CN110886974A

CN110886974A - End cap assembly, lamp using the same and method of installing the same

Info

Publication number: CN110886974A
Application number: CN201810933465.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 任小军; 肖锟; 朱逸民; 暴志峰
Original assignee: GE Lighting Solutions LLC
Current assignee: Kensumo Lighting Usa Co ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-16
Filing date: 2018-08-16
Publication date: 2020-03-17

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an end cap assembly, a lamp using the same and a method of assembling the lamp. The end cover assembly comprises an end cover, an insulating module, a mounting module, a conductive contact, a driving module and potting material. An end cover inner cavity is formed in the end cover. The insulating module has a first end coupled to the end cap and a second end having a first opening. The mounting module is coupled to the insulating module and at least partially accommodated in the first opening, and the mounting module has a second opening, wherein the area of the second opening is smaller than that of the first opening. The conductive contact is at least partially received in the second opening. The driving module is at least partially accommodated in the inner cavity of the end cover and is respectively electrically connected with the end cover and the conductive contact. The potting material fills the inner cavity of the end cover and surrounds at least part of the drive module.

Description

End cap assembly, lamp using the same and method of installing the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a lamp, and more particularly, to a Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp and an end cap assembly thereof.

Background

Conventional incandescent and halogen bulbs are constructed by energizing a resistive wire and heating the filament to a very high temperature to produce visible light, typically comprising a transparent glass envelope, a filament, a glass stem with sealed leads, and a base. Such lamps, although relatively inexpensive and have a near-full-angle light distribution, are not very life-span and energy efficient. In recent years, because of the advantages of high energy efficiency, long service life, small size, environmental protection and the like, it has been proposed to combine an LED light source with a conventional glass bulb to achieve superposition of the advantages.

If the LED light source and the driving module are directly disposed inside the conventional glass bulb, when the LED lamp is operated, some electronic components inside the glass bulb, such as the driving module, generate a certain amount of heat, so that the encapsulating material, the solder, the insulating material, the adhesive, etc. thereon emit a certain amount of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) particles. The volatile organic matter particles can be deposited on the surface of the high-temperature LED chip, so that the luminous efficiency of the LED chip is reduced, and the heat dissipation of the LED chip is influenced by the deposits, so that the LED chip is used in a high-temperature environment for a long time, and the service life and the stability of the LED chip are reduced. In the existing method, an LED light source is disposed inside a sealed glass bulb, and a driving module is disposed inside an end cap of an LED lamp and isolated from the LED light source. However, for a high power LED, for example, a 100W LED, heat generated by the driving module housed in the end cap cannot be dissipated, which affects the service life of the driving module itself.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an end cap assembly that addresses at least one of the problems described above.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present invention is to provide an end cap assembly. The end cap assembly includes an end cap, an insulating module, a mounting module, a conductive contact, a drive module, and potting material. An end cover inner cavity is formed in the end cover. The insulating module has a first end coupled to the end cap and a second end having a first opening. The mounting module is coupled to the insulating module and at least partially accommodated in the first opening, and the mounting module has a second opening, wherein the area of the second opening is smaller than that of the first opening. The conductive contact is at least partially received in the second opening. The driving module is at least partially accommodated in the inner cavity of the end cover and is respectively electrically connected with the end cover and the conductive contact. The potting material fills the inner cavity of the end cover and surrounds at least part of the drive module.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a lamp. The LED lamp includes a light emitting device and an end cap assembly coupled to the light emitting device. The light-emitting device comprises a shell and at least one light-emitting unit, and the end cover assembly comprises an end cover, an insulating module, a mounting module, a conductive contact, a driving module and potting materials. An end cover inner cavity is formed in the end cover. The insulating module has a first end coupled to the end cap and a second end having a first opening. The mounting module is coupled to the insulating module and at least partially accommodated in the first opening, and the mounting module has a second opening, wherein the area of the second opening is smaller than that of the first opening. The conductive contact is at least partially received in the second opening. The driving module is at least partially accommodated in the inner cavity of the end cover and is respectively electrically connected with the end cover and the conductive contact. The potting material fills the inner cavity of the end cover and surrounds at least part of the drive module.

In some embodiments, the light emitting device includes a support module received in a first interior cavity formed by the housing and the end cap assembly for supporting at least one light emitting unit. Wherein the support module includes a second interior cavity having a third opening.

In some embodiments, the end cap further comprises a blocking module received in the end cap inner cavity and coupled to the third opening of the support module to block the third opening for preventing the potting material from flowing from the end cap inner cavity into the second inner cavity.

In some embodiments, the material from which the stop module is made comprises plastic or rubber.

In some embodiments, the end cap further comprises a threaded outer surface.

In some embodiments, the first opening of the insulating module comprises at least one locking slot for locking at least one locking hook corresponding to and located on the mounting module.

