments, the illumination device is an apparatus that includes an LED, a general illumination device, or other illumination device.

In the description of the embodiment, the remote controller has been described as an example of the input means of the user command, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, other input means capable of wireless transmission are possible, and a wired method is also possible.

In the description of the embodiment, the PIN is used as the connection means, but other connection means such as signal transmission means other than PIN, for example, signal transmission by contact, may be used. That is, what is capable of transmitting a signal is included in the connection means.

Also, in the description of the embodiments, the connections, connections, or contacts between the components means that they are not only directly connected, but also include mechanical connections, electrical connections, or connections through other components, / Wireless connection is also included.

1 is a block diagram 100 illustrating an illumination system according to an embodiment.

2 is a perspective view 200 of an illumination system according to an embodiment.

1, there are shown a remote control 101, which is an input means for inputting a user command, an illuminating device 103 including an illuminating unit (LED, other illuminating equipment, etc.) and an interface unit as signal receiving means, And a communication module (102) which is detachable by transmitting the user command to the lighting device (103) by processing the received user command.

In another embodiment, the user control command may be directly input to the communication module.

2 shows that the interface 203b is configured to attach and detach the communication module 202 to one side of the lighting device 203. The interface unit 203b is configured in the communication module 202, A removable interface 202b corresponding to the user interface 203b and an antenna 202a for receiving a user command.

1 and 2, the communication module can operate according to various radio (RF) communication methods such as Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH, and the like, and operates based on a wireless scheme selected by the user. The wireless communication scheme is a communication scheme between the remote controller 101 and the communication module 102, and a wireless scheme corresponding to the wireless scheme of the remote controller selected by the user is operated in the communication module. That is, the user can select a preferred wireless scheme.

Also, in FIGS. 1 and 2, various control methods are possible between the communication module and the illumination device.

For example, the direct PWM control method (3 pin (VCC, GND, PWM)), UART method (4 Pin (VCC, GND, TX, RX)), SPI method (5 Pin (VCC, GND, DI, And the I2C method (4Pin (VCC, GND, CLK, DATA)) can be used. In this embodiment, UART / direct PWM control method which is more general purpose than the SPI and I2C method is used But the present invention is not limited to this, and can be changed depending on the user's selection.

In the above, the control method by UART is a control method used to control LED lighting of flat panel illumination or relatively requiring a lot of control (color temperature, brightness, dimming, etc.) through Serial Interface 2EA (TX / RX) But may vary depending on the setting. At this time, the lighting apparatus has a separate control unit (MCU).

Accordingly, the communication module that receives the control data transmitted from the remote controller wirelessly transmits to the control unit (MCU) of the lighting apparatus through the serial interface, and the control unit of the lighting apparatus controls the power unit (PSU).

The role of the communication module is to transmit data that can be controlled by the control unit (MCU) of the lighting device according to the protocol and the wire control method of the selected wireless communication method.

On the other hand, the PWM control method is not limited to the control method used to adjust the simple brightness like the LED Bulb, but can be used differently. At this time, the communication module directly controls the illumination unit's power unit (PSU) based on the PWM DUTY ratio to adjust the brightness of the illumination.

The role of the communication module at this time is to directly control the power supply unit (PSU) and the illumination unit (LED, etc.) of the lighting apparatus by generating a direct waveform (PWM DUTY ratio) according to the protocol and the wire control method of the selected wireless communication method do.

The PWM waveform for controlling the LED Bright, which is an illumination unit, is generally generated by a communication module receiving the command by a command from the remote controller. However, a brightness sensor is configured in the communication module to generate a PWM signal according to brightness It might be.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, the communication module and the lighting device are connected by wire, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication module and the lighting device may be implemented wirelessly. In such a case, a receiver may be configured to receive radio signals from the lighting device.

3 is a diagram 300 of a communication module according to an embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the communication module includes an antenna 301 as a receiving means for receiving a user command based on a remote controller or the like; (Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH, and the like), receives and processes a user command, supports at least two or more wireless communication methods (Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH, An RF unit 303 for transmitting to the apparatus; And an interface unit (305) which uses the connection means (PIN, contact method, etc.) differently according to the selected wire communication control system. .

The ANT section is positioned at the outer side to facilitate RF emission.

