JP5384991B2 - Water-cooled LED lighting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water-cooled LED lighting apparatus in which a light source unit is forcibly water-cooled and a housing for housing the light source unit is forcibly air-cooled.

  In recent years, lighting devices such as vehicular headlamps and outdoor lighting lamps have been changed from those using a high-intensity lamp such as a xenon lamp or sodium lamp as a light source to those using a long-life and low-power consumption LED as a light source. Replacement is progressing, and higher output is desired for LED lighting devices using LEDs as light sources.

  By the way, currently popular xenon lamps have a large output of about 200 W to 2000 W, and the power input to the LED lighting device as a substitute for this tends to increase. Recently, the power input to one LED lighting device is increasing. The thing whose electric power exceeds 200W has been developed.

  Since the amount of heat generated by the LED light source unit increases as the power of the LED lighting device increases, a cooling structure for driving the LED light source whose lifetime and output change depending on the temperature stably at a lower temperature. Has become an important development issue. As its cooling structure, for example, in Patent Document 1, the LED mounting substrate is pressed and fixed to a metal heat dissipation fixing plate by a metal heat dissipation cover, and the heat dissipation fixing plate to which the LED mounting substrate is fixed is referred to as a translucent cover. The structure which arrange | positions in the sealed space formed of the resin case, and forms a some heat radiating fin in the heat radiating fixed plate is proposed. In this configuration, heat generated by the LED light source is conducted to the heat radiating fixing plate via the LED mounting substrate, and also conducted to the heat radiating fixing plate via the heat radiating cover, and the heat conducted to the heat radiating fixing plate is radiated. The LED light source is cooled because it is diffused from the fins through the resin case to the atmosphere.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an LED as a light source, a heat sink capable of air-cooling or cooling the LED, a light-emitting circuit that applies a current for causing the LED to emit light, and a water droplet that detects that the lighting device is in water. In a lighting device equipped with a sensor, when the water drop sensor detects that the lighting device is not in water, the light emitting circuit limits the current supplied to the LED to prevent overheating of the LED, and the lighting device is in water A configuration has been proposed in which a light emitting circuit supplies a high current to an LED to increase the light emission luminance of the LED.

JP 2002-299700 A JP 2003-047914 A

  However, the natural heat dissipation structure proposed in Patent Document 1 cannot be expected to have a high cooling effect, and there is a limit to cope with further higher output.

  Further, in the configuration proposed in Patent Document 2, a high current is supplied to the LED only when the lighting device is in water, and when the lighting device is not in water, it is necessary to rely on heat dissipation by natural cooling. However, there is a problem that a high current cannot be supplied to the LED.

  Furthermore, the housing that houses the light source unit that is a heat source and the control circuit unit that controls the lighting is made of a resin such as a PC or a metal such as aluminum. It needs to be cooled.

  However, in the conventional lighting device, the housing is cooled only by natural heat dissipation, and the actual situation is that a structure for forcibly cooling the housing to suppress the temperature rise is not adopted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems and circumstances, and the purpose of the process is to forcibly water-cool the light source unit and forcibly air-cool the housing that houses the light source unit to increase output and improve durability. An object of the present invention is to provide a water-cooled LED lighting device capable of achieving the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1
A housing;
A light source unit using an LED as a light source;
A water cooling unit comprising a water cooling jacket, a radiator, a circulation pump and a fan;
A control circuit unit for controlling the lighting of the light source unit;
In a water-cooled LED lighting device comprising:
The light source unit and the control circuit unit are arranged on both sides of a water cooling jacket of the water cooling unit,
One surface of the control circuit unit is in close contact with the water cooling jacket, and a heat radiating portion is provided on the other surface,
Within said housing, said light source unit, to form a space between them and at least a radiator and fan and arranged at a predetermined distance of the water-cooling unit, the inlet and exhaust ports in the housing in the direction perpendicular to the axis A part of the cooling air that is formed and sucked into the housing from the air inlet by the fan flows along the inner surface of the housing, and the cooling air is passed through the space and the radiator to pass through the housing from the exhaust port. It is characterized by being configured to discharge to the outside.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the air inlet is formed on the peripheral surface of the housing, and the exhaust port is formed on an end surface of the housing opposite to the light emitting direction from the LED. And a radiator and a fan of the water cooling unit are arranged in the vicinity of the exhaust port.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, an air passage along the inner surface of the housing is formed inside the housing.

