EP2587137B1

EP2587137B1 - Illumination device and illumination fixture

Info

Publication number: EP2587137B1
Application number: EP12187246.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hiroyuki Matsumoto; Atsushi Otsubo; Koji Uenoyama
Original assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-10-24
Filing date: 2012-10-04
Publication date: 2017-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2032-10-04
Also published as: JP2013093104A; JP5841802B2; EP2587137A1

Description

[Field of the Invention]

The present invention relates to an illumination device using an LED light source and an illumination fixture using the illumination device.

[Background Art]

An illumination device using an LED light source has been conventionally known (refer to, for example, Pages 10, 11 "LED All ROUND IN HOUSE, V01.2" issued in June, 2011, and edited by Fixture Division of Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporati on).
An illumination fixture described in Non-Patent Document 1 is a round ceiling light, and includes one power source block that converts commercial power into a DC output and four LED units as illumination devices in which an LED is mounted on a printed circuit substrate.
The LED units are fan-shaped and the four LED units are combined with one another to form a circle as a whole. The LED units include two types of LED units. A first type of LED unit is an LED unit provided with a connector for connecting the LED as a light source to the adjacent LED unit. A second type of LED unit is an LED unit provided with a connector for receiving power from the power source block in the first LED unit.
Each illumination fixture includes the three first type of LED units and the one second type of LED unit.
CA 2 633 054 A1 shows an illumination device comprising:

at least one LED light source; a first terminal part electrically connected to an anode side of the LED light source; a second terminal part electrically connected to a cathode side of the LED light source; wherein the external appearance of the first terminal part is different from the external appearance of the second terminal part.

EP 2 209 165 A1 shows an electrical and mechanical connection between two substrates. Each substrate contains a number of electrical pads at adjacent ends. A connector surrounds both adjacent ends of the substrates and contains a number of spring connectors that corresponds to the number of pads. Each spring connector connects one pad of one substrate with an adjacent pad of the other substate. To avoid misconnections the contour of the end of one substrate can be formed as protrusion or and the contour of the end of the other substrate can be formed as corresponding recess.
Forms of connectors that provide a mechanical keying are shown in US 2010/0118532 A1 , DE 20 2010 016 257 U1 or US 2011/0235341 A1 .

[Disclosure of the Invention]

[Problems to be solved by the Invention]

However, the above-mentioned conventional illumination fixture adopts the two types of LED units, and the LED units need to be separately manufactured according to the type. Further, plural product numbers are managed, disadvantageously leading to an increase in manufacturing and management costs.
The present invention is made to solve the conventional problems, and its object is to reduce manufacturing and management costs of an illumination device including an LED light source to provide inexpensive illumination device and illumination fixture.

[Means adapted to solve the Problems]

An illumination device according to the present invention includes at least one LED light source, a first terminal part electrically connected to an anode side of the LED light source, a second terminal part electrically connected to an cathode side of the LED light source, and an LED substrate on which the LED light source, the first terminal part, and the second terminal part are mounted, the first terminal part and the second terminal part adopts the same connector, and a pin number of the connector connected to the anode side of the LED light source is different from a pin number of the connector connected to the cathode side of the LED light source.
In the illumination device of the present invention, the first terminal part is different from the second terminal part in external appearance color.
In the illumination device of the present invention, the two or more LED light sources are provided.
In the illumination device of the present invention, two or more types of the LED light sources are provided.
The illumination fixture of the present invention uses the above-mentioned illumination device.

[Effect of the Invention]

According to the present invention, since the first terminal part electrically connected to the anode side of the LED light source is different from the second terminal part electrically connected to the cathode side of the LED light source, wrong connection at assembling can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to provide the illumination device and the illumination fixture, in which the type of the illumination device can be made uniform, thereby reducing manufacturing and management costs.

