Patent Publication Number: US-9420668-B2

Title: Lighting apparatus and illumination management method of the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus and a method of managing the illumination and extinguishment of the same. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A plurality of lighting apparatus are provided in buildings and structures such as offices and factories, ships, and a variety of sports facilities. Each of the plurality of lighting apparatus includes one of a variety of light emitters such as fluorescent lamp, mercury lamp, and LED. Appropriate brightness is achieved by illuminating these lighting apparatus, thus providing a well-managed working environment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     However, the switch of lighting apparatus provided on a wall is designed to illuminate or extinguish the plurality of lighting apparatus all at once. As a result, the lighting apparatus cannot be illuminated or extinguished individually. In order to curtail the lighting apparatus to use that are provided at an elevated position such as ceiling, for example, to save power, therefore, the lighting apparatus must be removed using a stepladder or ladder, thus involving risk. Further, when the removed lighting apparatus are reattached for restoration to their original positions to stop the curtailed use, a similar problem occurs. 
     In light of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting apparatus that allows for curtailing of lighting apparatus and restoration to the original conditions in a safe manner and a method of managing the illumination of the same. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting apparatus that includes a power supply connection section, a light emitter, a switch, a control circuit, and a photoreceptor element. The power supply connection section is connected to a power supply. The light emitter emits light by power supplied from the power supply connection section. The switch is provided in a conductive path from the power supply connection section to the light emitter. The control circuit actuates the switch. The photoreceptor element is connected to the control circuit. The photoreceptor element receives a laser beam from a laser pointer, thus activating the control circuit to turn the switch on or off. 
     It is preferable that a filter should be disposed in the photoreceptor element of the lighting apparatus to pass only light at specific wavelengths. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing the illumination of a plurality of lighting apparatus provided in buildings and structures. The management method includes a selection step of selecting the lighting apparatus to be illuminated and those to be extinguished. The management method further includes a lighting apparatus curtailing or restoring step of irradiating light onto a photoreceptor element of each of the lighting apparatus selected in the selection step using a laser pointer so as to activate a control circuit and turn off or on a switch. 
     In the present invention, each of the lighting apparatus includes a switch, a control circuit, and a photoreceptor element. The switch is connected to a light emitter. The control circuit actuates the switch. The photoreceptor element is connected to the control circuit. The photoreceptor element receives a laser beam from a laser pointer, thus activating the control circuit to turn the switch on or off. This allows the lighting apparatus to be illuminated or extinguished individually. 
     Therefore, the light emitters can be curtailed simply by irradiating a laser beam from the laser pointer onto the switches, thus eliminating the need to remove the lighting apparatus using a stepladder or ladder and ensuring safety in curtailing lighting apparatus. 
     Similarly, the curtailed lighting apparatus can be illuminated simply by irradiating a laser beam from the laser pointer onto the switches, thus restoring the lighting apparatus to their initial conditions in a safe manner without using a stepladder or ladder. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention and the manner of realizing them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will best be understood from a study of the following description and appended claims with reference to the attached drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a lighting apparatus; 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view illustrating a switch in an on state; 
         FIG. 2B  is a perspective view illustrating the switch in an off state; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view illustrating the manner in which the lighting apparatus are curtailed by irradiating a laser beam onto photoreceptor elements; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an illumination management method of the lighting apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A plurality of lighting apparatus  10  shown in  FIG. 1  are provided in buildings and structures. Each of the plurality of lighting apparatus  10  includes a power supply connection section  11 , a light emitter  12 , a switch  13 , a control circuit  14 , and a photoreceptor element  15 . The power supply connection section  11  is connected to a power supply  20 . The light emitter  12  emits light by power supplied from the power supply connection section  11 . The switch  13  is provided in a conductive path from the power supply connection section  11  to the light emitter  12 . The control circuit  14  actuates the switch  13 . The photoreceptor element  15  is coupled to the control circuit  14 . In the example of  FIG. 1 , the three lighting apparatus  10  are shown. However, only the two lighting apparatus  10  may be provided in some cases, and the four or more lighting apparatus  10  may be provided in other cases. 
     The power supply connection sections  11  are connected in parallel to the power supply  20  and each thereof has one end connected to the light emitter  12 . The light emitter  12  is, for example, a fluorescent lamp or LED and provided at an elevated position such as ceiling. Each of the light emitters  12  is connected to one of the switches  13 . That is, the switches  13  are associated with the light emitters  12  in a one-to-one relationship. When the switch  13  turns on, power is supplied from the power supply  20  via the power supply connection section  11 , thus causing the light emitter  12  to emit light. When the switch  13  turns off, power from the power supply  20  is interrupted, thus causing the light emitter  12  to stop emitting light. 
     The control circuit  14  is connected to each of the switches  13 , thus allowing the switch  13  to be turned on or off with a signal output from the control circuit  14 . The switches  13  are associated with the control circuits  14  in a one-to-one relationship. This makes it possible to turn on or off the switches individually. 
