EP2639500A1

EP2639500A1 - LED lighting device

Info

Publication number: EP2639500A1
Application number: EP12159881.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Guangxi Li
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-03-16
Filing date: 2012-03-16
Publication date: 2013-09-18

Abstract

A LED lighting device provided with at least one lighting unit, each unit comprising a longitudinal lighting case (10), a longitudinal LED lighting board (12) with a longitudinal board, such as a PCB, and a plurality of LEDs attached to said board, a lighting cover (14), and end caps (16), wherein the LED lighting board is arranged inside the lighting case, wherein each unit further comprises metal heat dispatch fins (11) arranged upwards on the top of lighting case (10).

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to LED lighting devices.
Especially the present invention relates to LED lighting devices comprising adjacent longitudinal light units each unit comprising a longitudinal board onto which a plurality of LEDs are attached.

Technical background

LED lighting devices provided with several adjacent LED lighting units each lighting unit having several LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) coupled on a longitudinal PCB can be widely used in various illuminating purposes: interior lighting, outdoor lighting, agricultural planting, medical care, decoration, etc. The PCBs are arranged inside a cover.
Due to the large number of LEDs coupled on the PCB the lighting devices have to be cooled effectively.
The prior art lighting devices are provided with fans to dispatch the heat. The fans are noisy and consume a lot of electric power.
Further, the fastening of adjacent lighting units is implemented with screws or other fastening means which makes the installation of the lighting devices time-consuming and complicated.

Summary of the invention

To solve the above-mentioned disadvantages the present invention discloses a new type of LED lighting device.
The object of the present invention is to provide a LED lighting device with good heat dispatching.
The object of the present invention is further to provide a LED lighting device with good sealing properties, long life time and easy connection for additional adjacent units.
The new invention is a new kind of LED lighting device including at least one lighting unit, the said lighting unit including a longitudinal lighting case, heat dispatch fins, a LED lighting board with a longitudinal PCB and LED coupled on it, a light cover and end caps. The lighting case is longitudinal in shape and the longitudinal heat dispatch fins are arranged upwards outside of the lighting case.
The LED lighting board is attached to the interior side of lighting case, and the light cover is fixed inside the groove of the light case. The end caps are fixed on both opening ends of the lighting case.
The new design is to attach the LED lighting board closely onto the base of the longitudinal lighting case, and the exterior part of the lighting case is designed with several heat dispatch fins, thus the heat generated by LEDs can be conducted quickly to the heat dispatch fins and then dispatched out. The advantage is the efficiency of heat dispatching is high and no need to install heat dispatch fans, which helps the integration of the lighting lamp and better sealing. The LED lighting board is sealed inside the longitudinal lighting case and prevents the entry of moisture and water and thus provides a better protection.
Further, the case is arranged with fastening grooves and protrusions on both longitudinal sides of the case in order to easily fasten several lighting units together.
The invention is in detail defined in the enclosed claims, especially in claim 1.

Short description of the drawings

The foregoing, and additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the lighting device according to the present invention,
Fig. 2 is a front view of a lighting unit according to the present invention,
Fig. 3 is a cross section view of a lighting unit according to the present invention, and
Fig. 4 is a front view of a lighting device according to the present invention

