Patent Application
20110222305
This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan patent application number 099204316 filed on Mar. 11, 2010.
The present invention relates to an LED car lamp structure, and more particularly to an LED car lamp structure with demisting and dehumidifying functions.
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have the advantages of low power consumption, long service life, etc., and are widely used in various types of light emitting devices as the light sources thereof. Currently, high-power LEDs are also used as light sources in car lamps.
A conventional car lamp structure using LEDs as the light sources thereof includes a lens and a base. The lens and the base are connected to each other to form an integral body and define a closed space in between them. At least one LED unit is mounted on the base to locate in the closed space, so that light beams from the LED unit are emitted toward the lens. In manufacturing the car lamp structure using LEDs as the light sources thereof, the space defined in between the base and the lens is fully closed but not vacuumed. Therefore, there is still a small amount of air and moisture left in the conventional LED car lamp structure. The air and moisture left in the conventional LED car lamp tend to be affected by temperature or weather conditions, such as in a rainy day or a humid morning. Car wash also has influence on the conventional LED car lamp because water might invade in the car lamp. Cold air, moisture, or water droplets in the car lamp would form mists or condensate, which are attached to an inner surface of the lens of the car lamp. A user needs to turn on the car lamp for light beams to transmit through the lens to external environment while gradually removing the mists or the condensate from the lens.
It is noted the emitted light beams are concentrated on only a small area on the lens when they transmit through the lens, and heat produced by the light sources tend to gather at the same small area. While the heat gathered at this small area gradually vaporizes the mists or the condensate, other areas of the lens surrounding the central small area and farther away from the light sources still have low temperature. Further, there is a relatively large temperature difference between the inner and the outer environment of the car lamp. These factors would cause the remained moisture in the car lamp to form mists or condensate, which in turn reduces the brightness and illumination area of the light beams emitted from the car lamp. The mists and moisture in the car lamp would also cause failure or damage to the LEDs and adversely affect the exterior appearance of the car lamp.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved LED car lamp structure with demisting and dehumidifying functions to overcome the disadvantages in the conventional LED car lamps.
A primary of the present invention is to provide an LED car lamp structure with demisting and dehumidifying functions, so that air in a closed chamber defined in an LED car lamp is forced by a fan to flow and circulate in the closed chamber, allowing the closed chamber to have evenly distributed temperature therein to avoid forming mists and condensate in the LED car lamp.
To achieve the above and other objects, the LED car lamp structure with demisting and dehumidifying functions according to the present invention includes a car lamp assembly, at least one LED module, and at least one fan. The car lamp assembly includes a base and a light-transmitting lens, the lens is connected to and located in front of the base, so that the lens and the base form an integral body and define a closed chamber in between them. The LED module includes a main seat connected to the base of the car lamp assembly, and a plurality of LEDs mounted on the main seat. The LEDs respectively have a light-emitting end oriented to the lens of the car lamp assembly, so that light beams emitted from the LEDs are transmitted from the light-emitting ends through the lens to external environment. The fan is connected to the base of the car lamp assembly and located in the closed chamber for forcing air in the closed chamber to flow and circulate therein.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
Please refer to
The car lamp assembly 10 includes a base 11 and a light-transmitting lens 12. The lens 12 is connected to and located in front of the base 11, so that the lens 12 and the base 11 form an integral body and define a closed chamber 13 in between them.
The LED module 20 has a main seat 21 connected to the base 11, and a plurality of LEDs 22 mounted on the main seat 21. The LEDs 22 respectively have a light-emitting end oriented to the lens 12, so that light beams emitted from the LEDs 22 are transmitted from the light-emitting ends through the lens 12 to external environment.
The fan 30 is mounted on the base 11 and located in the closed chamber 13. While the fan 30 illustrated in
When the car lamp assembly 10 is enabled, light beams are concentrated on and emitted from the light-emitting ends of the LEDs 22 to transmit through the lens 12 to external environment. The fan 30 can start operating at the same time or before or after the car lamp assembly 10 is enabled. With the operation of the fan 30, air in the closed chamber 13 flows and circulates therein without flowing to external environment. As a result, the air and temperature in the closed chamber 13 are evenly distributed, preventing mists and condensate from forming on areas of the lens 12 that are farther away from the LED module 20 and not irradiated by the emitted light beams.
With the above arrangements, the LED car lamp structure according to the present invention is improved and superior to the conventional car lamps for the following reason: the fan 30 forces the air in the closed chamber 13 to flow and the air does not flow to external environment but circulates in the closed chamber 13, so that the air and different areas in the closed chamber 13 can have evenly distributed temperature to prevent mists or condensate from forming on an inner surface of the lens 12 due to temperature difference.
The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 099204316 | Mar 2010 | TW | national |
