Patent Application
20150226382
The present invention relates to a lighting device and an apparatus applying the same, and more particularly to an electroluminescence device and an apparatus applying the same.
An electroluminescence device, such as a light emitting diode (LED) device, is an electroluminescence semiconductor device benefit by short response time, low temperature, high vibration resistance, low power consumption, low thermal radiation and long life time, and thus is separately applied by consumer electronic products.
In order to provide lighting devices having a broader beam angular range, another LED lighting device is thus provided.
However, since the number of sidewalls of the columnar structure is limited, thus lights emitted from the LED units 201 that are fixed on these sidewalls of the multiple-plane substrate 202 may have limited emitting directions and beam angles. In other words, to provide lights having a beam angle approximated to 360 degrees is still not achieved. In addition, because the plurality of LED units 201 are respectively fixed on one of the PCBs used to constitute the columnar structure, when one or more of the LED units 201 are broken-down or defective, it is necessary to disassemble the columnar structure of the multiple-plane substrate 202 for repairing or changing the damaged or defective LED units 201. Thus the process for repairing or changing the damaged or defective LED units 201 could be rather time consuming and inconvenient. At the worst, disassembling of the columnar structure of the multiple-plane substrate 202 may cause damages of the LED lighting device 200.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an electroluminescence device and an apparatus applying the same to obviate the drawbacks and problems encountered from the prior art.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an electroluminescence device is provided, wherein the electroluminescence device comprises a sandwich structure and a first luminous unit. The sandwich structure comprises a first metal layer, an insulation layer, and a second metal layer stacked in sequence along a stacking direction. The first luminous unit is disposed on a first sidewall of the sandwich structure parallel to the stacking direction, wherein the first luminous unit comprises a first electrode and a second electrode connected to the first metal layer and the second metal layer by a solder ball respectively.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the insulation layer is a flexible material layer made of material selected from a group consisting of epoxy, silicon (Si), polyimide and arbitrary combinations thereof. In one embodiment of the present invention, the first metal layer and the second metal layer comprise aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) respectively; other material that can be properly adhered with the solder ball may be also suitable for use to constitute the first metal layer and the second metal layer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first luminous unit is an LED chip or an LED module.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the electroluminescence device further comprises a transparent isolation layer covering on the first luminous unit and a portion of the sandwich structure, so as to encapsulate the first luminous unit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the electroluminescence device further comprises a transparent material filled among the transparent isolation layer, the first luminous unit and the portion of the sandwich structure covered by the transparent isolation layer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the electroluminescence device further comprises a second luminous unit disposed on the first sidewall or a second sidewall of the sandwich structure parallel to the stacking direction, directly contacting with the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and forming a parallel connection with the first luminous unit.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a lighting apparatus is provided, wherein the lighting apparatus comprises a base and a first electroluminescence device fixed on and electrically connected to the base, wherein the electroluminescence device comprises a sandwich structure and a first luminous unit. The sandwich structure comprises a first metal layer, an insulation layer, and a second metal layer stacked in sequence along a stacking direction. The first luminous unit is disposed on a first sidewall of the sandwich structure parallel to the stacking direction. The first luminous unit comprises a first electrode and a second electrode connected to the first metal layer and the second metal layer by a solder ball respectively.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the insulation layer is a flexible material layer made of material selected from a group consisting of epoxy, Si, polyimide and arbitrary combinations thereof. In one embodiment of the present invention, the first metal layer and the second metal layer comprise Al or Cu respectively.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first luminous unit is an LED chip or an LED module.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the base comprises a socket allowing the sandwich structure plugged therein.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the socket comprises a third electrode and a fourth electrode used to contact with the first metal layer and the second metal layer respectively.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first electroluminescence device further comprises a transparent isolation layer covering on the first luminous unit and a portion of the sandwich structure, so as to encapsulate the first luminous unit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first electroluminescence device further comprises a transparent material filled among the transparent isolation layer, the first luminous unit and the portion of the sandwich structure covered by the transparent isolation layer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the lighting apparatus further comprises a transparent shell structure engaged with the base to encapsulate the first electroluminescence device.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first electroluminescence device further comprises a second luminous unit disposed on the first sidewall or a second sidewall of the sandwich structure parallel to the stacking direction, directly contacting with the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and forming a parallel connection with the first luminous unit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the lighting apparatus further comprises a second electroluminescence device fixed on and electrically connected to the base, and forming a parallel connection with the first electroluminescence device.
In accordance with aforementioned embodiments, an electroluminescence device and a lighting apparatus applying the same are provided, wherein the electroluminescence device comprises a flexible sandwich structure and at least one luminous unit disposed on the sandwich structure. The sandwich structure at least comprises two metal layers and an insulation layer used to isolate the two metal layers, and the luminous unit is disposed on a sidewall of the sandwich structure that is parallel to a stacking direction along which these two metal layers and the insulation layer are stacked. Since the emitting direction of the luminous unit can be varied by bending the flexible sandwich structure, thus lights with different emitting directions and beam angles can be provided according to the design requirements and specifications of a lighting apparatus applying the electroluminescence device. In addition, when a plurality of the identical luminous units are disposed on different sidewalls of the sandwich structure parallel to the stacking direction, lights having a broader beam angular range, for example a beam angle approximated to 360 degrees, can be provided by the electroluminescence device.
