Patent Application
20180342491
This application claims priority to Italian Patent Application Serial No. 102017000056220, which was filed on May 24, 2017, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.
The description relates to lighting devices.
One or more embodiments may include electrically powered light radiation sources, such as solid-state light radiation sources, e.g. LED sources.
Illumination from glass has several potential applications, such as illumination from shower glazing, illumination from windows and door glazings, warning lights from vehicle windshields and so on.
Conventional designs for such applications involve assembling light radiation sources such as LEDs directly on glass substrates.
After LED assembly, lamination of two glass panels having the LED assembly sandwiched therebetween may be performed in different ways. A conventional technology involves using an adhesive layer such as polyvinyl butyral (PVB), the bonding process taking place under heat and pressure.
Assembling light radiation sources such as LEDs on glass may be expensive in view of the fairly sophisticated equipment and processes involved. Such an approach may also suffer from limitations e.g. in respect of the size of laminated glasses which can be produced.
Other forms of illumination from glass may involve placing light modules behind a glass panel. When resorting to this type of solution, the light module and the glass panel may represent separate elements intended to be eventually assembled at the application site.
Certain ones of these conventional techniques may permit to produce large-area light modules by connecting together various modules.
General information on these conventional technologies can be gathered at various web site URLs.
For instance:
mediaglass.de/wp-content/uploads/Article-IGS.pdf
www.leuro.com/en/mediafacades/mediaglass
disclose a solution where LEDs are assembled directly on glass by putting a conductive resist on the glass, etching a pattern and then assembling LEDs.
Also:
www.yourglass.com/agc-glass-europe/be/en/led/glassiled/branddescription.html
discloses arrangements where LEDs are assembled directly on the glass, while
www.lightntec.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/LightnTec-MSM-Mai17.pdf
discloses arrangements with a flex foil not embedded in glass.
Corresponding commercial products are available under the designations Glassiled™ (Asahi Glass) and Mediaglass™ (Leurocom).
Even leaving other points aside, various types of solutions may not be suitable for glazing applications where a high degree of transparency is desirable. Embedded light modules for glazing applications with a high degree of transparency would thus represent a desirable solution.
An aspect of one or more embodiments is to contribute in providing improvements over conventional arrangements as discussed in the foregoing.
According to one or more embodiments, that aspect can be achieved by means of a lighting device having the features set forth in the present disclosure.
One or more embodiments may relate to a corresponding method.
The claims are an integral part of the technical disclosure of embodiments as provided herein.
One or more embodiments may be suitable for various glazing applications and meet user needs not met by conventional solutions.
One or more embodiments make it possible to produce transparent flexible module designs e.g. in the form of continuous rolls.
One or more embodiments may be cut to length and shape according to application and/or design requirements, with sections of modules adapted to be produced to suit a variety of e.g. glass sizes.
In one or more embodiments such sections of modules can be laminated e.g. with glass, possibly before shipping for installation at an application site.
In one or more embodiments a relatively large area of a light module can be laminated between e.g. glass panes and then cut to specific application lengths and/or sizes.
One or more embodiments may be adapted for laminating between glass and/or plastics substrates such as glass and/or plastic panes.
One or more embodiments may be adapted for laminating between glass and/or plastic panes which may be fully light-permeable (transparent) or exhibit varying degrees of transparency.
One or more embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the annexed figures, wherein:
It will be appreciated that, for the sake of clarity and ease of explanation, the various figures may not be drawn to a same scale.
Also, details and features illustrated, singly or in combination, in connection with embodiments as exemplified in any one of the annexed figures are not limited to possible use in such embodiments and can be applied, singly or in combination, in embodiments as exemplified in any other of the annexed figures.
In the ensuing description, one or more specific details are illustrated, aimed at providing an in-depth understanding of examples of embodiments of this description. The embodiments may be obtained without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, known structures, materials, or operations are not illustrated or described in detail so that certain aspects of embodiments will not be obscured.
