Patent Application
20120186798
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to cooling modules. More particularly, the present invention relates to cooling modules for light emitting diode (“LED”) lamps.
2. Related Art
Light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) have the characteristics of low power consumption, high energy efficiency, long lifetime, small volume, and fast response. Because of these characteristics, LEDs have been replacing traditional light bulbs and been used in different lighting instruments (i.e. lamps). However, temperature variation may affect an LED's life and performance. Therefore, an LED's cooling module must have optimal arrangement.
A conventional LED lamp cooling module has a hollow column and a thermostatic plate. The hollow column has a ring-shaped inner wall. The thermostatic plate has an evaporating segment and two condensing segments corresponding to each other. The two condensing segments lie inside and across the hollow column and contact with the hollow column's inner wall. The evaporating segment is exposed outside the hollow column so as to be connected and fixed to the LED lamp. These constitute the basis structure of the conventional cooling module.
Although the aforementioned structure is good for cooling, its cooling efficiency is still not enough for high power/watts LEDs. Therefore, it is still desirable to have an LED lamp cooling module with better cooling efficiency.
The present invention provides a cooling module for an LED lamp. The direct thermal contact between its cooling fins and the hollow column and the thermostatic plate can dissipate the heat generated by the LED lamp more efficiently.
To achieve this and other objectives, the LED lamp cooling module includes a thermostatic plate, a hollow column, and a plurality of cooling fins. The thermostatic plate has an evaporating segment and a pair of condensing segments extending from the evaporating segment. The outer surface of the hollow column has a pair of grooves corresponding to each other. The condensing segments of the thermostatic plate are buried in the grooves. The cooling fins surround and thermally contact the outer rim of the hollow column and the condensing segments.
The present invention allows each of the cooling fins to be manufactured through thin-sheet stamping and then be connected to the thermostatic plate and the hollow column. This not only greatly minimizes the overall weight of the cooling module, but also increases the cooling area per unit volume. Furthermore, the heat conducting base has a container trough to connect to and fix the thermostatic plate. The through opening further allows the thermostatic plate to directly conduct heat away from the LED heat source. In addition, each of the cooling fins has some through troughs. These through troughs will facilitate lateral air convection between each two adjacent air passages.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
The heat conducting base 10 is made of metal such as aluminum, copper, or their alloy. Generally, the shape of the heat conducting base 10 is like a circular plate. A middle part of the plate has a rectangular container trough 11. A through opening 111 is formed on the bottom of the container trough 11. A step 12 is set on each of the two lateral sides of the container trough 11.
The thermostatic plate 20 of this embodiment is a vapor chamber, the vacuum chamber of which contains components such as capillary structure and working fluid. The gas-liquid phase change of the working fluid can achieve heat conduction. Furthermore, the capillary structure can help the working fluid to flow-back and hence create a continuous circulation. The thermostatic plate 20 roughly has a U-shape. It has a latitudinal evaporating segment 21 and a pair of longitudinal condensing segments 22 and 23, which extend from the evaporating segment 21. The evaporating segment 21 is placed inside the container trough 11 and has thermal contact with the heat conducting base 10. In a position corresponding to the through opening 111, the evaporating segment 21 has an exposed flat surface 211 that is at the same level with the bottom surface of the heat conducting base 10. As shown in
The hollow column 30 is made of material with good heat conductivity, such as aluminum or copper. A pair of grooves 31 and 32, which corresponds to each other, are formed on the outer surface of the hollow column 30. In this embodiment, the condensing segments 22 and 23 of the thermostatic plate 20 are buried in the grooves 31 and 32, respectively. Furthermore, the inner cambered surfaces 221 and 231 adhere to the hollow column 30 closely so as to conduct heat efficiently. The outer cambered surfaces 222 and 232 of the condensing segments 22 and 23 are exposed, and form a circular rim together with the outer surface of the hollow column 30 (as shown in
Each of the cooling fins 40 may be formed through thin-sheet stamping, and be made of metal such as aluminum, copper, or their alloy. Each of the cooling fins 40 may have an L-shape (as shown in
In addition, the embodiment further includes a cooling body 50. The cooling body 50 may be made of metal such as aluminum, copper, or their alloy. It has a bottom plate 51 and a plurality of cooling columns 52 extending out from the bottom plate 51. Furthermore, a pair of protruding plates 53 extend out from the bottom plate 51 (but are not below the cooling columns 52). With the bottom plate 51, the cooling body 50 presses on the evaporating segment 21 of the thermostatic plate 20, so that the protruding plates 53 will be embedded in and fixed to the steps 12.
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including configurations ways of the recessed portions and materials and/or designs of the attaching structures. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