[Brief Description of the Drawings]

[Fig. 1] An exploded perspective view of an illumination fixture according to a first embodiment of the present invention when viewed from below.
[Fig. 2] A sectional view taken along the center of the illumination fixture according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 3] A circuit diagram of an LED unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 4] A component arrangement view of the LED unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 5] A connection view in the illumination fixture according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 6] A circuit diagram of an LED unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 7] A connection view in the illumination fixture according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

(First Embodiment)

An illumination device and an illumination fixture according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to figures.
A case where the illumination fixture is attached to a ceiling surface as an attached surface and illuminates downward will be described below. Unless expressly stated otherwise, upper (upward, upper side, and the like) means the side of the ceiling surface, lower (downward, lower side, and the like) means the side of a floor surface.
As shown in Fig. 1, an illumination fixture 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is suited to be attached to a ceiling surface 11 and the like as the attached surface to mainly illuminate downward.
As shown in Fig. 2, the illumination fixture 10 has, for example, a round fixture body 20 to be attached to the ceiling surface 11. A hook ceiling 12 is attached to the ceiling surface 11, and the fixture body 20 has a power feeding part 21 to be attached to the hook ceiling 12 at its center.
A power source part 22 connected to the power feeding part 21 is provide on an upper surface (that is, on the side of the ceiling surface 11) of the fixture body 20. Accordingly, the power feeding part 21 receives electric power (AC) from a commercial power source and feeds the power to the power source part 22, and the power source part 22 converts the AC power into a DC output and feeds the DC output to LED units 30.
The four LED units 30 as fan-like illumination devices are arranged on the underside (that is, on the side of an illuminating direction) of the fixture body 20 to form a circle. A translucent lens 23 for effectively extracting light from LED light sources 31 (refer to Fig. 3) mounted on the each LED unit 30 are attached in front of (that is, in Fig. 2, below) the LED unit 30. A cover 24 for diffusing received light is attached in front of the lens 23.
Next, the LED unit 30 as the illumination device will be described.
As shown in Fig. 3, the LED unit 30 has two or more types of the LED light sources 31. Here, white LED light sources 311 and warm white LED light sources 312 are used.
The white LED light sources 311 and the warm white LED light sources 312 may be collectively referred to as "LED light sources 31".
Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram of each of the LED units 30. In each of the LED units 30, four sets of the six serially-connected LED light sources 31 are connected to one another in parallel. An anode side of the LED light sources 31 (left side in Fig. 3) is connected to an anode-side connector 321 as a first terminal part. A cathode side (right side in Fig. 3) is connected to a cathode-side connector 322 as a second terminal part. The white LED light sources 311 are connected to the warm white LED light sources 312 by means of another circuit.
The anode-side connector 321 and the cathode-side connector 322 are different from each other in external appearance.
That is, the anode-side connector 321 is a 4-pin connector, and a first pin is connected to the anode side of the warm white LED light sources 312. A fourth pin is connected to the anode side of the white LED light sources 311.
The cathode-side connector 322 is a 3-pin connector, and a third pin is connected to the cathode side of the warm white LED light sources 312, and a first pin is connected to the cathode side of the white LED light sources 311.
It is desired that the anode-side connector 321 and the cathode-side connector 322 have different external appearance color.
As shown in Fig. 4, each of the LED units 30 includes the white LED light sources 311, the warm white LED light sources 312, the anode-side connector 321, and the cathode-side connector 322, all of which are mounted on a printed circuit substrate 33 as an LED substrate.
The printed circuit substrate 33 is made of, for example, resin or metal such as aluminum, is shaped like a fan, and has a thickness of about 1.0 mm.
Although the one LED unit 30 is described as a illumination device herein, the plurality of LED units 30 are combined to constitute one illumination device.
The white LED light sources 311 and the warm white LED light sources 312 are arranged in an inner row and an outer row along an arc of the printed circuit substrate 33 such that both the rows are substantially parallel to each other.
The 26 LED light sources 31 in the outer row and the 22 LED light sources 31 in the inner row, that is, the 48 LED light sources 31 in total are arranged. The white LED light source 311 and the warm white LED light source 312 are alternately arranged.
By arranging the LED light sources in this manner, a distance between the LED light sources 31 of the same color becomes substantially uniform, thereby preventing light irregularity.
The anode-side connector 321 and the cathode-side connector 322 are arranged at respective ends of the printed circuit substrate 33.
Accordingly, the length of an electric wire used for connection between the adjacent LED units 30 can be decreased.
Fig. 5 is a connection view in a case where the four LED units 30 are used in the illumination fixture 10 (refer to Fig. 1).
As shown in Fig. 5, LED units 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D are connected to the power source part 22. The power source part 22 has two lines of DC output.
One of the lines is an output from a first connector 221, which serves to light the white LED light sources 311 mounted in the LED unit 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D. The other line is an output from a second connector 222, which serves to light the warm white LED light sources 312 mounted in the LED unit 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D.
Next, connection of the white LED light source 311 will be described.
As shown in Fig. 5, a fourth pin of an anode-side connector 321A of the LED unit 30A is connected to an anode terminal 221A of the first connector 221 of the power source part 22.
Next, a first pin of a cathode-side connector 322A of the LED unit 30A is connected to a fourth pin of a anode-side connector 321B of the LED unit 30B.
Similarly, the LED units 30B, 30C, 30D are connected.
The LED units 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D are connected with one another with use of a harness 34.
Finally, a first pin of a cathode-side connector 322D of the LED unit 30D is connected to a cathode terminal 221K of the first connector 221 of the power source part 22.
As shown in Fig. 5, to connect the warm white LED light sources 312, first an anode terminal 222A of the second connector 222 of the power source part 22 is connected to a first pin of the anode-side connector 321A of the LED unit 30A.
Next, a third pin of the cathode-side connector 322A of the LED unit 30A is connected to a first pin of the anode-side connector 321B of the LED unit 30B.
Similarly, the LED unit 30B is connected to the LED unit 30C, and the LED unit 30C is connected to the LED unit 30D.
The LED units 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D are connected to one another with use of the harness 34.
Finally, a third pin of the cathode-side connector 322D of the LED unit 30D is connected to a cathode terminal 222K of the second connector 222 of the power source part 22.
In the LED unit 30 as the illumination device and the illumination fixture 10 in the first embodiment, although the 4-pin anode-side connector 321 and the 3-pin cathode-side connector 322 are adopted as connectors 32 used in each LED unit 30, the connectors 32 are not limited to these and may be other connectors that are different from each other in the number of pins.
Connectors that are same as each other in the number of pins but are different from each other in manufacturer or type can be adopted as the connectors 32.
Alternatively, the anode-side connector 321 and the cathode-side connector 322 that have different colors can be adopted as the connectors 32.
In the above-mentioned LED unit 30 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the anode-side connector 321 electrically connected to the anode side of the LED light sources 31 is different from the cathode-side connector 322 electrically connected to the cathode side of the LED light sources 31.
For this reason, since wrong connection at assembling can be prevented and the type of the LED units 30 can be made uniform, manufacturing and management costs can be reduced.
The color of the anode-side connector 321 electrically connected to the anode side of the LED light sources 31 is different from that of the cathode-side connector 322 as the second terminal part electrically connected to the cathode side of the LED light sources 31.
This can prevent wrong connection at assembling.
Since the two or more LED units 30 are provided, illumination having a sufficient brightness can be achieved.
Since the two or more types of LED light sources 31 are used, various light distributions can be achieved.
Further, in the illumination fixture 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since the above-mentioned LED units 30 are used, the type of the LED units 30 can be made uniform, thereby manufacturing and management costs can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)

