GB2515259A

GB2515259A - Lamp holder, lamp assembly and bulb

Info

Publication number: GB2515259A
Application number: GB1306902.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Jones
Original assignee: IVITI LIGHTING Ltd
Current assignee: IVITI LIGHTING Ltd
Priority date: 2013-04-16
Filing date: 2013-04-16
Publication date: 2014-12-24
Also published as: GB201306902D0

Abstract

An LED lamp holder 40 comprises a base (41, Fig 4) from at least a portion of which a peripheral wall (42, Fig 4) extends. An LED lamp 60 comprises one or more LEDs 62, a circuit board 63 and a conductive plate 61. An LED lamp assembly 50 comprises such a LED lamp holder and an LED lamp located in the receptacle in the lamp holder, together with electrical conductors 51. The holder thus provides a physical and electrical barrier around the lamp. The assembly can be placed in a housing (71, Fig 7) to make an LED bulb (70, Fig 8).

Description

Lamp Holder, Lamp Assembly and Bulb The present invention relates to a lamp holder, a lamp assembly comprising such a lamp holder and a bulb comprising such a lamp assembly.

Halogen bulbs, sometimes referred to as halogens lamps" or halogen spotlights", are widely known and available in the field of lighting as energy efficient alternatives to conventional incandescent light bulbs. A typical halogen bulb is shown in Figure 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. Bulb 10, as shown in the form of a "GU1O" bulb, comprises a housing 11 mounted on a body 12. Housing 11 is provided as a cup-like member, having a reflective interior surface 13, within which a halogen assembly 14 is mounted, and over which a permanent cover 15, in the form of a thin (of the order of millimetres or less) glass plate, is provided. Halogen assembly 14 includes a tungsten filament (not visible in the figures) encased in a small quartz envelope 16 along with a quantity of halogen gas. Application of electricity to such a halogen bulb, via electrical connector pins 17 provided in bayonet-connector form in a bi-pin, parallel relationship, to enable generation of light also heats the tungsten filament, which, as its temperature increases, begins to atomize. At high enough temperatures, the surrounding halogen gas combines with tungsten atoms in the quartz envelope 16 as they atomize from the filament, re-depositing them on the filament. In this way, the filament has a longer lifetime than the filament of a conventional bulb, and more light per unit of input energy is achieved. However, a lot of unwanted heat is still generated along with the desired light, even in a halogen bulb.

Accordingly, as a further step in the direction of increased energy efficiency, a conventional halogen bulb, such as of the type described above, has been modified to replace the halogen assembly 14 with a light emitting diodes (LED") assembly 24, as shown in accompanying Figure 3. LED bulb 20 shown in Figure 3 (also in the form of a GU1O" bulb) is similar in its construction to halogen bulb 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2, in that it comprises a housing 21a mounted on a body 22. Housing 21a is provided as a cup-like member, having a reflective interior surface 23, within which the LED assembly 24 is mounted, and over which a permanent cover 25, in the form of a thin (of the order of millimetres or less) glass plate, is provided. Electrical connector pins 27, only one of which is shown in Figure 3, are provided on the free end of body 22 in bayonet-connector form in a bi-pin, parallel relationship. LED bulb 20 also comprises a secondary housing 21b, also in the form of a cup-like member, within which housing 21a, which is thus a primary housing, is located. Secondary housing 21b incorporates a plurality of air vents 30 which enable circulation of cooling air around the exterior surface of primary housing 21a to dissipate heat (albeit a much reduced amount as compared to a halogen bulb) generated during operation of the bulb.

LED bulbs, such as of the type shown in Figure 3, are though of as being highly energy efficient, with around 80 % of the electricity supplied to a bulb being converted to light energy, thus producing very little heat. In addition, because LEDs are solid-state devices with no moving parts, they are extremely durable and often last for many thousands of hours of operation.