  According to the present invention, in the water cooling unit, the cooling water circulates in the closed loop by the circulation pump, the light source unit is forcibly cooled by the cooling water flowing through the water cooling jacket, and the cooling air introduced into the housing from the intake port by the fan. Since a part of the airflow flows along the inner surface of the housing to forcibly cool the housing, the temperature rise of the light source unit is suppressed, the output of the water-cooled LED lighting device is increased, and the temperature of the housing is also increased. It is suppressed and the durability is improved. The cooling water, which has received heat from the light source unit in the water cooling jacket and has risen in temperature, is cooled by heat exchange with the cooling air that is introduced into the housing and passes through the radiator, and is then supplied to the water cooling jacket to be supplied to the light cooling unit. When the cooling water is circulated in the closed loop and repeatedly cooled and dissipated in this way, the light source unit is continuously forced-water cooled to suppress the temperature rise.

1 is a perspective view of a water-cooled LED lighting device according to the present invention. It is a figure of the arrow A direction of FIG. It is a figure of the arrow B direction of FIG. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the EE sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a water-cooled LED lighting device according to the present invention. It is a basic lineblock diagram of the water cooling unit of the water cooling type LED lighting device concerning the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a perspective view of a water-cooled LED lighting device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of arrow B in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 3, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the water-cooled LED lighting device according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a basic configuration diagram of a water cooling unit of the water-cooled LED lighting device.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the water-cooled LED lighting device 1 according to the present invention is configured by incorporating a light source unit 3, a control circuit unit 4, and a water-cooling unit 5 inside a rectangular box-shaped housing 2. . In addition, the upper and lower sides of the water-cooled LED lighting device 1 in the following description are in the state shown in FIG. 1, and the installation of the water-cooled LED lighting device 1 is not necessarily performed in the state shown in FIG.

  The housing 2 is made of a resin such as PC or a metal such as aluminum. As shown in FIG. 1, an intake port 6 made of a plurality of longitudinally long slits is formed on the peripheral surface of the housing 2. A plurality of fan-shaped slits are formed on the surface perpendicular to the opening 6, that is, on the upper surface that is the end surface in the direction opposite to the light emission direction from the light source unit 3 (downward in FIG. 1) An exhaust port 7 is formed. The lower surface of the housing 2 is open, and the light source unit 3 is fitted and fixed in the opening. Note that the heat generated in the light source unit 3 can be efficiently radiated through the housing 2 by fixing the housing 2 to the light source unit 3 in close contact or by configuring the housing 2 with a metal or a highly heat conductive resin material. it can.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the light source unit 3 includes a plurality (9 in the illustrated example) of metal substrates 9 on which LEDs 8 (see FIG. 8) as light sources are mounted, and these metal substrates 9. A rectangular plate-like base 10 to be attached and a rectangular plate-like transparent resin lens 11 fitted into the lower surface opening of the housing 2 are included. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 12 denotes a cable connector.

