Patent Application
20070025119
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to modules and more particularly, to a LED module, which uses an arched reflector strip in a light guide tube for reflecting light from LEDs at the ends of the light guide tube.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention of lamp greatly changes the style of building construction and the living style of human beings, allowing people to work during the night. Without the invention of lamp, we may stay in the old living conditions of ancient civilization.
Various lamps such as incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, power-saving bulbs and etc. have been intensively used for indoor illumination. These lamps commonly have the disadvantages of quick attenuation, high consumption of power supply, high production of heat, short working life, high fragility, and being not reclaimable. Further, the quick flowing of electrons (about 120 per second) through the electrodes of a regular fluorescent bulb causes an unstable current at the beginning of starting the fluorescent bulb, resulting in a flashing of light that is harmful to the sight of the eyes. In order to eliminate this problem, a high frequency electronic ballast may be used. When a fluorescent or power-saving bulb is used with high frequency electronic ballast, it saves about 20% of the consumption of power and eliminates the problem of flashing. However, the high frequency electronic ballast is not detachable when installed in a fluorescent or power-saving bulb, the whole lamp assembly becomes useless if the bulb is damaged. Further, because a fluorescent bulb contains a mercury coating, it may cause pollution to the environment when thrown away after damage.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a lamp that eliminates the aforesaid problems.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a LED module, which saves power consumption and eliminates the problems of unstable current, flashing and dazzling. To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, the LED module comprises a light guide tube, two LEDs (light emitting diodes) provided at the two distal ends of the light guide tube and adapted to emit light into the inside of the light guide tube, and a reflector strip mounted inside the light guide tube for reflecting light from the LEDs.
Referring to
The LEDs 1 are symmetrically provided at the two distal ends of the light guide tube 2 and adapted to emit light into the light guide tube 2.
The light guide tube 2 is a tubular member made of a transparent or semi-transparent material, having a reflector strip 21 of arched cross section adhered to the inside wall thereof for reflecting light from the LEDs 1. The light guide tube 2 and the reflector strip 21 may be made of different materials.
The converter 3 is electrically connected to the LEDs 1, and adapted to convert input power supply obtained through an AC adapter 4 into the desired working voltage level for the LEDs 1. The converter 3 can be an AC/DC transformer.
When in use, the LEDs 1 are provided at the two distal ends of the light guide tube 2, and the converter 3 converts power supply obtained from the AC adapter 4 to the desired working voltage level for driving the LEDs 1, causing the LEDs 1 to emit light into the light guide tube 2 from the two ends of the light guide tube 2. A light ray goes straight in an interface. When going through two different interfaces, a part of the light ray will be reflected onto one same interface. According to the law of reflection, a light ray incident upon a reflective surface will be reflected at an angle equal to the incident angle. A light ray incident upon an inwardly curved surface will be reflected to enhance the light intensity. Therefore, when light rays entered the light guide tube 2, the reflector strip 21 reflects incident light rays, enhancing the light intensity.
In the aforesaid embodiment, LEDs 1 are symmetrically provided at the two distal ends of the light guide tube 2. Alternatively, one or a set of LEDs 1 can be provided only at one end of the light guide tube 2.
As indicated above, the invention uses LEDs 1 to produce light for the advantages of zero warm-up time, quick response speed, small size, low power consumption, low pollution, high brightness, and high durability. The LEDs 1 emit light toward the inside of the light guide tube 2, and the smoothly arched reflecting surface of the reflector strip 21 reflects light rays in predetermined directions, making the light guide tube 2 luminous and enhancing the brightness of the light. Therefore, the invention can be used as a regular lamp without high frequency electronic ballast for indoor illumination that eliminates the problem of unstable current, flashing and dazzling as encountered in regular fluorescent bulbs. When damaged, the LED module can still be used normally after replacement of the damaged LED(s).
A prototype of LED module has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1˜5. The LED module functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