Reference to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” in the framework of the present description is intended to indicate that a particular configuration, structure, or characteristic described in relation to the embodiment is comprised in at least one embodiment. Hence, phrases such as “in an embodiment” or “in one embodiment” that may be present in one or more points of the present description do not necessarily refer to one and the same embodiment. Moreover, particular conformations, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any adequate way in one or more embodiments.
The references used herein are provided merely for convenience and hence do not define the extent of protection or the scope of the embodiments.
In the FIGS., reference 100 designates, as a whole, a light-emitting device.
In one or more embodiments as exemplified herein, the light-emitting device 100 includes a foil-like (e.g. plastic and/or light permeable) substrate 102 with electrically powered light radiation sources 100a distributed thereon e.g. in a matrix arrangement.
In one or more embodiments, the light radiation sources 100a may include electrically powered light radiation sources such as solid-state light radiation sources. LED sources (e.g. as discussed in the following) may be exemplary of such light radiation sources.
Referring to the device 100 as a “light-emitting device” takes into account the possibility of using such a device both as a stand-alone lighting device or as a component included in a more complex lighting device.
One or more embodiments may provide a light-permeable (transparent) lighting module 100, suitable for lamination between glass and/or plastic panes as exemplified in
A light-emitting device as shown in
A lighting device including a stacked arrangement of layers wherein a light-emitting device 100 as exemplified herein may be included as a light-emitting layer is disclosed in Italian Patent Application No. 102017000056197 filed in the name of the same Applicants.
In one or more embodiments, the flexible substrate 102 may include electrically conductive lines (e.g. printed traces) 102a carrying electrical signals (power supply and, possibly, control) for the light radiation sources 100a to be distributed on the substrate 102.
In one or more embodiments, the electrically conductive lines 102a may come down to a set of terminals 104 including e.g. power supply terminals (and, possibly, control terminals) for the device 100.
In one or more embodiments, the substrate 102 may include plastic material such as PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) foil and/or LEDs 100a of the Chip Scale Package (CSP) type.
In one or more embodiments, the electrical traces 102a may be obtained by printing electrically conductive ink (e.g. silver ink) onto the substrate 102. In one or more embodiments, traces 102a can be produced by resorting to other conventional techniques that are known per se.
While not a mandatory option, using a PEN substrate 102 facilitates achieving high clarity (e.g. in excess of 90%) of the substrate 102.
While, again, not a mandatory option, using CSP LEDs 100a makes it possible to take advantage of the 180° light directionality of CSP LEDs.
A useful feature of such type of LEDs is the reduced thickness e.g. below 1 mm), that is such LEDs being (very) thin, and thus laminar by themselves. This facilitates lamination between glass and/or plastic panes, thus making it possible to produce very thin lighting devices for use e.g. as glazing.
Using PEN for the substrate 102 and CSP LEDs for the light radiation sources 100a may facilitate obtaining layered structures (e.g. “sandwiches”) of reduced thicknesses, with PEN exhibiting a good ability to withstand pressure and temperatures during lamination between e.g. glass and/or plastic panes.
The possibility also exists of using PEN in combination with standard adhesive materials (e.g. polyvinyl butyral—PVB) in lamination processes with the ability of PEN to retain a high degree of clarity after the lamination process.
In one or more embodiments, the light radiation sources 100a (e.g. CSP LEDs) can be assembled on the (e.g. PEN) substrate 102 by using a solder paste reflowing at low temperatures (e.g. by means of a low-temperature solder process), with the paste including e.g. metal spheres (balls) with an epoxy compound.
Such a low-temperature assembly method may facilitate achieving solder joints having a higher reliability than joints obtained through the use of e.g. a conventional isotropic conductive paste.
Other applications, wherein e.g. transparency requirements are more relaxed (e.g. lower than 90%) and/or where a larger resulting thickness is acceptable (e.g. greater than 1.0 mm) may resort to different options.
Also, while PEN offers higher process robustness than, say, polyethylene terephtalate (PET) and a lower cost than polyimide (PI), various glazing solutions may adopt such alternative materials.