  In the present embodiment, the nine metal substrates 9 on which the LEDs 8 are mounted are arranged in a matrix of three rows and columns, and correspondingly, the base 10 made of aluminum die-casting also has the same number of pedestals as the LEDs 8. 10a (refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6) is integrally projected in a matrix form of three rows. Each metal substrate 9 is fixed to each pedestal 10a of the base 10 with screws through a rectangular heat conductive sheet 13. In addition, each heat conductive sheet 13 is comprised with the silicon | silicone etc. with insulation and high heat conductivity.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the control circuit unit 4 incorporates a circuit board 15 on which various electronic components (not shown) are mounted inside a rectangular box-shaped circuit case 14 whose bottom surface is open. The lower surface opening is covered with a rectangular plate-shaped cover 16. Here, the circuit case 14 is formed by aluminum die casting or the like having a high thermal conductivity, and a large number of heat radiation pins 17 constituting a heat radiation portion are integrally projected on the upper surface thereof. A circuit board 15 is in close contact with the inner upper surface of the circuit case 14 via a rectangular heat conductive sheet 18 made of silicon or the like having high insulation and thermal conductivity. Note that an O-ring 19 is interposed at the joint between the circuit case 14 and the cover 16, and the inside of the circuit case 14 is sealed by the sealing action of the O-ring 19, and water or the like from the outside into the circuit case 14. Intrusion is prevented.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, the water cooling unit 5 includes a water cooling jacket 20 that is a heat exchanger, and heat of the cooling water that has received heat in the water cooling jacket 20 and is heated to the outside air (cooling air). A radiator 21 for cooling by replacement, a fan 22 for supplying cooling air to the radiator 21, a circulation pump 23 for circulating the cooling water in a closed loop circulation path, and a reserve tank 24 for storing the cooling water. 22 is disposed above the radiator 21 so as to face it. Here, the intake port 6 formed in the housing 2 is arranged below the radiator 21 in the figure (the radiator 21 is arranged above the upper end of the intake port 6), and the exhaust port 7 Is arranged above the radiator 21 in the figure.

By the way, the water cooling jacket 20 is formed in a hollow rectangular plate shape, and a cooling water passage is formed therein as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, an inlet pipe 25 into which cooling water cooled by heat exchange with outside air (cooling air) in the radiator 21 flows on one end of the cooling jacket 20 , and the water cooling An outlet pipe 26 is provided to discharge the cooling water whose temperature has been increased by receiving heat in the jacket 20.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the water cooling jacket 20 is horizontally disposed at the bottom of the lower portion in the housing 2, and the water cooling jacket 20 is sandwiched and controlled up and down. A circuit unit 4 and a light source unit 3 are arranged. Here, the light source unit 3 disposed on the lower surface side of the water cooling jacket 20 has its base 10 in close contact with the lower surface of the water cooling jacket 20 via a rectangular heat conduction sheet 27. In the present embodiment, the heat conductive sheet 27 is made of silicon or the like having high insulation and thermal conductivity.

  The control circuit unit 4 is arranged on the upper surface side of the water cooling jacket 20 with the cover 16 being in close contact with the upper surface of the water cooling jacket 20. In this embodiment, an antifreeze liquid obtained by mixing water with propylene glycol is used as the cooling water.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the radiator 21 and the fan 22 are disposed in the vicinity of the upper exhaust port 7 spaced apart from the water cooling jacket 20 in the housing 2 by a predetermined distance. A space S is formed between the radiator 21 and an air passage S <b> 1 along the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the housing 2. The control circuit unit 4, the circulation pump 23 and the reserve tank 24 are arranged in the space S in the housing 2. Specifically, a gate-shaped chassis 28 is erected on the water cooling jacket 20, and the control circuit unit 4 is disposed in a space surrounded by the chassis 28, and the circulation pump 23 and the reserve tank 24 are disposed on the chassis 28. Is installed.

  Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer diameter of the intake port 6 is set larger than the outer diameter of the fan 22, and the outer diameter of the radiator 21 is about 2 times the outer diameter of the fan 22. It is set to double the size. The surface area of the housing 2 is set to about twice the surface area of the radiator 21.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, a pipe (rubber hose) 29 rising upward from the outlet pipe 26 of the water cooling jacket 20 is connected to the inlet pipe 30 of the radiator 21 and extends from the outlet pipe 31 of the radiator 21. The pipe (rubber hose) 32 extends downward and is bent at a substantially right angle and connected to the suction side of the circulation pump 23. A pipe (rubber hose) 33 extending from the discharge side of the circulation pump 23 is connected to the inlet side of the reserve tank 24 as shown in FIG. 8, and a pipe (rubber hose) 34 extending downward from the outlet side of the reserve tank 24. Is connected to the inlet pipe 25 of the water cooling jacket 20. Thus, the water cooling jacket 20, the radiator 21, the circulation pump 23, and the reserve tank 24 are connected by the pipes (rubber hoses) 29, 32 to 34 to form a circulation path that forms an open loop. Circulation provides the required cooling action.

