LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 20130313977A1
• Filed: 05/09/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: MURAKAMI, Tadashi, GOTOH, Shigeo
• Granted Patent: US 9,072,132 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/153
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/16 by timing means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/72 in street lighting

Abstract

A lighting control system includes lighting devices arranged along a road for a moving body. Each lighting device includes a sensor that detects a moving body approaching the lighting device, a light source that emits light, a sensor that detects the moving body, a control unit connected to the sensor and the light source, and a communication unit. The sensor of the one of the lighting devices located in at least at one outermost position of the lighting devices has a higher detection frequency than the sensors of the other lighting devices.

Claims

1. A lighting control system comprising:

a plurality of lighting devices arranged along a road for a moving body, wherein each of the lighting devices includes

a light source that emits light,

a sensor that detects the moving body,

a control unit provided with a detection result of the sensor, and

a communication unit that sends and receives the detection result of the sensor to and from the communication unit of at least one of the other lighting devices,

wherein when the control unit of each lighting device receives the detection result indicating the detection of the moving body, the control unit controls the light source to be in a bright state and sends the detection result indicating the detection of the moving body from the corresponding communication unit to at least one of the other lighting devices,

when the control unit of each lighting device receives the detection result indicating the detection of the moving body through the corresponding communication unit from another one of the lighting devices, the control unit controls the corresponding light source to be in a bright state, and

the sensor of the one of the lighting devices located in at least at one outermost position of the lighting devices is set to have a higher detection frequency than the sensors of the other lighting devices.

2. The lighting control system according to claim 1, when each control unit of the lighting devices receives the detection result of the corresponding sensor, and the control unit sends the detection result to the sensor of an adjacent one of the lighting devices.

3. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein each control unit of the lighting devices determines whether or not the corresponding lighting device is located at one of two outermost positions of the lighting devices to set the detection frequency of the corresponding sensor.

4. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein each control unit of the lighting devices determines whether or not the corresponding communication unit is connected to one communication unit, and when determining that the corresponding communication unit is connected to one communication unit, the control unit determines that the corresponding lighting device is located at an outermost position of the lighting devices.

5. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the sensors of two of the lighting devices located at two outermost positions of the lighting devices have a higher detection frequency than the sensors of the other lighting devices.

6. The lighting control system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor of the one of the lighting devices located in at least at one outermost position of the lighting devices has a detection frequency allowing for constant detection.