Next, an illumination device and an illumination fixture according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to figures.
The same sections as those in the illumination device (LED unit) 30 and the illumination fixture 10 according to the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
The illumination fixture 10B according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the illumination fixture 10 described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Although an LED unit 40 is similar to the LED unit shown in the component arrangement view of Fig. 4, connectors 41 are different from the connectors 32 in the first embodiment and thus, the connectors 41 will be mainly described. The other configuration is the same as the configuration of the LED unit 30.
As shown in Fig. 6, in the LED unit 40 according to the second embodiment, the same connectors 41 are used as an anode-side connector 411 and a cathode-side connector 412.
The anode-side connector 411 has four pins, and a first pin is connected to the anode side of the warm white LED light sources 312. A fourth pin is connected to the anode side of the white LED light sources 311.
The cathode-side connector 412 also has four pins, and a third pin is connected to the cathode side of the warm white LED light sources 312. A second pin is connected to the cathode side of the white LED light sources 311.
Fig. 7 is a connection view in a state where the four LED units 40 are used in the illumination fixture 10B (refer to Fig. 1).
As shown in Fig. 7, the LED units 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D are connected to the power source part 22. The power source part 22 has two lines of DC output.
One of the lines is an output from the first connector 221, which serves to light the white LED light sources 311 mounted in the LED units 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D.
The other line is an output from the second connector 222, which serves to light the warm white LED light sources 312 mounted in the LED units 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D.
Next, connection of the white LED light sources 311 will be described.
As shown in Fig. 7, a fourth pin of a anode-side connector 411A of the LED unit 40A is connected to the anode terminal 221A of the first connector 221 of the power source part 22.
Next, a second pin of a cathode-side connector 412A of the LED unit 40A is connected to a fourth pin of a anode-side connector 411B of the LED unit 40B.
That is, the anode-side connector 411 and the cathode-side connector 412 adopt the same connector 41, but use the pins of different numbers (positions).
Similarly, the LED units 40B, 40C, 40D are connected.
The LED units 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D are connected to one another with use of the harness 34.
Finally, a second pin of a cathode-side connector 412D of the LED unit 40D is connected to the cathode terminal 221K of the first connector 221 of the power source part 22.
As shown in Fig. 7, to connect the warm white LED light sources 312, first, a first pin of the anode-side connector 411A of the LED unit 40A is connected to the anode terminal 222A of the second connector 222 of the power source part 22.
Next, a third pin of the cathode-side connector 412A of the LED unit 40A is connected to a first pin of the anode-side connector 411B of the LED unit 40B.
Similarly, the LED units 40B, 40C, 40D are connected.
The LED units 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D are connected to one another with use of the harness 34.
Finally, a third pin of the cathode-side connector 412D of the LED unit 40D is connected to the cathode terminal 222K of the second connector 222 of the power source part 22.
In the LED units 40 and the illumination fixture 10B according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the same connectors are used as the anode-side connector 411 and the cathode-side connector 412. Since the anode-side connector 411 and the cathode-side connector 412 use the pins of different numbers, wrong connection at assembling can be prevented.
As a result, the type of the LED units 40 can be made uniform, thereby reducing manufacturing and management costs.
By making the color of the anode-side connector 411 different from the color cathode-side connector 412, wrong connection can be further prevented.
The LED units 30, 40 and the illumination fixtures 10, 10B of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be appropriately modified and improved.