Besides a plurality of the electroluminescence devices may be integrated by a base to form a lighting apparatus. Since theses electroluminescence devices are integrated in a manner of forming a parallel connection, thus when one of the electroluminescence devices is broken-down the operation of the other electroluminescence devices may not be affected, and the broken electroluminescence device can be repaired or changed without disassembling the lighting apparatus, whereby the process for repairing or changing the damaged electroluminescence device can be conducted in a more convenient way, and the repairing cost can be significant reduced.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:
An electroluminescence device and an apparatus applying the same are provided to provide lights having a broader range of beam angles. The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purposes of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be limited to the precise form disclosed.
The electroluminescence device 30 comprises a sandwich structure 300 and a luminous unit 301, wherein the sandwich structure 300 is a thin film stacked structure comprising a first metal layer 302, an insulation layer 303 and a second metal layer 304 stacked in sequence along a stacking direction D; and the luminous unit 301 is disposed on a sidewall 305 of the sandwich structure 300 parallel to the stacking direction D.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the first metal layer 302 and the second metal layer 304 may be made of material that comprises Al or Cu; other material that can be properly adhered with the solder ball may be also suitable for use to constitute the first metal layer 302 and the second metal layer 304. In the present embodiment, the first metal layer 302 and the second metal layer 304 are made of Cu. However, it is not limited to just copper, in some other embodiments, the first metal layer 302 and the second metal layer 304 are made of different materials. The insulation layer 303 may be a glass substrate, a plastic substrate or a thin film structure made of any suitable insulation material. In the present embodiment, the insulation layer 303 is a flexible material layer made of epoxy, Si, polyimide or the arbitrary combinations thereof.
Refer to
In some embodiments of the present invention, the luminous unit 301 may be an unpackaged LED chip, an unpackaged organic LED chip or an unpackaged laser diode chip. In some other embodiments of the present invention, the luminous unit 301 may be a packaged LED module, a packaged organic LED module or a packaged laser diode module. In the present embodiment, the luminous unit 301 is a packaged LED module. In order to protect the unpackaged LED chip, the electroluminescence device 30 further comprises a transparent isolation layer 310, other than the protection layer (not shown) provided by the packaged structure, covering on the luminous unit 301 and a portion of the sandwich structure 300, so as to encapsulate the luminous unit 301. In addition, a transparent material 311 is filled among the transparent isolation layer 310, the luminous unit 301 and the portion of the sandwich structure 300 covered by the transparent isolation layer 310 (see
In the present embodiment, the luminous unit 501a is disposed on the sidewall 305 of the sandwich structure 300; the luminous units 501b and 501c are disposed on the sidewall 312 of the sandwich structure 300, and the sidewall 312 is connected to the sidewall 305; and the luminous units 501d and 501e are disposed on the sidewall 313 of the sandwich structure 300, and the sidewall 313 is connected to the sidewall 305 and opposite to the sidewall 312 of the sandwich structure 300. The sidewalls 305, 312 and 313 are parallel to the stacking direction D along which the first metal layer 302, the insulation layer 303 and the second metal layer 304 are stacked in sequence.
In addition, for purposes of protecting the electroluminescence devices 50, operation convenience and safety, the lighting apparatus 70 further comprises a transparent shell structure 73, which is made of glass or plastic material, to be engaged with the base 71 to encapsulate the electroluminescence devices 50. In some embodiments of the present invention, the lighting apparatus 70 further comprises a transparent material 74, such as oils, polymers or plastics either in solid or liquid form, to be filled among the base 71, the electroluminescence devices 50 and the transparent shell structure 73, wherein the refraction index of the transparent material 74 may be varied according to the design requirements and specifications of a lighting apparatus 70 in order to provide different luminous performance.
In order to increase the irradiation range of the lighting apparatus 70, the flexible sandwich structures 300 of the electroluminescence devices 50 can be bent outwards to form a plurality of arcs radially arranged (as shown in FIG. 8). In practice, the bending angles of each sandwich structures 300 can be determined and then adjusted according to the number of the electroluminescence devices 50 and the design requirements of the lighting apparatus 70.
In accordance with aforementioned embodiments, an electroluminescence device and a lighting apparatus applying the same are provided, wherein the electroluminescence device comprises a flexible sandwich structure and at least one luminous unit disposed on the sandwich structure. The sandwich structure at least comprises two metal layers and an insulation layer used to isolate the two metal layers, and the luminous unit is disposed on a sidewall of the sandwich structure that is parallel to a stacking direction along which these two metal layers and the insulation layer are stacked. Since the emitting direction of the luminous unit can be varied by bending the flexible sandwich structure, thus lights with different emitting directions and beam angles can be provided according to the design requirements and specifications of a lighting apparatus applying the electroluminescence device. In addition, when a plurality of the identical luminous units are disposed on different sidewalls of the sandwich structure parallel to the stacking direction, lights having a broader beam angular range can be provided by the electroluminescence device.
Besides a plurality of the electroluminescence devices may be integrated by a base to form a lighting apparatus. Since theses electroluminescence devices are integrated in a manner of forming a parallel connection, thus when one of the electroluminescence devices is damaged, the operation of the other electroluminescence devices may not be affected, and the broken electroluminescence device can be repaired or changed without disassembling the lighting apparatus, whereby the process for repairing or changing the broken electroluminescence device can be conducted in a more convenient way, and the repairing cost can be significantly reduced.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