Similarly, while (ink) printing may represent a viable option for producing the electrically-conductive formations or lines 102a well suited for use with PEN as the substrate material (primarily due to printing preserving the substrate transparency) other types of arrangements may be adopted for producing the electrically-conductive lines 102a. Rolled annealed or electro-deposited electrically conductive materials may represent other options for use in embodiments.
Merely by way of example (and without wishing to limit the scope of embodiments) exemplary devices 100 as exemplified herein may include a matrix-like arrangements of LEDs 100a including e.g. a 6×8 matrix arrangement of LEDs of 1.20×0.8 mm each. A possible thickness range for the substrate (PEN film) 102 may be between 75 and 125 micron—e.g. 120 micron (1 micron=1·10−6 m). Also, the LED chip may exhibit a thickness below 1 mm, e.g. 900 micron (1 micron=1·10−6 m).
In one or more embodiments, the pattern of electrically conductive lines (traces) 102a may be intended to facilitate good thermal dissipation properties.
Embodiments as exemplified in
As noted, electrically conductive traces 102a may be provided by e.g. printing an electrically-conductive material (such as silver ink) thus facilitating achieving good thermal dissipation properties even in the presence of a thinner trace design.
In one or more embodiments, an increase in the transparent area may be obtained by using light-permeable (e.g. transparent) materials; a light-permeable ink (such as ITO—Indium Tin Oxide) may be exemplary of such material).
A sandwiched arrangement as exemplified in
Again, it will be generally appreciated that features and characteristics exemplified in connection with a certain one of the annexed figures can be applied—singly or in combination—to embodiments exemplified in any other of the figures.
For instance,
Each such string may include a set of sources (e.g. LEDs) connected in series.
Such an approach is compatible with conventional trace design principles as used e.g. in roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing of printed circuits, with the possibility of providing cutting lines CL to produce light modules of different lengths.
One or more embodiments may address issues related to shower/bathroom glazing applications and the associated safety requirements, compatible with a commercial design of a laminated film (light module) in glass.
Such an arrangement is advantageous insofar as existing light modules directly printed on glass (that is, comprising an electrical circuit directly manufactured on the glass) and laminated to an additional glass pane are quite expensive and (in view of the sizes of the glass panels involved) almost invariably involve large machine design and structures.
By way of contrast, a laminated film approach provides a roll of film, which can handled relatively easily in existing glass lamination process, with the possibility of being “customized” to the required sizes of glass panels.
Also, a low-voltage (e.g., 12V DC) solution is advantageous in order to meet with safety requirements for shower/bathroom glazing applications and related applications (e.g. glazed glass for outdoor applications, bus terminals, train terminals, etc. . . . ).
One or more embodiments may provide, e.g., a LED layout complying with optical requirements and adopting a (big size) bus bar connection providing an adequate power supply from a low-voltage source even for lighting devices 10 of large dimensions.
One or more embodiments as exemplified, e.g. in
In one or more embodiments a device 100 as exemplified herein (LED foils) can be made resizable (that is adapted to be cut from a roll at a desired length).
Also, the connectors (e.g., 104 in
One or more embodiments may facilitate achieving good robustness of the LEDs (100a in the FIGS.) after lamination (this applying, i.a., to the LED temperature within the glass and to phosphor robustness).
In one or more embodiments as exemplified in
These quantitative values (which facilitate fulfilling the requirements discussed previously) are of course purely exemplary and non-limitative of embodiments.
In one or more embodiments, the electrically conductive traces 102a providing a conductive pattern/circuitry as exemplified herein can be produced by (e.g. screen-) printing electrically conductive ink (e.g. silver-based ink) on a transparent/semi-transparent polymeric substrate 102 (comprising e.g. a PEN, PET foil) or by etched copper technology on a transparent/semitransparent substrate 102 or a mix of the two technologies.
In particular, advantageous results were obtained with samples manufactured with conductive ink printed on a PEN foil (flexible printed circuit—FPC).