The interface unit 305 of the communication module includes 5 pins for VCC / GND / Serial Interface (2EA) / PWM signals. In addition, an interface unit corresponding to the interface unit of the communication module is also provided in the lighting apparatus.

The usage purpose of each of the PINs configured in the interface unit is changed as follows according to a selected wire control method between the communication module and the lighting device.

1. When the direct PWM control method is selected, among the 5 pins, 3pin is used for the following applications (VCC, GND, PWM).

2. When the UART method is selected, 4 pins among 5 pins are used for the following applications (VCC, GND, TX, RX).

3. When SPI mode is selected, 5 pins are used for the following applications (VCC, GND, DI, DO, CLK).

4. When the I2C method is selected, 4 pins among 5 pins are used as the following applications (VCC, GND, CLK, DATA).

Among the various control schemes described above, the UART and direct PWM control schemes will be used in this embodiment, but other control schemes may be used depending on the user's selection.

4 is a block diagram 400 of an illumination device according to an embodiment.

An illumination unit 401 including an interface unit 405 and a power source unit (PSU, 401b) and a light source 401a constructed and connected to correspond to the interface unit of the communication module, and a lighting device And a control unit 403 for controlling the control unit 403.

In this case, the illumination unit includes an LED, general illumination equipment or other illumination equipment.

Further, the control unit in the lighting apparatus may not be structured depending on the manner of use or the manner of operation.

5 is a block diagram 500 of a remote controller for inputting user commands according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, all of the switching units 501 for switching the operation mode (performing the general function of the remote controller and switching the lighting apparatus control, etc.); A memory unit 503 in which an operation and communication control program / protocol and the like are stored; A transmitting / receiving unit 509 for transmitting a user command; A power supply / charging unit 505 for operation of the remote controller; And a control unit 507 for controlling the respective components.

       In the remote controller configured as described above, when the user controls the lighting device, data is transmitted to the communication module in accordance with the selected wireless communication method.

      6 is a block diagram illustrating an operation of the interface unit by selecting a communication control method between the communication module and the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment.

      As shown in FIG. 6 (a), in one embodiment, at least one of the UART and direct PWM control schemes 600 is selected on the communication module.

An embodiment in which the control method of the communication module is set is as follows.

1) The user can directly select.

2) a method in which data to set a control method is transmitted to a communication module in a transmitting section such as a remote controller, and a control method of the communication module end is set based on the transmitted data

3) A method in which the communication module simultaneously transmits signals to the PWM and serial interface that controls the lighting device based on the received data. In this case, since the PWM pin and the serial interface pin are independently configured, In this case, the control method (PWM or URAT) set in the lighting apparatus is determined. On the other hand, simultaneous transmission method is possible only for 2Pin Interface such as UART.

The selection of the wired communication control method as described above can be set using an internal FW (firmware) change method or an external slide switch.

FIG. 6 (b) illustrates the use of the interface unit connecting means, which are respectively configured in the communication module and the lighting device, when the wired communication control method by the UART is selected.

FIG. 6 (c) shows the use of the interface unit connecting means, which are respectively configured in the communication module and the lighting device, when the wired communication control method by PWM is selected.

      First, when the wired communication control method using the UART of Fig. 6 (b) is selected, four of the five signal connecting means are used in the communication module 601 and the interface units 601a and 602a of the lighting apparatus 602, The four signal uses are VCC, GND, UART_RX, and UART_TX.

When the communication method based on the UART is selected in the control of the RF unit of the communication module, the control signal of the received user command is transmitted to the control unit 602b through the serial interface (UART_RX and UART_TX) , And the control unit controls the power supply unit (PSU) 602c to control the illumination unit (LED) 602d.

On the other hand, in the case where the wired communication control method by PWM in Fig. 6 (c) is selected, three of the five signal connecting means are used in the interface units 601b and 603a of the communication module and the lighting apparatus, VCC, GND, and PWM.

In the case of FIG. 6C, the communication module generates a control signal PWM based on the received user command to directly control the power supply unit (PSU) 603c of the lighting apparatus 603, 602d are controlled.

7 is a data format embodiment 700 in which a user control command is transmitted to a communication module in accordance with a Zigbee communication method, and illumination control data is transmitted to a payload 701 in each packet structure.

