WO2013014233A1

WO2013014233A1 - Luminaire with dmx operating device

Info

Publication number: WO2013014233A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/064695
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael BÖHNEL
Original assignee: Zumtobel Lighting Gmbh
Priority date: 2011-07-27
Filing date: 2012-07-26
Publication date: 2013-01-31
Also published as: EP2737775A1; DE102011079891A1

Abstract

Luminaire (1), comprising at least one light source (2) and at least one DMX-5 operating device (3) for controlling the light source (2), wherein the luminaire (1) is assigned at least one expansion module (4) which is designed to convert RDM commands or control signals arriving at the expansion module (4) from a bus into DMX commands or control signals.

Description

Lamp with DMX control gear

The present invention relates to a luminaire having at least one light source and at least one digital multiplexing (DMX) operating device for controlling the

Light source.

For controlling lights or the light sources arranged in the luminaires, a DMX operating device has hitherto often been arranged in the luminaire, for example, that receives corresponding DMX commands or control signals via a bus and then correspondingly controls the light sources likewise arranged in the luminaire. DMX is a communication standard via which information about the controller can be transmitted to luminaires, for example. However, it is now too common practice, although there are now also corresponding extensions for bidirectional communication in DMX that a pure unidirectional communication is provided. That that, for example, from a central data to a corresponding DMX control gear can be transmitted, but there is no possibility that the DMX control gear sends data back to the control center.

Accordingly, for example, there is no possibility of information about the current operating state of a connected to the DMX control gear

To obtain light source. Likewise, no information regarding an address assigned to the DMX control gear or the corresponding lamp can be returned to the control center.

However, this results in particular in larger lighting systems, the problem that in the assignment of operating addresses to lights, for example, according to their arrangement in a room or building, none of the most common approaches for assigning the operating addresses can be used as in the rule is provided that the lights or

send appropriate feedback to the control center in any way. This may be, for example, an already at the

Manufacture assigned unique source address, over which a initial identification becomes possible. Likewise, it is not possible to confirm the receipt of an operating address.

As a further development of the previous DMX standard, the so-called Remote Device Management (RDM) protocol or the standard now exists, in which bidirectional communication and thus an exchange of data in both directions is now possible. In addition, RDM also provides the ability to submit more complex control commands. Specifically, RDM is a protocol enhancement over DMX, which allows bidirectional communication of corresponding devices over a standard DMX line, so in physical terms approximately the DMX standard corresponds, the RDM standard in particular in the same way the RS485 interface is based. Thus, the use of RDM for communication considerable advantages, for example, in a central addressing and monitoring of lights, but also in the control of the corresponding lights.

However, as the RDM standard has not yet been widespread and sometimes incompatible with operating devices, and also requires more resources, more and more luminaires are still being used which only contain a DMX control gear.

The present invention is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a way that lights that have only a DMX control gear can also be used in conjunction with the RDM standard.

The object is achieved by a luminaire according to claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a luminaire with at least one light source and at least one DMX operating device for controlling the light source is proposed, wherein the luminaire is assigned at least one expansion module that is designed to receive RDM commands or control signals from a bus on the

Extension module arrive to convert into DMX commands or control signals. Advantageously, it can be provided here that the DMX operating device is connected to the expansion module.

This expansion module now provides the advantage that a luminaire can be operated with a DMX operating device, also in conjunction with the RDM standard, since a corresponding conversion from RDM to DMX is performed by the expansion module.

Preferably, the expansion module and the DMX operating device each have an address, wherein the address of the expansion module is used to identify the light in the bus and the address of the DMX operating device is used so that the expansion module can identify the DMX control gear. The

Extension module can be designed to convert the address assigned to the expansion module into the address assigned to the DMX operating device.

With this particular embodiment, it is now possible that the assignment of an operating address is done with one of the known award procedure, the expansion module can communicate bidirectionally with a central office and accordingly a corresponding address assignment is possible.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the luminaire has a housing in which the light source and the DMX operating device are arranged. This can be the

Expansion module can be arranged either in the housing or outside, wherein in the event that the expansion module is arranged outside, this can have its own housing.

In addition, it can still be provided that the DMX control gear as

DMX / Alternate Start Code (ASC) operating device is designed and the

Expansion module is adapted to convert DMX / ASC commands or control signals that arrive from the DMX / ASC operating device to the expansion module, into RDM commands or control signals. Advantageously, it is also provided that the expansion module

Connection options for sensors, especially temperature or

Brightness sensors, has. The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a lamp according to the invention according to a first embodiment;

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a lamp according to the invention according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows schematically a first embodiment of a luminaire 1 according to the invention. The luminaire 1 in this case has a light source 2, a DMX operating device 3 and an expansion module 4, which are all arranged in a common housing 5 of the lamp 1. The DMX operating device 3 is provided here for controlling the light source 2 and is in contrast to previous ones

Application scenarios are no longer connected directly to a bus via which DMX commands or control signals arrive, but rather to the

Expansion module 4.