The primary disadvantage with known LED bulbs is that they can only be operated at low voltage, i.e. 20 watts or below, and as such, a lighting transformer (also known as a "driver" or LED driver") is needed to reduce mains voltage from the mains standard supply of 240 volts. LED drivers which operate down to zero watts, or which connect several lamps into one transformer to meet the minimum load requirement are known, however care must be taken to choose an appropriate driver depending on the type and number of LED bulbs to be operated. Furthermore, the need for a driver means a further component is needed, at added cost, and with the potential for failure, in order to be able to install and use known LED bulbs.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an LED bulb which can be operated without the need for an accompanying voltage-reducing transformer or driver.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a LED lamp holder adapted for receipt of a LED lamp, said lamp holder comprising a base from at least a portion of which a peripheral wall extends, defining a receptacle for said lamp, thereby providing a physical and electrical barrier around said lamp.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a LED lamp assembly comprising a LED lamp holder according to the first aspect of the invention and a LED lamp locatable in the receptacle in the lamp holder.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided the use of a LED lamp holder according to the first aspect of the invention and or a LED lamp assembly according to the second aspect of the invention in a LED bulb.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a LED bulb comprising a housing, within which a LED lamp assembly according to the second aspect of the invention is locatable, which provides an external electrical connection for said lamp assembly.

A LED lamp holder, LED lamp assembly, use thereof, and a LED bulb according to each and all tour aspects of the invention are operable without the need for an accompanying and/or associated voltage-reducing transformer or driver. The protection that would otherwise have been provided by such a driver against possible injury and/or electrical damage arising from the feeding of 240 mains voltage into an LED lamp usable or comprised in each aspect of the invention is provided by the LED lamp holder.

In the unlikely event of any electrical failure of the LED bulb, the presence of the LED lamp holder therein means that any electrical supply to the LED lamp therein would be constrained by the lamp holder, thereby preventing creepage of electricity from the lamp out of the lamp holder, from where it could otherwise potentially cause fatal and/or catastrophic damage. In other words, the presence of the LED lamp holder ensures that there is sutficient clearance distance through air between any live electrical connection to the LED lamp and the housing of the bulb, thereby preventing electrification of the entire bulb. Such electrical creepage due to other factors, e.g. high humidity, is also preventable by the presence of the LED lamp holder.

Preferably, in a LED lamp holder according to the invention, the base and the peripheral wall may be made of an electrically insulating material.

Suitable electrical insulating materials include: glass, such as soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass and plate glass; ceramics, such as alumina and porcelain; and plastics, such as acrylics, polyacrylics, acetates and polyesters. The preferred electrically insulation material is a ceramic material, but any other suitably electrically insulating material may be used, provided it can bring the benefits described above.

Preferably, in a LED lamp holder according to the invention, the peripheral wall thereof may extend around the entire base so as to provide a complete, unbroken, physical and electrical barrier around the receptacle for the LED lamp.

Preferably, in a LED lamp holder according to the invention, the base may be substantially circular or elliptical in shape. Such shapes may be especially desirable to match with the overall circular design of the face of LED bulbs, and more importantly light fittings into which halogen and known LED bulbs are fittable, which are currently on the market. Generally, the dimensions of the base will be larger than that of the height of the peripheral wall.

Preferably, in a LED lamp holder according to the invention, the base may be provided with at least one peripheral recess adapted for receipt of an electrical connector. Such a recess may itself be of a substantially circular or elliptical shape, suited for receipt of an electrical connector.

Further preferably, in a LED lamp holder according to the invention, the peripheral wall extending from the base may extend around the periphery of the at least one peripheral recess, i.e. the peripheral wall may follow the outline of the base, including any recess provided therein, so as to provide a continuous walled surface around the periphery of the base, regardless of its footprint.

Yes further preferably, in a LED lamp holder according to the invention, the base may be provided with two, mutually spaced, peripheral recesses, each adapted for receipt of an electrical connector. In such a case, the peripheral wall comprised in the lamp holder may extend around the periphery of both recesses.

In a LED lamp assembly according to the invention, at least one elongate electrical connector may be further comprised, said connector being electrically connectable at one of its ends to the LED lamp in the assembly, and said connector extending over the peripheral wall of the lamp holder in the region of the at least one peripheral recess, via the at least one peripheral recess, to an external electrical connection.