  Thus, when the water-cooled LED lighting device 1 configured as described above is activated and power is supplied to the light source unit 3, the control circuit unit 4, and the water-cooled unit 5, a plurality of light source units 3 (this embodiment) Nine LEDs 8 in the form emit light, and the light passes through the lens 11 and is irradiated downward in FIG. 1 to illuminate the front, but the lighting control of the light source unit 3 is controlled by the control circuit unit 4 During operation, the LED 8 of the light source unit 3 and various electronic components (not shown) of the control circuit unit 4 generate heat, and the light source unit 3 and the control circuit unit 4 and the housing 2 that accommodates them are overheated as they are. The temperature rises.

  However, in this embodiment, the water cooling unit 5 is driven simultaneously, and the light source unit 3 and the control circuit unit 4 are forcibly cooled by the cooling water circulating in the circulation path shown in FIG. In addition to being suppressed, the fan 2 is forced to air-cool by a part of the cooling air introduced into the housing 2 from the air inlet 6 of the housing 2 and the temperature rise is suppressed.

  That is, the cooling water circulating through the circulation path by the circulation pump 23 receives the heat generated in the light source unit 3 and the control circuit unit 4 in the water cooling jacket 20 to cool the light source unit 3 and the control circuit unit 4 and receive the heat. The cooling water whose temperature has been increased is introduced into the radiator 21 through the pipe 29.

  On the other hand, when the fan 22 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), the outside air is sucked from the side as the cooling air from the intake port 6 formed in the peripheral surface of the housing 2, and a part of this cooling air is supplied. As shown by arrows in FIGS. 4 and 6, the housing 2 is forcibly air-cooled by flowing through the air passage S <b> 1 formed along the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the housing 2, thereby suppressing the temperature rise.

  Further, the cooling air introduced into the housing 2 (including the cooling air that has cooled the housing 2) is formed between the water cooling jacket 20 and the radiator 21, as indicated by arrows in FIGS. It flows through the space S upward, passes through the radiator 21 in the process, and is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 7 that opens in the upper surface of the housing 2. In the radiator 21, the heat of the cooling water is radiated to the outside by the cooling air passing through the radiator 21 to cool the cooling water, and the cooling liquid water whose temperature has decreased is sucked into the circulation pump 23 through the pipe 32. Is done.

The cooling water sucked into the circulation pump 23 is boosted and then sent out from the circulation pump 23 through the pipe 33 to the reserve tank 24, a part of which is stored in the reserve tank 24, and the remaining cooling water is stored in the reserve tank 24. Is introduced into the water-cooling jacket 20 through the pipe 34 and used for cooling the light source unit 3 and the control circuit unit 3. Then, the above action (cooling cycle) is continuously repeated, and the light source unit 3 and the control circuit unit 4 are forcibly cooled by the cooling water flowing through the water cooling jacket 20, and their temperature rise is suppressed to a certain value or less. The housing 2 is forcibly air-cooled by a part of the cooling air, and the temperature rise is suppressed to a certain value or less.
Thus, in the present embodiment, in the water cooling unit 5, the cooling water circulates in the closed loop by the circulation pump 23, and the light source unit 3 is forcibly cooled by the cooling water flowing through the water cooling jacket 20. The rise is suppressed, and high output of the water-cooled LED lighting device 1 is realized.