This expansion module 4, which is now connected to a bus via which corresponding RDM commands arrive at the expansion module 4, is configured to convert the incoming RDM commands into corresponding DMX commands implement and passed on to the DMX control gear 3.

By this expansion module 4, it is thus possible that the lamp 1 is treated for example by a central, such as a lamp 1, which has an RDM operating device. At the same time, however, the DMX standard is still used within the luminaire 1. As a result, it is now possible as a whole that a luminaire 1 which has a DMX operating device 3, despite all, can also be supplied with corresponding RDM commands. FIG. 2 now shows a second embodiment of a luminaire 1 according to the invention, which in turn has a light source 2, a DMX operating device 3 and an expansion module 4, which respectively correspond to those in FIG. The only difference from Figure 1 consists in the fact that the lamp 1 has a housing 6, in which only the light source 2 and the DMX control gear 3 are arranged. By contrast, the expansion module 4 is arranged outside the housing 6, it being possible in particular for the expansion module 4 to have its own housing. By means of this special embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a simple possibility of already existing luminaires, which hitherto have only one DMX operating device 3 in order to expand the ROM functionality, without the need for a complex transformation of the housing 6 of the luminaire 1 becomes necessary. For both embodiments, it should be noted that the expansion module 4 is now also of particular use in addressing the luminaires 1 in a larger system. It is thus provided, for example, that the expansion module 4 is already assigned a unique ID defined in RDM during manufacture, by means of which the expansion module 4 can be unambiguously identified. In this way, it is then possible for the expansion module 4 to communicate with a central station in accordance with known allocation methods in order to obtain an operating address corresponding to the arrangement of the luminaire 1 in the system. However, this operating address or individual address via which the luminaire 1 is driven from the outside is then stored only in the expansion module 4. In contrast, the DMX operating device 3 has only one or more simple base addresses, for example 1, 2 or 3, wherein the expansion module 4 implements the conversion of the RDM operating address into the base addresses used by the DMX operating device 3. The base addresses may be, for example, the number of light sources 2 occurring in a luminaire 1.

As already explained above, this makes it possible to incorporate lights that were previously equipped only with a DMX control gear into corresponding RDM systems and to control them by complex control information. It can then also be provided that the expansion module complex brightness commands in RDM standard (lighting scenarios and the like) in corresponding

Actuates control commands for the DMX control gear.

So far, only standard-compliant DMX control gear has been considered, which only allow unidirectional communication. In these, the bidirectional communication between the control panel and the lamp thus only between the control panel and the extension module of the lamp. Meanwhile, however, there are also DMX control gear that allow the use of so-called Alternate Star Codes (ASC). By this bidirectional communication between the DMX / ASC operating device and the expansion module is then possible, whereby a bidirectional communication between the DMX / ASC operating device itself and the control center is conceivable. Once again, the expansion module is designed to convert corresponding RDM commands or control signals into corresponding DMX / ASC commands or control signals. In addition, however, the expansion module also converts DMX / ASC commands that arrive from the DMX / ASC driver to the expansion module into RDM commands.

Furthermore, it can also be provided that the expansion module

Connection options has to the sensors, such as temperature or brightness sensors are connected, which then provides a regulation of

Control of the light sources is possible. Due to these connection options, the control options of the luminaire are being expanded overall.

Claims

Expectations

Luminaire (1), with at least one light source (2) and at least one digital multiplex, DMX, operating device (3) for controlling the light source

(2)

characterized,

that the luminaire (1) is assigned at least one expansion module (4), which is designed to convert Remote Device Management, RDM, commands or control signals that arrive at the expansion module (4) from a bus into DMX commands or .-implement control signals.

Lamp according to claim 1,

characterized,

that the DMX operating device (3) is connected to the expansion module (4).

Luminaire according to one of the previous claims,

characterized,

that the expansion module (4) has an address via which the luminaire (1) can be identified in the bus and that the DMX operating device (3) has an address via which the DMX operating device

(3) through that

Expansion module (4) can be identified, whereby the

Expansion module (4) is designed to be the expansion module

(4) assigned address into the address assigned to the DMX operating device (3).

Luminaire according to one of the previous claims,

characterized,

that the lamp (1) has a housing (5, 6) in which the light source (2) and the DMX operating device (3) are arranged.

5. Lamp according to claim 5,

characterized, that the expansion module (4) is arranged in the housing (5).

6. Lamp according to claim 5,

characterized,

that the expansion module (4) is arranged outside the housing (6), in particular in its own housing.

Luminaire according to one of the previous claims,

characterized,

that the DMX operating device is designed as a DMX/Alternate Start Code, ASC, operating device (3) and the expansion module (4) is designed to receive DMX/ASC commands or control signals that come from the DMX/ASC operating device ( 3) arrive at the expansion module (4) to implement RDM commands or control signals.

Luminaire according to one of the previous claims,

characterized,

that the expansion module (4) has connection options for sensors, in particular temperature or brightness sensors.