The at least one elongate electrical connector may be in the form of a sheathed, malleable wire, capable of having one of its sheathed ends exposed for electrical connection to the LED lamp, for example by soldering, to form an electrical connection thereto. Once so connected, in order to make an electrical connection externally of the lamp holder, the electrical connector may be made to extend, for example by simply bending, over the peripheral wall of the lamp holder and thereafter passed through the adjacent peripheral recess in the lamp holder to a location on the underside of the lamp holder for the making of a further, external electrical connection.

An LED lamp as comprised in the invention may comprise a circuit board having a LED, a cluster of LEDs or an array of LEDs mounted thereto. The circuit board may be interleaved between two insulating layers, which may itself or themselves be mounted tan electrically conductive plate. The conductive plate may be made of any suitably electrically conductive material to which the at least one elongate electrical connector referred to herein may be electrically connected, e.g. by soldering, preferably in the form of an aluminium plate, which has both the ideal conductivity and lightness of weight.

Preferably, the electrically conductive plate of the LED lamp may be shaped so as to intimately fit within the receptacle in the lamp holder, i.e. have a footprint which matches that the receptacle in the lamp holder, including any one or more peripheral recesses that may be comprised therein.

An LED bulb according to the invention comprising a housing, within which a LED lamp assembly according to the second aspect of the invention is locatable, provides an external electrical connection for said lamp assembly; such an arrangement is beneficial as compared to prior art LED bulbs in that at least one elongate electrical connector may be provided, as hereinbefore described, to make said external electrical connection in such a manner so as to ensure that the shortest possible clearance route from the electrical connection point on the LED lamp to the housing would be across the surface of the LED lamp to, up and over the peripheral wall of the LED lamp holder before contact with the housing in the bulb could be made.

Preferably, in a LED bulb according to the invention, a reflector may be further comprised, said reflector preferably being positionable so as to cover the lamp assembly within the housing but to allow light emitted by the LED lamp to be emitted by the bulb.

Preferably, in a LED bulb according to the invention, the housing may comprises a cup-like member. The housing may be made of a thermally conductive material, such as aluminium, which is also electrically conductive, although this will not cause any problem to the LED bulb, even if there should be any slight defect within the insulating layers of the LED lamp, or an ingress of water into the bulb, because of the presence of the lamp holder and the beneficial electrical creepage distance it provides.

Preferably, in a LED bulb according to the invention, a cover may be provided which may be positionable so as to close, and optionally seal, at least a portion of the cup-like member. Said cover may be translucent or opaque and may be patterned or clear, and preferably made of a suitably light transmissive material such as glass or a plastics material.

Most preferably, an LED bulb according to the invention is provided in the form of a driverless, GU1O-type bulb.

For a better understanding, the present invention will be more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings (not to scale) in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a prior art halogen bulb; Figure 2 is a side view of the bulb shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a prior art LED bulb; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a LED lamp holder according to the invention; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a LED lamp assembly according to the invention; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the LED lamp comprised in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a LED bulb according to the invention; and Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the LED bulb of Figure 7 with further components shown.

Figure 4 shows a LED lamp holder 40 adapted for receipt of a LED lamp (not shown in Figure 4) comprising a base 41 from which a peripheral wall 42 upwardly extends (upwardly in the sense of the orientation shown in the figure), which defines a receptacle 43 into which the LED lamp can be received.

Base 41 and peripheral wall 42 are formed as an integral piece, for example by moulding, from a suitably insulating ceramics material. Base 41 is substantially circular in shape and is provided with two peripheral recesses 44, each adapted for receipt of an electrical connector (not shown in Figure 4). As shown, the two recesses 44 are substantially circular in shape and provided in mutually opposed locations on base 41.

Figure 5 shows a LED lamp holder assembly 50 comprising a lamp holder 40 of the type shown in Figure 4 along with a LED lamp 60, of the type shown in Figure 6, located in the receptacle 43 of the holder 40. Lamp holder assembly 50 also comprises two elongate electrical connectors 51, each of which is connectable at one of its ends 52 to lamp 60. Furthermore, each connector 51 extends over the peripheral wall 42 of the holder 40, adjacent to its proximal recess 44, through said recess 44 to an external electrical connection (not shown).

Figure 6 shows a LED lamp 60 formed of a conductive plate 61, formed as an aluminium plate, having an LED 62 mounted on a circuit board 63, which is in electrical contact with the conductive plate 61. As can best be seen in Figure 6, the conductive plate 61 is shaped so as to intimately fit within the receptacle 43 of the lamp holder 40.