Description of preferred embodiment

Referring to Fig. 1 to Fig 3, the invention is a new application of LED lighting device including a lighting unit 1, said unit 1 including a metal longitudinal U-formed (downwards in cross-section) lighting case 10, longitudinal upwards protruding heat dispatch fins 11, LED lighting board 12, lighting cover 14 and end cap 16. Said lighting case 10 is longitudinal in shape and provided with longitudinal concaved grooves.
The heat dispatch fins 11 are arranged externally upwards outside of lighting case 10 on the whole top area of the case and in one piece with the case. The said heat dispatch fins 11 and the lighting case 10 can be made of metals with good heat conducting feature like aluminum, copper, etc. Aluminum is preferred.
As Fig. 3 indicates, the LED lighting board 12 is attached to the internal top of the concave grooves of the lighting case 10. The said LED lighting board 12 includes a base board (PCB) 120 and the LED series configuration 122. The base board 120 is preferably aluminum. The said LED lighting board 12 can by means of heat dispatch glue 13 or pad be fixed onto the top of the lighting case. In order to fix the lighting board 12, grooves 102 are designed on the internal sides 101 of the lighting case 10. A sealant strip 15 is used between the LED lighting board 12 and the groove 102, which can fix the lighting board 12 better to the position and make a good sealing.
The LED lighting boards include PCB base boards and the LED serial couplings on the PCB board. The PCB boards can be but not restricted to the materials as aluminum or fiberglass or other possible materials.
The lighting cover 14 is fixed to the grooves on the bottom opening of the lighting case 10. It can be transparent material to transmit or reflect or filter the light emitted by the LED lighting board. The lighting cover 14 can be made of glass, or acrylic plastics or other transparent transmit material. In order to fix the lighting cover 14, there are two parallel arranged longitudinal grooves 103, 104 near the bottom opening of the sides 101 of the lighting case 10. A sealant strip 140 is used between the lighting case 14 and the positioning groove 104.
End caps 16 are fixed on the both opening ends of lighting case 10. The said end cap 16 is molded twice with external hard layer and internal soft layer (not shown in the figures.) The end caps 16 are fixed into the ends of the lighting case 10 by screws 162. And the soft internal sides of the end cap 16 are pressed tightly against the ends of the lighting case 10.
The invention is using sealant strip 140 to fix the lighting cover 14 and end cap 16 is using the soft internal layer to press against the ends of the lighting case 10, thus the LED lighting boards 12 can be sealed inside the lighting case 10 and avoid the external moisture or water to enter the lighting case 10 to damage the electric parts like LED lighting boards, etc.
The invention can be used in other application to use two or more adjacent lighting units 1 connecting together as an integrated unit. Each lighting strip 1 has one longitudinal protruding strip 105 on one side along the whole length of the case and concaved groove 106 on the other side. The protruding strip 105 on one lighting unit slides into the concaved groove 106 on another lighting unit, thus connecting two or more lighting units together as a unitary device. Preferably, the side cross section of protruding strip 105 and concaved groove 106 can be designed in compatible "T" shape (see Fig. 4). The strips and the grooves are arranged on the top of the case 10 and thus at the lower end of the fins.
Therefore, the invention of LED lighting device can be easily dimensioned for different lighting powers by connecting different numbers of lighting units 1 together. It is very flexible and practical for many applications.
It is obvious to the person skiled in the art that different embodiments of the invention are not limited to the example described above, but that they may be varied within the scope of the enclosed claims.

Claims

A LED lighting device provided with at least one lighting unit, each unit comprising a longitudinal lighting case (10), a longitudinal LED lighting board (12) with a longitudinal board, such as a PCB, and a plurality of LEDs attached to said board, a lighting cover (14), and end caps (16),
wherein the LED lighting board is arranged inside the lighting case, characterized in that
each unit further comprises metal heat dispatch fins (11) arranged upwards on the top of lighting case (10).
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein said lighting cover is attached in the grooves inside the lighting case.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein the LED lighting board is attached to the interior side of the lighting case by heat dispatching glue or pad.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein there are grooves nearby the top of the lighting case, and the said LED lighting board is attached by inserting it into the grooves, and there are sealant strips used between the LED lighting board and the grooves.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein there are parallel grooves nearby the bottom opening of the lighting case, and the light cover is fixed by inserting into these grooves.
The LED lighting device according to claim 5 wherein the said cover is fixed by sealant strips arranged between the case and the grooves.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein the device further comprise end caps arranged at the end openings of the case(s), wherein each cap is molded twice including the external hard layer and internal soft layer, wherein the end caps are fixed on the both side opening of the lighting case by screws and the internal soft layer is pressed tightly against the said openings.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein the lighting device consists of more than one lighting units connected together; the individual lighting unit being provided with a protrusion on one side of and a concave groove on the other side, so that units can be connected together as an integrated unit by inserting the protrusions into the concave grooves.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein the cross shape of the protruding strip is outwards widening, such as a "T"-shape, and the concave groove is inwards widening, such as a "T" -shape.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein it, at least the cover, comprises transparent or semitransparent materials.
The LED lighting device according to claim 1 wherein the case has a downwards U-form in cross-section, and the heat dispatch fins are longitudinal and arranged essentially on the whole top area of the cap.
A LED lighting unit as disclosed in any of the preceding claims 1 to 11.