JP2000260206A - Manufacture of light-emitting element module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To place along the inside of a complicated-shape light body, and to facilitate manufacturing. SOLUTION: This manufacturing method of a light-emitting element module comprises a first step of forming plural pairs of bus bars 21, 22 from a metal sheet, parallel to each other and connected to each other through connection parts 23, 24 at two points at least; a second step of attaching, at a plurality of specified positions between the bus bars 21, 22 of each pair, light-emitting elements 25 in parallel to their respective corresponding bus bars by caulking or the like; and a third step of cutting off the connection parts 23, 24 between the bus bars 21, 22 of each pair.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light emitting element module used as a light source such as a tail lamp and a stop lamp of an automobile, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a light emitting element module including a plurality of light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes has been used as a light source for a tail lamp, a stop lamp, and the like of an automobile.
Such a light emitting element module is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, a light-emitting element module 1 includes two bus bars arranged in parallel with each other so as to form a pair, that is, an anode bus bar 2 and a cathode bus bar 3, and a plurality of bus bars provided at predetermined intervals between these bus bars. , And a light emitting diode 4.

The anode bus bar 2 and the cathode bus bar 3 are formed by processing a metal plate such as a lead frame, and have fixing portions 2a and 3a to which connection leads of the light emitting diodes 4 are fixed. I have. The light emitting diode 4 has a known configuration, and is configured to emit light of a predetermined frequency by applying a drive voltage between the connection leads. Fixed parts 2a, 3a
Can be electrically connected to each other by caulking or the like.

According to the light emitting element module 1 having such a configuration, the driving voltage is applied between the paired two bus bars 2 and 3, so that each light emitting diode 4 is connected through the connection lead of each light emitting diode 4. Is supplied with a drive voltage,
Each light emitting diode 4 emits light.

Here, when the light emitting element module 1 is mounted on, for example, a tail lamp device of an automobile,
Along the inner surface of the lamp body that constitutes the lamp section, for example, it is arranged in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction. In this case, when the inner surface of the lamp body is a curved surface, since each bus bar 2 and 3 itself has flexibility, the light emitting element module 1
Are arranged along a curved surface inside the lamp body.

[0006]

If the lamp portion of the tail lamp device of an automobile is irregular and has a complicated shape, the inner surface of the lamp body is formed as a complicated curved surface. Become. When the light emitting element module 1 is incorporated into such a lamp body surface, the bus bars 2 and 3 are made of a relatively thick metal plate such as a lead frame. Is difficult to bend.

For example, when there is a step on the inner surface of the lamp so that the light emitting diodes 4 are aligned in the light irradiation direction, the bus bars 2 and 3 themselves need to be bent corresponding to the step. Processing the bus bars 2 and 3 into such a bent shape is possible to some extent, but it is difficult to accurately correspond to the step.

Further, when there are a plurality of the above-mentioned steps in the vertical and horizontal directions, if these steps are arranged at equal intervals in both the vertical and horizontal directions, it is possible to cope to some extent by bending the busbars 2 and 3. Alternatively, when the position of the step is different for each row in the horizontal direction, the light emitting diode cannot be arranged at an appropriate position unless the bent portions of the bus bars 2 and 3 are changed for each row.

In the above-described light-emitting element module, the separately formed bus bars 2 and 3 are arranged in parallel, the light-emitting diode 4 is arranged between them, and the connection leads are connected to the bus bars 2 and 3. Since it is fixed to the fixing portion by caulking or the like, the assembling work is complicated, the assembling efficiency is low, and the cost is high.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a light-emitting element module and a method of manufacturing the same, which can be arranged along the inside of the lamp body having a complicated shape and can be easily manufactured. It is intended to be.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of pairs of busbars are provided from a sheet metal, which are arranged in parallel with each other and connected to each other by connecting portions at at least two points. A first step of molding, and at a plurality of predetermined locations between each pair of bus bars, a second step of assembling the light emitting elements in parallel with the corresponding bus bars by caulking or the like, and coupling between the bus bars. And a third step of cutting the part.

In the first aspect, in the first stage, a plurality of pairs of bus bars are formed by a single punching process or the like, and the formed bus bars are connected to each other via a connecting portion. Thereby, when assembling the light emitting element between each pair of bus bars in the second stage, it is unnecessary to mutually align each pair of bus bars, and a plurality of pairs of bus bars integrally connected to each other by the connecting portion. The light emitting elements can be assembled sequentially or in parallel. Therefore, the efficiency of the light emitting element assembling operation in the second stage is improved, and the assembling cost can be reduced. Furthermore, in the third stage, by cutting each connection, each pair of bus bars can be easily separated from each other.

A manufacturing method according to a second aspect of the present invention is the manufacturing method according to the first aspect, wherein the fourth method comprises bending each of the bus bars into a shape corresponding to the inner surface of the lamp body of the vehicle lamp device to which each bus bar is mounted. Includes stages.

