Patent Application
20110317425
This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0059559, filed Jun. 23, 2010, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field
Embodiments may relate to a lighting device.
2. Background
An electric lighting device may include a light source to emit light upon application of electricity thereto. The light source may emit heat as well as the light.
Usage of a light emitting diode (LED) has been recently rapidly increased. LED lighting devices may consume relatively less power, and thus are getting used more.
A LED lighting device may use one or more than one LED as the light source. Heat generated by the LEDs may have a negative influence on a lifespan of the LED. The LED lighting device may include a heat sink (or housing) to absorb the heat from the LED and emit to outside of the LED lighting device.
A module type lighting device may have a plurality of light modules. The module type lighting device may illuminate a wider space.
Arrangements and embodiments may be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements and wherein:
A plurality of holes 122 (or through-holes) may be provided on the base 120 and extend in a vertical direction from an upper surface (or side) of the base 120 to a lower surface (or side) of the base 120. The holes 122 may be arranged on the base 120 at areas that correspond to spaces between the cooling fins 110. The spaces above and below the base 120 are in air flow communication with each other via the holes 122. Therefore, air may vertically flow via the holes 122. That is, the base 120 may have vertical air passages due to the holes 122.
The vertical direction and the horizontal direction may be described with respect to a specific example where the lighting device is installed so as to illuminate light downward. In this installation, the vertical direction may correspond to a light emitting direction, and the horizontal direction may correspond to a direction transverse to the light emitting direction. Other installment directions may also be provided.
The holes 122 may be an approximately rectangular shape and may be closed at side surfaces. The holes 122 are not limited to a specific shape. Some of the side surfaces of the holes 122 may be shaped as open. For example, the holes 122 may be open at one side adjacent to the edge of the base 120. The holes 122 may be C-shaped, for example.
A wall 121 may vertically extend from a lower surface (or side) of the base 120. The wall 121 may be inwardly spaced from edges of the base 120. A light source 130 may be provided in a space that is surrounded by the wall 121. The light source 130 may include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) on a printed circuit board (PCB).
A surface inside the wall 121 may be recessed, and the PCB of the light source 130 may be located at an approximate center of the recessed portion. The PCB may be surrounded by the wall 121. The recessed portion may include a groove 124 that surrounds the PCB. A sealer 134 may also be provided in the groove 124.
A window 131 may be coupled to the base 120 with a tight contact with the sealer 134. The window 131 may include a plurality of light concentration window portions each of which may correspond to a corresponding one of the LEDs. The window 131 may be coupled to a bottom of the recessed portion of the base 120 by screws, for example. The base 120 may have fastening holes 127a, 127b, 127c, and 127d. The window 131 may be attached at its both ends such that the sealer 134 is between the attached ends. A cover 132 that covers a circumferential surface of the window 131 may also be attached.
The base 120 and the cooling fins 110 may be made of a metal material having good heat-transfer properties. The base 120 and the cooling fins 110 may be made of aluminum by die-casting. The cooling fins 110 may be considered a heat sink.
The base 120 may also include a pair of sitting portions 123a, 123b to be seated on and supported by a frame. The sitting portions 123a, 123b may be provided opposite to each other with respect to the light source 130.
The wall 121 may prevent the window 131 and the light source 130 from being damaged by a frame when the light module 100 is provided on the frame (or is coupled to a frame).
A channel 126 that communicates with the outside may be formed through a part 125 of the recessed portion of the base 120. The light source 130 may be electrically connected with a driving circuit through the channel 126.
Although
The base 120 may be one piece integrally formed by die-casting. The base 120 may also be formed and assembled with a separately provided base 120 and cooling fins 110.
The driving circuit 160 may be located on an external surface of the body 120 such that the driving circuit 160 is separated from the PCB of the light source 130. The driving circuit 160 may be electrically connected only to the PCB through electrical connection means, such as by using wires.
The driving circuit 160 may be located on several of the cooling fins 110 as shown in
The driving circuit 160 may be electrically connected to the PCB of the light source 130. More specifically, the driving circuit 160 and the PCB of the light source 130 may be connected by electric wires through the channel 126.
The driving circuit 160 may also be electrically connected with a main power supply 1 by electric wires, for example. As shown in
The driving circuit 160 may be detachably attached to the respective light module 100. The driving circuit 160 and the light module 100 may be easily detached from each other.
The main power supply 1 may include a case 2 and a circuit board 3 within the case 2. The circuit board 3 may include an AC-DC converter, for example. The driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may be connected to the circuit board 3 by an electrical pin-and-slot mechanism. For example, the circuit board 3 may include a plurality of slots, and the respective driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may be inserted into the slots such that the driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c are electrically connected to the circuit board 3. The driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may be circuit boards, each of which may have a circuit to drive the light module(s) 100.
As one example, the driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may include a constant-current circuit to supply a constant current to a respective light module.
The driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may include specific circuits to drive the light modules. For example, the driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may include a dimming circuit and/or a circuit for turning on and off the light source with a timed pattern. The driving circuits 170a, 170b, 170c may include other circuits associated with driving of the light module.
A module type lighting device may include a plurality of light modules, and a plurality of driving circuits to drive the respective light modules. The driving circuits may be individually detachable to the lighting device.
The light modules may also be detachable to the lighting device.
In the module type lighting device, as the number of the light modules changes, the number of the driving circuits may also change.
A driving pattern for a specific light module may be changed by changing the corresponding driving circuit to another driving circuit. In this example, the corresponding driving circuit may not necessarily be changed. However, if necessary or desired, the light module may also be replaced.
The plurality of light modules may be individually and detachably assembled with one frame.
The plurality of driving circuits may electrically connect the respective light modules to a main power supply. The main power supply may not be necessarily limited to a single main power supply. There may be more than one main power supply.
The driving circuits may control current or power supplied to the light modules. For example, each driving circuit may include a constant-current circuit to supply constant current to the corresponding light module.
The driving circuits may include same driving circuits such that all of the light modules are controlled in a same pattern. Alternatively, some or all of the driving circuits may be different to control the corresponding light modules differently from each other.
If one of the light modules is out of order, then the light module may be replaced with a new light module. Further, a driving pattern may be changed for a specific light module by simply changing the corresponding driving circuit.
The driving circuits may be detachably connected to the main power supply.
The driving circuits may be located on the light modules so as to be detachable together with the light modules. The driving circuits may be detachably connected to the corresponding light modules.
The driving circuits may include a constant-current circuit, a dimming circuit, or a circuit for turning on and off the light source with a timed pattern.
The light modules may have an air passage in a light emitting direction of its light source and an air passage in a direction transverse to the light emitting direction. For the light emitting direction passage, through-holes may be provided around the light source.
The light module may include a base (or body) to hold a light source, which has a heat sink (or housing) to emit heat generated from the light source. The light module may include a driving circuit to connect the light source to a power supply and drive the light source. The driving circuit may be detachably attached to the base. The driving circuit may be easily separated from the base. By detaching and changing the driving circuit, the driving pattern may be easily changed.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2010-005959 | Jun 2010 | KR | national |