In some embodiments, the first opening of the insulating module is a substantially circular hole having a diameter of 5.5-18 millimeters.

In some embodiments, the potting material comprises a formable, thermally conductive glue selected from the group consisting of acrylates, vinyl ester resins, epoxies, phenolics, polyurethanes, and combinations thereof.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of assembling a lamp including at least one light emitting unit, a housing, an end cap, an insulating module, a mounting module, and a driving module, the assembling method including: electrically connecting the driving module to the at least one light emitting unit and the end cap, respectively; receiving at least a portion of the drive module in an end cap cavity of the end cap; bonding an end cap to a housing of the lamp such that the driver module is received in a first interior cavity formed by the housing and the end cap; pouring potting material into the end cap lumen from a first opening of an insulating module coupled to an end cap such that potting material surrounds at least a portion of a drive module; coupling a mounting module of a lamp to a first opening of an insulation module; and coupling the conductive contact to a second opening of the mounting module and electrically connecting the conductive contact with the driving module, wherein the area of the second opening is smaller than that of the first opening.

In some embodiments, the method of assembling a lamp further comprises: the stopper module is received in the end cap cavity and coupled to the support module of the housing for preventing potting material from flowing from the end cap cavity into the support module.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an LED lamp according to the present application.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the LED lamp shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the LED lamp end cap and insulation module combination of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the LED lamp mounting module shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the LED lamp shown in fig. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view A-A of the LED lamp of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method of assembling a lamp according to the present application.

Detailed Description

Unless defined otherwise, technical or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The use of "first," "second," and similar terms in the description and claims of the present application do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather the terms are used to distinguish one element from another. Also, the use of the terms "a" or "an" and the like do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one. The word "comprise" or "comprises", and the like, means that the element or item listed before "comprises" or "comprising" covers the element or item listed after "comprising" or "comprises" and its equivalents, and does not exclude other elements or items. The terms "connected" or "coupled" and the like are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect.

Lamps of the present application include, but are not limited to, Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) lamps, fluorescent lamps, and High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps. The LED lamp will be described in detail below as an example.

Fig. 1 and 2 show a perspective view and an exploded view, respectively, of one embodiment of an LED lamp 10. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the lamp 10 includes a light emitting device 200 and an end cap assembly 100 coupled to the light emitting device 200. The lighting device 200 comprises a housing 202 and at least one lighting unit 204.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the housing 202 is a hollow structure, and the housing 202 may have the same shape as an existing incandescent lamp, including a generally spherical top portion and a generally hollow cylindrical bottom portion at a lower end of the top portion. In non-limiting embodiments, the lamp envelope may also be candle-type, cylindrical, inverted cone-type, and the like. The light emitting device 200 also includes a support module 206 and a circuit board 210 that are received within a first interior cavity 212 formed by the housing 202 and the endcap assembly 100. The supporting module 206 is used for supporting a circuit board 210 and a plurality of light emitting units 204 disposed on the circuit board 210. In other embodiments, the light emitting unit 204 of the light emitting device 200 may be a filament structure or other circuit board arrangement. The casing 202 may be made of a light-transmissive material, and in some embodiments, the casing 202 is made of transparent glass, and the support module 206 is a glass stem, and the bottom of the support module 206 is coupled to the bottom of the casing 202 by high-temperature melting. In other embodiments, the housing 202 may also be made of transparent plastic or transparent ceramic.

As shown in fig. 2, the end cap assembly 100 includes an end cap 102, an insulator module 104, a mounting module 106, conductive contacts 108, a driver module 116, and a potting material 118. One end of the end cap 102 is bonded to the housing 202 by the low temperature welding paste powder and forms an end cap cavity 124 within the end cap 102, and the other end of the end cap 102 is coupled to a first end of the insulation module 104. A second end of the insulating module 104 remote from the end cap 102 has a first opening 110. In some embodiments, the end cap 102 may be made of a conductive metal material and the insulating module 104 may be injection molded from a plastic material, wherein the insulating module 104 is coupled to the end cap 102 by way of bonding. In some embodiments, the end cap 102 also includes a threaded outer surface.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the assembly of the end cap 102 and the insulator module 104 of the LED lamp 10 of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the mounting module 106 of the LED lamp 10 shown in fig. 1. The mounting module 106 is coupled to the insulating module 104 and at least partially received in the first opening 110, and the mounting module 106 has a second opening 112, wherein the area of the second opening 112 is smaller than the area of the first opening 110.