  In addition, a part of the cooling air introduced into the housing 2 from the air inlet 6 by the fan 22 flows through the air passage S1 formed along the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the housing 2 to forcibly cool the housing 2, so that the housing The temperature rise of 2 is also suppressed and the durability is improved. The size of the air passage S1 is preferably 0.3 to 1 times, particularly preferably 0.4 to 0.6 times the opening diameter of the blade portion of the fan 22. With this setting, the cooling air flowing through the air passage S1 can easily enter smoothly, and when the size of the air passage S1 is set larger than the above value, the flow rate of the cooling air reaching the radiator 21 is reduced. In particular, in the present embodiment, the cooling performance can be improved by using the housing 2 like a duct to efficiently guide the cooling air to the radiator 21 and increase the air speed in the radiator 21.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the lower surface of the control circuit unit 4 is brought into close contact with the water cooling jacket 20, and a large number of radiating pins 17 constituting the heat radiating portion are provided on the upper surface, so that the control circuit unit 4 is forcibly cooled by the cooling water. At the same time, since heat is naturally radiated from the heat radiating pins 17, the control circuit unit 4 is efficiently cooled, and the temperature rise is more effectively suppressed.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, since the entire surface of the light source unit 3 is in close contact with the lower surface of the water cooling jacket 20 via the heat conductive sheet 27 having a high thermal conductivity, the entire surface of the light source unit 3 serves as a heat transfer surface. The light source unit 3 is efficiently cooled by the cooling water flowing through the cooling jacket 20. For this reason, it is difficult to bring the entire surface of the light source unit 3 into close contact with the water cooling jacket 20 without using the heat conductive sheet 27. In fact, the light source unit 3 is only partially in contact with the water cooling jacket 20. It is impossible to increase efficiency.

  In the present embodiment, since the control circuit unit 4 is arranged in the space S formed between the water cooling jacket 20 and the radiator 21 of the water cooling unit 5, the cooling air introduced into the housing 2 by the fan 22 is By flowing through the space S, the control circuit unit 4 is forcibly cooled by air, and the control circuit unit 4 that is forcibly cooled also by cooling water is cooled more efficiently, and the temperature rise can be effectively suppressed.

  A rectifying plate may be provided on the housing 2 or the chassis 28 to provide an air passage that actively sends cooling air. In particular, the flow of the cooling air to the radiator 21 can be made smooth, and the cooling speed can be increased by increasing the wind speed of the cooling air passing through the radiator 21.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water-cooled type LED lighting apparatus 2 Housing 3 Light source unit 4 Control circuit unit 5 Water-cooled unit 6 Intake port 7 Exhaust port 8 LED
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Metal board 10 Base 10a Base 11 Lens 12 Cable connector 13 Thermal conduction sheet 14 Circuit case 15 Circuit board 16 Cover 17 Radiation pin 18 Thermal conduction sheet 19 O-ring 20 Water cooling jacket 21 Radiator 22 Fan 23 Circulation pump 24 Reserve tank 25 Water cooling jacket inlet pipe 26 Water cooling jacket outlet pipe 27 Heat conduction sheet 28 Chassis 29 Piping (rubber hose)
30 Radiator inlet pipe 31 Radiator outlet pipe 32-34 Piping (rubber hose)
S space part S1 wind path

Claims (3)

A housing;
A light source unit using an LED as a light source;
A water cooling unit comprising a water cooling jacket, a radiator, a circulation pump and a fan;
A control circuit unit for controlling the lighting of the light source unit;
In a water-cooled LED lighting device comprising:
The light source unit and the control circuit unit are arranged on both sides of a water cooling jacket of the water cooling unit,
One surface of the control circuit unit is in close contact with the water cooling jacket, and a heat radiating portion is provided on the other surface,
Within said housing, said light source unit, to form a space between them and at least a radiator and fan and arranged at a predetermined distance of the water-cooling unit, the inlet and exhaust ports in the housing in the direction perpendicular to the axis A part of the cooling air that is formed and sucked into the housing from the air inlet by the fan flows along the inner surface of the housing, and the cooling air is passed through the space and the radiator to pass through the housing from the exhaust port. A water-cooled LED lighting device, characterized in that it is configured to be discharged outside.
  The air inlet is formed on the peripheral surface of the housing, the exhaust port is formed on the end surface of the housing opposite to the direction of light emission from the LED, and the radiator of the water cooling unit is formed in the vicinity of the exhaust port. The water-cooled LED lighting device according to claim 1, wherein a fan is disposed.   The water-cooled LED lighting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an air passage along an inner surface of the housing is formed inside the housing.

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