An electrical connection can be made to conductive plate, for supply of electricity to LED 62, by means of the two electrical connection points 64, in the form of metallic dots. Multiple LEDs, or clusters of LEDs, can be mounted to the conductive plate in this manner, and connected to mains electricity via these two connection points 64.

Figures 7 and 8 show an LED bulb 70 comprising a housing 71, within which a LED lamp assembly 50 is located. Bulb 70 provides an external electrical connection 72, in the form of a pair of pins (only one of which is shown in Figure 8 however), for said lamp assembly 50. Housing 71 is provided in the form of an aluminium cup-like member.

Bulb 70, as shown in Figure 8, further comprises a reflector 73 positionable so as to cover the lamp assembly 50 within the housing 71 and a cover 74, which is positionable so as to close, and optionally seal, the cup-like member housing 71 below.

The form of LED bulb shown in Figure 7 and 8 is a driverless, GU1O-type bulb which is able to safely operate with an LED lamp of the type produced by Sarnsung as its "AC chip" without the need for any kind of lighting transformer, despite being 240-volt mains powered, safely and efficiently.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A LED lamp holder adapted for receipt of a LED lamp, said lamp holder comprising a base from at least a portion of which a peripheral wall extends, defining a receptacle for said lamp, thereby providing a physical and electrical barrier around said lamp.
2. A LED lamp holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base and the peripheral wall are made of an electrically insulating material.
3. A LED lamp holder as claimed in claim 2 wherein the insulating material is a ceramic material.
4. A LED lamp holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the peripheral wall extends around the entire base.
5. A LED lamp holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the base is substantially circular or elliptical in shape.
6. A LED lamp holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the base is provided with at least one peripheral recess adapted for receipt of an electrical connector.
7. A LED lamp holder as claimed in claim 6 wherein the peripheral wall extending from the base extends around the periphery of the at least one peripheral recess.
8. A LED lamp holder as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the base is provided with two, mutually spaced, peripheral recesses, each adapted for receipt of an electrical connector.
9. A LED lamp assembly comprising a LED lamp holder as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 and a LED lamp locatable in the receptacle in the lamp holder.
10. A LED lamp assembly as claimed in claim 9 further comprising at least one elongate electrical connector, which is electrically connectable at one of its ends to the lamp, and which extends over the peripheral wall of the lamp holder in the region of the at least one peripheral recess, via the at least one peripheral recess, to an external electrical connection.
11. A LED lamp holder as claimed in any of claims 1-8 and a LED lamp assembly as claimed in claims 9-10 wherein the LED lamp comprises a circuit board having a LED mounted thereto.
12. A LED lamp as claimed in claim 11 wherein a cluster or array of LEDs is mounted to the circuit board.
13. A LED lamp as claimed in claim 11 or 12 wherein the circuit board is mounted to an electrically conductive plate.
14. A LED lamp as claimed in claim 13 wherein the electrically conductive plate is an aluminium plate.
15. A LED lamp as claimed in claim 13 or 14 wherein the electrically conductive plate is shaped so as to intimately fit within the receptacle in the lamp holder.
16. Use of a LED lamp holder as claimed in any of claims 1-8 and 11-15 or a LED lamp assembly as claimed in any of claims 9 -15 in a LED bulb.
17. A LED bulb comprising a housing, within which a LED lamp assembly as claimed in any of claims 9-15 is locatable, which provides an external electrical connection for said lamp assembly.
18. A LED bulb as claimed in claim 17 further comprising a reflector positionable so as to cover the lamp assembly within the housing.
19. A LED bulb as claimed in claim 17 or 18 wherein the housing comprises a cup-like member.
20. A LED bulb as claimed in claim 19 further comprising a cover positionable so as to close, and optionally seal, at least a portion of the cup-like member.
21. A LED bulb as claimed in any of claims 17-20 in the form of a driverless, GU1O-type bulb.
22. A LED lamp holder substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.
23. A LED lamp assembly substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
24. A LED bulb substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 7 and S of the accompanying drawings.