[Description of Reference Numerals]

10 Illumination fixture
30 LED unit (illumination device)
31 LED light source
32 Connector
321 Anode-side connector (first terminal part)
322 Cathode-side connector (second terminal part) 33 Printed circuit substrate (LED substrate)

Claims

An illumination device comprising:
at least one LED light source (311, 312);

a first terminal part (411) electrically connected to an anode side of the LED light source (311, 312);

a second terminal part (412) electrically connected to a cathode side of the LED light source (311, 312); and

an LED substrate (33) with the LED light source (311, 312), the first terminal part (411), and the second terminal part (412), mounted thereon wherein:
the first terminal part (411) and the second terminal part (412) each comprises an identical connector (41) having pins, whereby each pin is characterized by a different pin number relating to a different position of the pin; and characterized in that a pin number of the pin of the connector (41) connected to the anode side of the LED light source (311, 312) is different from a pin number of the pin of the connector (41) connected to the cathode side of the LED light source (311, 312),

and that in the first terminal part (411) only the pins of the connector (41) with a pin number connected to the anode side of the LED light source (311, 312) are electrically connected and in the second terminal part (412) only the pins of the connector (41) with a pin number connected to the cathode side of the LED light source (311, 312) are electrically connected.
The illumination device according to claim 1 , wherein the first terminal part is different from the second terminal part in external appearance color.
The illumination device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the two or more LED light sources are provided.
The illumination device according to any one of claim 1 to claim 3, wherein two or more types of the LED light (311, 312) sources are provided.
The illumination device according to claim 4, wherein the first terminal part (411) has four pins, and a first pin is connected to the anode side of a warm white LED light source (312) and a fourth pin is connected to the anode side of the white LED light source (311).
The illumination device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the second terminal part (412) has four pins and a third pin is connected to the cathode side of the warm white LED light source (312) and a second pin is connected to the cathode side of the white LED light source (311).
An illumination fixture (10B) using the illumination device according to any one of claim 1 to claim 6.
The illumination fixture (10B) according to claim 7, wherein the LED units (40A, 40B, 40C, 40D), each having a a warm white LED light source (312) and a white LED light source (311), are connected to a power source part (22), the power source part (22) having two lines of DC output, one for the white LED light sources (311) and another for the warm white LED light sources (312).