With continued reference to fig. 2, the conductive contacts 108 are at least partially received in the second openings 112, and in some embodiments, the metal pins 109 of the conductive contacts 108 are inserted into the second openings 112 of the mounting module 106, and the diameter of the second openings 112 corresponds to the diameter of the metal pins 109.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the first opening 110 of the insulating module 104 is a generally circular hole having a diameter of 5.5-18 mm, which is sized to facilitate injection of potting material from the first opening 110 into the end cap cavity 124. The first opening 110 is provided with four slots 114 evenly along the circumference for engaging with four corresponding hooks 146 on the mounting module 106. In other embodiments, the shape of the first opening 110 may be other shapes equivalent to the size of the circular hole. The card slots 114 and the hooks 146 can be replaced by other connecting structures for easy assembly and disassembly, and the number of the card slots 114 and the hooks 146 corresponding thereto is not limited thereto, and can be any number of 2, 3 or more than 4. The clamping groove and hook structure for connecting the insulating module 104 and the installing module 106 is convenient to install and disassemble, adhesive is not needed, and assembling time is saved.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the LED lamp 10 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view along a-a of the LED lamp 10 shown in fig. 5. Referring to fig. 2 and 6, the supporting module 206 includes a pair of metal pins 216, and one end of the supporting module 206 is electrically connected to the circuit board 210 mounted with the light emitting unit 204 through the metal pins 216, and the other end is electrically connected to the driving module 116 to supply power to the light emitting unit 204. At least a portion of the driver module 116 is received in the end cap cavity 124, and the driver module 116 includes a pair of

metallic pins

126, 136 electrically connected to the end cap 102 and the conductive contacts 108, respectively, for converting and providing electrical energy received from the end cap 102 and the conductive contacts 108 to the light emitting unit 204.

With continued reference to fig. 6, the potting material 118 fills the end cap cavity 124 and surrounds at least a portion of the driver module 116 to reduce thermal contact resistance between the heat source surface and the heat sink contact surface and to transfer heat generated by the driver module 116 to the end cap 102 to aid in heat dissipation. The potting material 118 includes a moldable thermally conductive adhesive selected from the group consisting of acrylate thermally conductive adhesives, vinyl ester thermally conductive adhesives, silicone thermally conductive adhesives, thermally conductive silicone greases, epoxy AB adhesives, phenolic resin thermally conductive adhesives, polyurethane thermally conductive adhesives, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the support module 206 includes a second inner cavity 236 having a third opening 208. As shown in fig. 2, the end cap assembly 100 further includes a stop module 120, the stop module 120 being received in the end cap inner cavity 124 and coupled to the third opening 208 of the support module 206 for blocking the third opening 208 and preventing the potting material 118 from flowing from the end cap inner cavity 124 into the second inner cavity 236. In some embodiments, the size of the stopper module 120 is approximately the same as the size of the base of the support module 206, and the opaque stopper module 120 can cover the transparent base of the support module 206 to prevent the drive module 116 or the potting material 118 in the endcap assembly 100 from being viewed through the support module 206 for aesthetic purposes. The material for manufacturing the stopper module 120 may be plastic or rubber.

A method of assembling the LED lamp 10 according to an embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 6. FIG. 7 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method of assembling a lamp according to the present application, the method 700 comprising:

step 710, electrically connecting the driving module 116 to the at least one light emitting unit 204 and the end cap 102, respectively.

At step 720, at least a portion of the drive module 116 is received in the end cap cavity 124 of the end cap 102. The supporting module 206 is used for supporting a circuit board 210 and a plurality of light emitting units 204 disposed on the circuit board 210, and the driving module 116 is electrically connected to the light emitting units 204 through the supporting module 206 disposed between the driving module 116 and the circuit board 210. In some embodiments, a support module 210 is further included that receives the stop module 120 in the end cap cavity 124 and couples to the housing 202 to prevent the potting material 118 from flowing from the end cap cavity 124 into the support module 210.

At step 730, the end cap 102 is bonded to the housing 202 of the lamp 10 such that the driver module 116 is received within the first interior cavity 212 formed by the housing 202 and the end cap 102.

At step 740, the lamp 10 is placed with the end cap 102 on top and the housing 202 on bottom and perpendicular to the ground, and the potting material 118 is poured into the end cap cavity 124 from the first opening 110 of the insulator module 104 coupled to the end cap 102 such that the potting material 118 surrounds at least a portion of the driver module 116. The potting material 118 includes a moldable thermally conductive adhesive selected from the group consisting of acrylate thermally conductive adhesives, vinyl ester thermally conductive adhesives, silicone thermally conductive adhesives, thermally conductive silicone greases, epoxy AB adhesives, phenolic resin thermally conductive adhesives, polyurethane thermally conductive adhesives, and combinations thereof. The potting of the thermally conductive paste may better and more quickly spread the heat generated by the driver module 116 to the end cap 102 and the external environment.