In the second aspect, in the fourth stage, a plurality of pairs of bus bars are bent into a shape corresponding to the inner surface of the lamp body of the vehicle lamp device. In this case, the bus bars are made of a thin metal plate. As a result, the bending can be easily and accurately performed.

[0015] In a manufacturing method according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the manufacturing method according to the second aspect, the fourth step is performed between the second step and the third step.

In the third aspect, since each bus bar is bent before the connecting portion is cut in the third stage, a plurality of pairs of bus bars integrally connected via the connecting portion are simultaneously formed. It can be bent and the production efficiency is improved.

In a manufacturing method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the manufacturing method according to the second aspect, the fourth step is performed after the third step.

In the fourth aspect, since the bending of each bus bar is performed after the cutting of the connecting portion in the third stage, the bending position of each pair of bus bars can be arbitrarily selected. Therefore, even when the lamp body of the vehicle lamp device has a complicated curved surface shape, each pair of busbars is bent at an appropriate bending position to correspond to the inner surface shape of the lamp body. The light emitting element module described above can be configured.

In a manufacturing method according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the manufacturing method according to the second aspect, each bus bar formed in the first stage has a connection terminal at at least one end.

In the fifth aspect, since each bus bar has a connection terminal at at least one end, the power cord can be easily connected to the bus bar for supplying power to each light emitting element.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. still,
Since the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, various technically preferred limitations are added.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a light emitting element module manufactured according to the present invention is assembled to a lamp body of a lamp device of an automobile. In FIG. 1, a lamp device 1 for an automobile
Reference numeral 0 denotes a lamp body 11 and a light emitting element module 12 that is incorporated along the inner surface of the lamp body 11.
Although only one light emitting element module 12 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of light emitting element modules 12 extend in the horizontal direction according to the shape of the inner surface of the lamp body 11. Are arranged in parallel with each other.

The lamp body 11 has a lamp surface formed in an irregular shape, and an inner surface corresponding to the irregular surface has a step portion 11.
It is formed in a complicated shape having a. The light emitting element module 12 is manufactured by a method described below, and includes a pair of bus bars 12a and 12b extending in parallel with each other, and a plurality of light emitting diodes 13 as light emitting elements assembled at predetermined positions between the bus bars 12a and 12b. And is composed of Here, the light emitting diode 13 has a known configuration, and emits light of a predetermined wavelength by a driving voltage applied between the bus bars 12a and 12b. Note that another light emitting element may be used instead of the light emitting diode 13.

Further, the light emitting element module 12 includes:
Each of the bus bars 12a and 12b is a step 1 of the lamp body 11 described above.
1a is bent corresponding to the inner surface having the
Each of the steps 11a is attached with a screw 14, and the light emitting diodes 13 are arranged to face each of the steps 11a.

Here, the light emitting element module 12 is
It is manufactured as follows based on the first embodiment shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, in step ST1, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of pairs of bus bars 21 and 22 are formed by punching or the like using a thin metal plate 20, for example, a phosphor bronze plate plated with nickel. In this case, the bus bars 21 and 22 are integrally connected to each other by connecting portions 23 and 24 at at least two places (both ends in the drawing). Furthermore, each bus bar 21,
2 has connection terminals 21a and 22a at at least one end (the left end in the figure).

Next, in step ST2, as shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined position is set between each pair of bus bars 21 and 22.
The light emitting diodes 25 are respectively assembled. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG.
Light is emitted upward from the upper surface, and connection leads 25a and 25b projecting from both sides from the bottom surface are provided. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, each of the light emitting diodes 25 is positioned at a corresponding predetermined position on the bus bars 21 and 22 by, for example, caulking.
It can be assembled. Thereby, each light emitting diode 25 is mechanically attached to the bus bars 21 and 22 and is electrically connected.

Subsequently, in step ST3, as shown in FIG. 6, each bus bar 21, 22 is formed so as to have a step-like stepped portion corresponding to the shape of the interior surface of the lamp body of the vehicle. At 3, it is bent along a bending line A shown by a dashed line, for example, by bending.

Finally, in step ST4, the connecting portions 23 and 24 are cut along the cutting line indicated by the two-dot chain line B in FIG. Can be manufactured.
In this case, the paired bus bars 21 and 22 are not separated from each other because they are connected by the light emitting diodes 25, respectively.

In the light emitting device module 12 manufactured according to the first embodiment and the lamp device 10 of the automobile on which the light emitting device module is mounted, step S
After the respective bus bars 21 and 22 are bent at T3, the respective bus bars 21 and 22 are separated from the connecting portions 23 and 24 at step ST4, so that a plurality of pairs of the bus bars 21 and 22 are bent. Will be completed at once,
Processing efficiency will be improved.

The bus bars 21 and 22 are
, The bending process will be easily performed, and even if the inner surface of the lamp body of the automobile lamp device has a complicated shape, it will be bent exactly in accordance with the inner surface shape of the lamp body. Can be performed.