That is, the data transmitted from the remote controller by radio is data for controlling the illumination. For example, the illumination value such as the Dimming value and the Value value for the color temperature are information on the color temperature, the brightness, and the like. The transmission data packet format depends on the wireless method such as Zigbee, WiFi, BLE.

FIG. 8 is a data format embodiment 800 that is an embodiment of a data format embodiment 800 that is transmitted from the communication module to the lighting device, and the lighting control data is transmitted as shown in the payload 801.

9 is a flowchart 900 of a user command transmitted from a remote controller to a communication module as an embodiment.

 Set or select the wireless communication method (Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH, etc.) to transmit the user command to the communication module. (S901).

      User control commands (color temperature, brightness, dimming, etc.) for lighting device control are transmitted to the communication module in accordance with a predetermined data transmission method as shown in Fig. (S903).

10 is an operation flow chart 1000 between a communication module and a lighting device as an embodiment.

As shown in Fig. 6 (a), in the following control methods (UART, PWM), the communication module sets / selects a method of controlling the lighting apparatus. (S1001).

When the above-described operation is performed by the PWM method, the communication module generates the PWM signal with respect to the illumination control signal instructed by the user. (S 1002, S 1003)

 The voltage applied to the illumination unit (LED) from the power supply unit (PSU) of the illumination apparatus is varied based on the DUTY ratio of the generated PWM signal to control the LED brightness. (S1004).

 On the other hand, in the case of operating in the UART mode, the lighting control signal instructed by the user is transmitted to the control unit of the lighting apparatus through the corresponding signal connecting means for UART. (S 1005, S 1006).

The control unit controls the power unit (PSU), and the brightness and the like of the lighting unit (LED) are controlled accordingly. (S1007).

Meanwhile, as another embodiment, various wireless communication control schemes can be used. (S1008)

The lighting system input device and method according to the above embodiments can be applied not only to LED but also to general lighting equipment and other special lighting equipment.

Further, the technical idea of the present embodiment is not limited to the above-described embodiment and the attached drawings, but is construed according to the appended claims.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, As will be described below.

101: input means, 102: communication module, 103: illuminating device
301: antenna, 303: RF unit, 305: interface unit

Claims (31)

An antenna unit for receiving a control signal transmitted from an input unit;
A communication module for receiving a control signal from the antenna unit and generating an output signal by the wireless communication chip to the illumination device; And
And an interface unit in which a plurality of pins for detachably contacting an interface of the illumination device and transmitting an output signal to the illumination device are formed,
The communication module unit,
A plurality of control methods are supported, and one of the plurality of control methods selected from the outside is selected,
Wherein the plurality of pins constituting the interface section are arranged in a matrix,
The type of the transmitted output signal is changed according to the selected control method,
The plurality of pins include a VCC pin, a GND pin, a UART_RX pin, a UART_TX pin, and a PWM pin,
Wherein the plurality of control methods include a UART control method and a PWM control method,
The interface unit includes:
When the UART control method is selected among the plurality of control methods, the output signal is transmitted through the VCC pin, the GND pin, the UART_RX pin, and the UART_TX pin among the plurality of pins,
Wherein the output signal is connected to an interface of the lighting device through a VCC pin, a GND pin, and a PWM pin among the plurality of pins when the PWM control method is selected among the plurality of control methods. delete The method according to claim 1,
The antenna includes:
Wherein the communication module is located outside the communication module, facing the interface module. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the communication module unit transmits a control signal to the lighting device according to a wire control method. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the interface unit is controlled by a serial interface. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein one of the plurality of control schemes includes a UART,
Wherein the plurality of pins constituting the interface section include a VCC pin, a GND pin, a UART_RX pin, and a UART_TX pin. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the communication module unit transmits data for controlling at least one of a color temperature, brightness, and dimming of the illumination device according to a wire control method. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the communication module unit transmits a signal capable of adjusting the lighting device to the lighting device according to a control method used to adjust the brightness of the lighting device. delete The method according to claim 1,
The communication module unit,
Supports at least two wireless schemes,
The control signal is received via the antenna according to a specific radio scheme selected from the outside among the supported wireless schemes,
Wherein the selectable supported wireless scheme comprises at least two of Zigbee, WiFi, BLUETOOTH. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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