After the potting material is substantially cured, the mounting module 106 of the lamp 10 is coupled to the first opening 110 of the insulating module 104, step 750. In some embodiments, the mounting module 106 is snap-fitted to the snap-fit slot 114 of the insulating module 104 by the snap hooks 146, so that the mounting and dismounting are facilitated, and the assembly time is saved.

Step 760, the conductive contacts 108 are coupled to the second opening 112 of the mounting module 106 and electrically connected to the driving module 116, wherein the area of the second opening 112 is smaller than that of the first opening 110. The size of the second opening 112 is consistent with the size of the metal pin 109 of the standard-sized conductive contact 108, and the positive and negative poles of the driving module 116 are electrically connected to the end cap 102 and the metal pin 109, respectively.

In summary, in the embodiments, it can be seen that, in the present application, the driving module is accommodated in the inner cavity of the end cover, and after one end of the end cover is coupled to the lamp housing, the potting material with a heat conduction function is injected into the inner cavity of the end cover from the other end of the end cover. The heat dissipation of the driving module can be realized while the bonding influence of the potting material on the end cover and the lamp shell is avoided. The end cover assembly is provided with the structure of the insulating module and the mounting module which can be conveniently detached, and the first opening with the larger size of the insulating module is beneficial to glue filling, so that the assembly time is reduced; and secondly, the size of the second opening of the mounting module can be designed to be consistent with the size of the standard conductive contact, so that the redesign of the conductive contact is avoided, and the cost is reduced.

This written description uses specific examples to describe the invention, including the best mode, and is intended to facilitate any experimentation by one skilled in the art. These operations include the use of any apparatus and system and with any embodied method. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur in the art. Such other examples, if not structurally different from the literal language of the claims, or if they have equivalent structure to the description of the claims, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An end cap assembly comprising:

an end cap having an end cap cavity formed therein;

an insulation module, a first end of which is coupled to the end cover and a second end of which is provided with a first opening;

a mounting module coupled to the insulating module and at least partially received in the first opening, the mounting module having a second opening, wherein the second opening has a smaller area than the first opening;

a conductive contact at least partially received in the second opening;

the driving module is at least partially accommodated in the inner cavity of the end cover and is respectively electrically connected with the end cover and the conductive contact; and

and the potting material is filled in the inner cavity of the end cover and surrounds at least part of the driving module.

2. A lamp, comprising:

a light emitting device including a housing and at least one light emitting unit; and

an end cap assembly coupled to the light emitting device, comprising:

an end cap having an end cap cavity formed therein;

a conductive contact at least partially received in the second opening;

a drive module at least partially received in the inner cavity of the end cap and electrically connected to the end cap and the conductive contact, respectively, the drive module being configured to convert and provide the electrical energy received from the end cap and the conductive contact to the at least one light emitting unit; and

3. The lamp of claim 2, wherein the light emitting device comprises a support module received in a first interior cavity formed by the housing and the end cap assembly for supporting the at least one light emitting unit, the support module comprising a second interior cavity having a third opening.

4. The lamp of claim 3, wherein the end cap assembly further comprises a stop module received in the end cap interior cavity coupled to the third opening of the support module to block the third opening for preventing the potting material from flowing from the end cap interior cavity into the second interior cavity.

5. The lamp of claim 4, wherein the material from which the stopper module is made comprises plastic or rubber.

6. The lamp of claim 2, wherein the first opening of the insulating module comprises at least one catch for engaging at least one corresponding catch on the mounting module.

7. The lamp of claim 2, wherein the first opening of the insulating module is a substantially circular hole having a diameter of 5.5-18 millimeters.

8. The lamp of claim 2, wherein the potting material comprises a moldable thermally conductive paste selected from the group consisting of acrylate thermally conductive pastes, vinyl ester thermally conductive pastes, silicone thermally conductive pastes, thermally conductive silicone greases, epoxy thermally conductive pastes, phenolic thermally conductive pastes, polyurethane thermally conductive pastes, and combinations thereof.

9. A method of assembling a lamp comprising at least one light emitting unit, a housing, an end cap, an insulating module, a mounting module, and a driving module, the method comprising:

electrically connecting the driving module to the at least one light emitting unit and the end cap, respectively;

receiving at least a portion of the drive module in an end cap cavity of the end cap;

bonding the end cap to a housing of the lamp such that the driver module is received in a first interior cavity formed by the housing and the end cap;

pouring potting material into the end cap lumen from a first opening of an insulating module coupled to the end cap such that the potting material surrounds at least a portion of the drive module;

coupling a mounting module of the lamp to the first opening of the insulating module; and

and coupling conductive contacts to a second opening of the mounting module and electrically connecting the conductive contacts with the driving module, wherein the area of the second opening is smaller than that of the first opening.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: a support module housing a stop module in the end cap cavity and coupled to the housing for preventing the potting material from flowing from the end cap cavity into the support module.