Patent Grant
8313213
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a LED lamp, and in particular to an assembly structure for a LED lamp.
2. Description of Prior Art
Since light-emitting diodes (referred to as “LED” hereinafter) have advantages of low power consumption, long life, small volume and fast response time, they gradually replace traditional bulbs and are widely used in various lamps or light-emitting devices. In order to increase the illuminating range and brightness of such a lamp or light-emitting device, a plurality of LED is soldered with a circuit board to form a LED module. Then, the LED module is combined with a transparent mask and a metallic heat-dissipating cover. However, the transparent mask and the metallic heat-dissipating cover are made of different material, so that they usually need to be assembled together by screw elements.
The conventional LED lamp includes a LED circuit board, a transparent mask, a metallic heat-dissipating cover and two terminal units. By means of screw elements, the above-mentioned components can be assembled together to form a LED lamp.
However, in practical, the conventional LED lamp still has some problems. In order to tighten or loosen the screw elements, an operator needs to use a screw driver or other tool in assembling or detaching the LED lamp. It can be imaged that the operator uses his one hand to hold a component to be assembled (or detached) in the LED lamp while tightens (or loosens) the screws by the other hand. Thus, the operation is very inconvenient. Even, the operator may lose the screws.
On the other hand, since the transparent mask is a thin component made by plastic materials, the screw holes provided in the plastic-made transparent mask may be damaged due to the excessive force exerted by the operator when he assembles the LED lamp by screw elements. In this situation, it would become more difficult to assemble the whole set of the LED lamp. Even, the whole set of the LED lamp has to be replaced by a new set just because of a damaged transparent mask.
Therefore, it is an important issue for the present Inventor to solve the above-mentioned problems.
The present invention is to provide an assembly structure for a LED lamp, whereby the operator can assemble or detach the LED lamp directly without any tool.
The present invention is to provide an assembly structure for a LED lamp, which includes a cover plate having a fixing portion on its inner surface; a LED module having a substrate and a plurality of LED mounted on the substrate, the substrate being provided with an insertion hole; and at least one fastener with its one end detachably connected into the insertion hole of the substrate and the other end fixed to the fixing portion.
The present invention provides an assembly structure for a LED lamp, which includes a cover plate having a fixing portion on its inner surface, both sides of the cover plate being formed with a slot respectively; a LED module having a substrate and a plurality of LED mounted on the substrate, the substrate being provided with an insertion hole; at least one fastener with its one end detachably connected into the insertion hole of the substrate and the other end fixed to the fixing portion; and a mask made of transparent materials and having an accommodating space for allowing the LED module to be disposed therein, both sides of the mask defining the accommodating space being formed with a locking flange respectively for inserting into the slot of the cover plate.
In comparison with prior art, the present invention has advantageous features as follows.
(I) Since the cover plate and the LED module can be connected with each other by means of the fasteners, the operator can assemble or detach the LED lamp without using any tools. Thus, the operation is very simple and easy.
(II) Since the locking flanges of the mask can be inserted into the slots of the cover plate, both the mask and the cover plate are not provided with any screw holes. Thus, not only the assembly is fast and easy, but also the problem existed in prior art that the plastic-made mask may be damaged during the tightening of screws can be prevented.
The characteristics and technical contents of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit the present invention.
Please refer to
The cover plate 10 is made of metals having high heat conductivity (such as aluminum) for protecting the LED module 20 and dissipating the heat thereof. The inner surface of the cover plate 10 extends to form a fixing portion 12 for allowing the fastener 30 to be fixed thereto. Both ends of the cover plate 10 are provided with a plurality of holes 14. Both sides of the cover plate 10 are formed with a slot 16 respectively.
The LED module 20 comprises a substrate 21 and a plurality of LED 22 mounted on the substrate 21. The substrate 21 is provided with at least one insertion hole 210 for allowing the fastener 30 to be inserted therein. The LED module 20 further comprises a pair of caps 24. The cap 24 is electrically connected to the substrate 21 by inserting a terminal plug 242 of the cap 24 into a terminal socket 212 of the substrate 21. Two terminals 243 extending outwards from the cap 24 can be electrically connected to an external power source (not shown). With the above arrangement, the LED module 20 can be powered to operate normally.
Please refer to
On the other hand, the connecting section 33 of the fastener 30 can be fixedly connected to the fixing portion 12 of the cover plate 10. In the embodiment of
The mask 40 is made of transparent materials for transmitting the light emitted by the LED 22. The mask 40 can be connected with the cover plate 10 for protecting the LED module 20. The mask 40 is usually a thin component made of plastic materials. Both sides of the mask 40 define an accommodating space 41 for allowing the LED module 20 to be disposed therein. Both sides of the mask 40 defining the accommodating space 41 are formed with a locking flange 42 respectively for inserting into the slot 16 of the cover plate 10. With the above arrangement, the cover plate 10 and the mask 40 can be connected with each other firmly.
Please refer to
Next, the steps of assembling the present invention will be described.
First, the inserting section 31 of the fastener 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 210 of the substrate 21 with the pair of elastic arms 311 of the inserting section 31 passing through the insertion hole 210 until the locking blocks 312 being fixed into the insertion hole 210. Then, the substrate 21 with the fastener 30 inserted thereto is mounted toward the cover plate 10, so that the connecting section 33 of the fastener 30 can be connected with the fixing portion 12 of the cover plate 10. In this way, the cover plate 10, the fastener 30 and the LED module 20 can be connected together firmly.
Then, the locking flange 42 of the mask 40 is inserted into the slot 16 of the cover plate 10 with the LED module 20 being accommodated into the accommodating space 41 of the mask 40 (
As for the detaching process, its steps are performed in a sequence reverse to that of assembly. Thus, the redundant description is omitted. It should be noted that, when the user intends to mount a new substrate 21 because so many LED 22 on the old substrate are damaged to deteriorate the brightness of the LED lamp or the user intends to change the color of the LED 22, the user needs to detach the LED lamp. Thus, the user only needs to replace the damaged (or old) substrate 21 with a new one (mounted with LED 22). Therefore, when detaching the LED lamp, the user only needs to detach the caps 20 and the mask 40 and remove the terminal plug 241 from the terminal socket 212. Then, the user presses inwards the inserting section 31 of the fastener 30, so that the locking blocks 312 of the pair of elastic arms 311 can be removed from the insertion hole 210 of the substrate 21, thereby detaching the substrate 21 easily. Then, the user installs a new substrate 21 according to the assembling process. When detaching the LED lamp, it is not necessary to detach the fastener 30 from the fixing portion 12 of the cover plate 10, thereby extending the life of the fastener 30.
Next, the fastener 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
According to the above, the assembly structure for a LED lamp according to the present invention really demonstrates industrial applicability, novelty and inventive steps. Further, the structure of the present invention has not been seen in product of the same kind or let in public use. Thus, the present invention conforms to the requirements for a utility model patent.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6220721 | Chan et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 20060187660 | Liu | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20070070651 | Azuma et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110038147 A1 | Feb 2011 | US |