     Each of the control circuits  14  adapted to turn on or off one of the switches  13  is connected to the photoreceptor element  15 . The photoreceptor element  15  is, for example, a photosensor and includes a band-pass filter  150  adapted to pass only laser beam at given wavelengths. When a laser beam at one of the given wavelengths is received, the photoreceptor element  15  transmits a signal to the control circuit  14 , thus activating the control circuit  14 . Then, the control circuit  14  outputs a signal to the switch  13 , thus turning on or off the switch  13 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the switch  13  includes a motor  130  and a contact piece  132 . The motor  130  is driven by the control circuit  14 . The contact piece  132  is attached to the tip of a rotating shaft  131  of the motor  130 . The upper end of the contact piece  132  is fastened to the tip of the rotating shaft  131  so that the contact piece  132  rotates with the rotation of the rotating shaft  131 . The motor  130  can be switched between a conducting state shown in  FIG. 2A  and a non-conducting state shown in  FIG. 2B  by rotating the rotating shaft  131  by 90 degrees at a time. Here, the term “conducting state” refers to a condition in which the light emitter  12  emits light as a result of connection between the power supply connection section  11  and the light emitter  12 , and the term “non-conducting state” refers to a condition in which the light emitter  12  does not emit light as a result of disconnection between the power supply connection section  11  and the light emitter  12 . In the conducting state, there is continuity between the power supply connection section  11  and the light emitter  12  as a result of contact between the two end portions of the contact piece  132  with contacts  110  of the power supply connection section  11 . In the non-conducting state, on the other hand, the power supply connection section  11  and the light emitter  12  are disconnected from each other because the contacts  110  are not in contact with the contact piece  132 . 
     A description will be given next of a method of managing the illumination of the lighting apparatus  10  configured as described above with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     (1) Selection Step 
     For example, if lighting apparatus  10   a ,  10   b ,  10   c , and so on up to  10   g  are installed to the ceiling as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , an operator selects which of these lighting apparatus to illuminate and others to extinguish. For example, if the operator wishes to extinguish the lighting apparatus  10   b ,  10   d , and  10   f  for curtailed use, he or she selects the lighting apparatus  10   b ,  10   d , and  10   f  as the ones to be extinguished. On the other hand, the operator leaves the lighting apparatus  10   a ,  10   c ,  10   e , and  10   g  illuminated. 
     (2) Curtailing the Lighting Apparatus 
     Next, the operator points a laser pointer  30  to photoreceptor elements  15   b ,  15   d , and  15   f  of the selected lighting apparatus  10   b ,  10   d , and  10   f , respectively, and irradiates a laser beam  300  thereonto as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . This laser beam  300  has a wavelength that passes through the band-pass filters  150  (refer to  FIG. 1 ) of the photoreceptor elements  15   b ,  15   d , and  15   f . A laser beam at a wavelength of 532 nm is used, for example, as the laser beam  300 , with the band-pass filter  150  set to pass a range of wavelengths from 530 nm to 540 nm. Laser beams travel in a highly straight manner. This makes it possible to irradiate the laser beam onto the desired photoreceptor elements. 
     The photoreceptor elements  15   b ,  15   d , and  15   f  perform a process appropriate to whether or not a laser beam that has passed through the band-pass filter  150  has been received (step S 1  in  FIG. 4 ). If no laser beam has been received, no process is performed, causing no change to take place. That is, the control circuit  14  shown in  FIG. 1  is not activated (step S 2  in  FIG. 4 ). 
     On the other hand, when the photoreceptor element  15  receives a laser beam, this photoreceptor element transmits a signal to that effect to the control circuit  14 . As a result, the control circuit  14  is activated, thus rotating the contact piece  132  of the motor  130  of the switch  13  shown in  FIG. 2  by 90 degrees (step S 3  in  FIG. 4 ). The rotation of the contact piece  132  by 90 degrees removes continuity between light emitters  12   b ,  12   d , and  12   f  and the power supply connection section  11 , switching the motor  130  from the conducting state to the non-conducting state and interrupting supply of power to the light emitters  12   b ,  12   d , and  12   f . As a result, the light emitters  12   b ,  12   d , and  12   f  stop emitting light, thus extinguishing the lighting apparatus  10   b ,  10   d , and  10   f.    
     As described above, the desired lighting apparatus can be curtailed simply by irradiating a laser beam from the laser pointer  30  onto each of the photoreceptor elements, thus eliminating the need to remove the lighting apparatus using a stepladder or ladder. 
     Further, when stopping the curtailed use, the operator irradiates a similar laser beam from the laser pointer  30  onto the photoreceptor elements  15   b ,  15   d , and  15   f  as in the case where the lighting apparatus are extinguished. This activates the control circuit  14 , thus rotating the contact piece  132  of the motor  130  of the switch  13  shown in  FIG. 2  by 90 degrees (step S 3  in  FIG. 4 ). The rotation of the contact piece  132  by 90 degrees provides continuity between light emitters  12   b ,  12   d , and  12   f  and the power supply connection section  11 , switching the motor  130  from the non-conducting state to the conducting state and resuming supply of power to the light emitters  12   b ,  12   d , and  12   f . As a result, the light emitters  12   b ,  12   d , and  12   f  emit light, thus illuminating the lighting apparatus  10   b ,  10   d , and  10   f . Therefore, the curtailed lighting apparatus can be restored to their initial conditions without using a stepladder or ladder in a safe manner. 
     It should be noted that the lighting apparatus  10  according to the present invention can be used for purposes other than curtailing lighting apparatus. For example, if the screen of a personal computer or other device is projected onto a screen using a projector, the room should be darkened to a certain extent. In this case, the room can be finely adjusted to proper brightness by extinguishing the individual lighting apparatus with a laser pointer. Further, the laser pointer used to illuminate or extinguish the lighting apparatus can also be conveniently employed to point to a specific area of the screen projected onto a screen. 
     The present invention is not limited to the details of the above described preferred embodiment. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and all changes and modifications as fall within the equivalence of the scope of the claims are therefore to be embraced by the invention.