In one or more embodiments as exemplified herein, the rectilinear SEUs (see again
As noted, high illuminance, low luminance, high uniformity (virtually no hot spots) and glare control are desirable features which are (quite) difficult to achieve in large size glazing application.
In one or more embodiments, these features were found to be achievable by using an array of SEUs as exemplified in
The foregoing corresponds to a density of about 3200 LEDs/m2 and a surface occupancy (circuitry area/apparent area) of about 23%.
Such an arrangement is compatible with standard LED packages.
The layout of the connection between the various SEUs as exemplified herein is otherwise rather free.
One or more embodiments may adopt a general layout as exemplified in
In one or more embodiments, the limited electrical conductivity of standard conductive inks can be taken into account by using (e.g. for long-haul applications) a hybrid configuration, wherein:
In one or more embodiments the bus-bars may comprise, e.g. 1 oz, metal Cu tape with an adhesive side adapted to be applied on the printed ink circuitry. Soldering of bus-bars may be a further option, while possibly suffering from thermal issues.
The high conductivity of standard copper, possibly in combination with the adoption of bus-bars with a large cross-section (e.g. continuous bus-bar—1 oz), facilitates connecting several meters of flex for a continuous roll, e.g. for carrying high currents with a limited voltage drop.
A bus bar 106 comprising e copper tape with electrically-conductive adhesive on the bottom makes it possible to directly connect the 12V DC main line to the +/− pads 1020a.
An arrangement as exemplified in
Other bus-bar connection layouts are of course possible, e.g., having less or more than four bus bars as exemplified herein (with possible limitations on the size of bus-bars 106—that may become larger, thus decreasing the transparency of the light-emitting device—and on their electrical current load, that may increase).
A light-emitting device (e.g. 100) according to one or more embodiments may include:
In one or more embodiments, the light-permeable substrate may include plastics material, optionally selected out of polyethylene naphtalate—PEN, polyethylene terephtalate—PET, and polyimide—PI.
In one or more embodiments, the light-permeable substrate may include polyethylene naphtalate—PEN.
In one or more embodiments, the electrically-powered light radiation sources may include solid-state light radiation sources such as LED sources.
In one or more embodiments, the electrically powered light radiation sources may include LED sources of the Chip Scale Package—CSP type.
One or more embodiments may include low-temperature solder paste coupling the light radiation sources to the substrate.
In one or more embodiments, the low-temperature solder paste includes metal spheres with an epoxy compound.
In one or more embodiments, the electrically conductive formations may include printed formations on the laminar substrate.
In one or more embodiments, the electrically conductive formations may include expanded portions (see e.g. 1020 in
In one or more embodiments, the electrically-conductive formations may include wire-like electrically-conductive formations (see e.g. 1020 in
In one or more embodiments, a light-emitting device according to one or more embodiments may be laminated with at least one light-permeable pane (e.g. 110a, 110b).
In one or more embodiments, a light-emitting device according to one or more embodiments may be sandwiched between two light-permeable panes (e.g. 110a, 110b).
In one or more embodiments the light-emitting device may be sandwiched between two light-permeable panes with light-permeable lamination layers (e.g. 112a, 112b) set between the light-emitting device and the light-permeable panes.
One or more embodiments may comprise:
These bus-bars are couplable (see e.g. the terminals 104) to a supply source, such as e.g. a low-voltage (e.g. 12V DC) supply source.
In one or more embodiments:
One or more embodiments (see e.g.
In one or more embodiments, a method of providing light-emitting devices (100) may include:
One or more embodiments may include coupling the light radiation sources to the substrate with a low-temperature solder process.
One or more embodiments may include coupling the light radiation sources to the substrate with a low-temperature solder paste including metal spheres with an epoxy compound.
Without prejudice to the underlying principles, the details and embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been described by way of example only, without departing from the extent of protection. The extent of protection is indicated by the present disclosure and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the present disclosure are intended to be embraced.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102017000056220 | May 2017 | IT | national |