Further, the light emitting element module 12 includes:
At one end of the pair of bus bars 12a, 12b (21, 22), a connection terminal 2 formed integrally with the bus bars 21, 22 is provided.
Since the light emitting element modules 1a and 22a are provided, the power cord for applying the driving voltage to the light emitting element module 12 can be easily connected when the light emitting element module 12 is mounted in the lamp body of the vehicle.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a second embodiment of the method for manufacturing a light emitting device module according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, step ST11 and step ST12 correspond to step ST1 and step ST12 in the flowchart of the first embodiment (see FIG. 7).
2 and the description is omitted.

Then, in step ST13, the connecting portions 23 and 24 are cut along the cutting line indicated by the two-dot chain line B in FIG. 3 to separate the bus bars 21 and 22. In this case, the paired bus bars 21 and 22 are not separated from each other because they are connected by the light emitting diodes 25, respectively.

Thereafter, in step ST14, each pair of bus bars 21 and 22 has a step-like stepped portion corresponding to the shape of the interior surface of the lamp device of the vehicle.
Along the bending line A shown by a dashed line in FIG. 3 or corresponding to the complicated shape of the inner surface of the lamp body of the modified lamp device,
A plurality of light emitting element modules 12 can be manufactured at different positions, for example, by bending.

In the light emitting device module 12 manufactured according to the second embodiment and the lamp device 10 of an automobile on which the light emitting device module is mounted, step S
After the respective bus bars 21 and 22 are separated from the connecting portions 23 and 24 at T13, the respective bus bars 2 and 22 are separated at step ST14.
Since the bending process of the pair of bus bars 21 and 22 is performed at different positions, the lamp body of the lamp device having a complicated curved surface shape is set. It is possible to correspond to the shape of the surface, and each pair of the bus bars 21 and 22 can be bent in accordance with the inner surface shape of the lamp body.

In the embodiment described above, the light emitting diode 25 is used as the light emitting element. However, the light emitting element is not limited to this, and may be another type of light emitting element. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the light emitting diode 25 has the two connection terminals 25a and 25b, but the light emitting element having the three connection terminals used in the conventional example of FIG. 9 may be used. Good. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the phosphor bronze plate plated with nickel is used as the thin metal plate constituting the bus bars 12a, 12b, 21, 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is not limited to this. Obviously, other metal sheets may be used if the bending is easy. In the above-described embodiment, the light-emitting element module 12 is mounted in the lamp body as a light source of a lamp device of an automobile. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used as another type of light source. It is possible.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the first stage, a plurality of pairs of bus bars are formed by a single punching process or the like, and the formed bus bars are connected to each other. Are connected via Thereby, when assembling the light emitting element between each pair of bus bars in the second stage, it is unnecessary to mutually align each pair of bus bars, and a plurality of pairs of bus bars integrally connected to each other by the connecting portion. The light emitting elements can be assembled sequentially or in parallel. Therefore, the efficiency of the light emitting element assembling work in the second stage is improved,
Assembly costs can be reduced. Further, in the third stage, by cutting each connection, each pair of bus bars can be easily separated from each other. As described above, according to the present invention, an extremely excellent light emitting element module and a method for manufacturing the same, which can be arranged along the inside of the lamp body having a complicated shape and can be easily manufactured, are provided. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lamp device for an automobile incorporating a light emitting element module manufactured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a plurality of pairs of bus bars punched from a thin metal plate in a method for manufacturing a light emitting element module according to the present invention.

3 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which light emitting diodes are assembled between a pair of bus bars with respect to the plurality of pairs of bus bars of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the light emitting diode assembled in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged plan view showing the paired bus bars of FIG. 3 and the light emitting diodes assembled therebetween.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which each pair of bus bars of FIG. 3 is bent.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a method for manufacturing a light emitting element module according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a method for manufacturing a light emitting element module according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a conventional light emitting element module.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lamp apparatus 11 Automotive body 11a Step 12 Light emitting element module 12a, 12b Bus bar 13 Light emitting diode 14 Screw 20 Metal thin plate 21, 22 Bus bar 21a, 22a Connection terminal 23, 24 Connection part 25 Light emitting diode 25a, 25b Connection lead

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first step of forming a plurality of pairs of bus bars, which are arranged in parallel from each other and connected to each other by at least two connecting portions, from a sheet metal, and a plurality of predetermined portions between each pair of bus bars. And a third step of assembling the light emitting elements in parallel to the corresponding bus bars by caulking or the like, and a third step of cutting a connecting portion between the bus bars. , A method of manufacturing a light emitting element module. 2. The light emitting device module according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth step of bending the lamp into a shape corresponding to the inner surface of the lamp body of the vehicle to which each bus bar is mounted. Manufacturing method. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the fourth step is performed between the second step and the third step. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the fourth step is performed after the third step. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein each bus bar formed in the first step has a connection terminal at least at one end.