KR100893033B1 - Led electro-optically assembly and method of forming the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a high power LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly 40 that includes a conductive heat sink 18 and an LED 14 mounted at one end of the conductive heat sink. The LED 14 is in electrical coupling with a conductive heat sink 18. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly 40 also includes a conductive reflector 12 mounted to the other end of the conductive heat sink. The insulating member 19 is provided between the conductive reflector and the conductive heat sink. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly 40 also extends through the conductive reflector 12, and electrically conducts the conductive adhesive pin 15 to the LED 14 with a conductive adhesive pin 15 that forms a conductive bond with the conductive reflector. It also includes an electrical coupling 16 for coupling to. Finally, an LED electro-optic retention assembly 30 is applied to the LED electro-optical assembly in which the sleeve 32 is coated with an electrical insulator.

Conductive Heat Sink, LED, Conductive Reflector, Conductive Adhesive Pins, Electrical Bond

Description

LED ELECTRO-OPTICALLY ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to light emitting diode ("LED") technology, and more particularly to an LED assembly that is enhanced to provide a desired light output for various light applications.

LED assemblies are known and commercially available. Such assemblies are typically used in a variety of applications for ultraviolet radiation, for example used to effect curing of photoinitiated adhesives and coating compositions.

Several factors affect the fabrication of LED assemblies. One is the control of the high current supplied to the LEDs to provide a stable and reliable UV source. Another is the placement of the lens to hold the output lens in place. In addition, the means for providing the passage for electric conduction needs to supply a control unit for the LED. As the current into the LEDs increases, the need for high current, high stability electrical contacts is essential. In addition, reflectors are often needed to form light rays that emit from the LEDs. In addition, a cooling system is required to handle the heat coming from the assembly. At present, the available LEDs cannot adequately provide all these requirements.

At present, manufacturers provide a wide range of LED assemblies of various types. Such LED assemblies range from conventional LED lamps to LEDs using emitter chips of various sizes. While many known LED assemblies produce high light output, they produce very scattered wide-angle beams that are difficult to obtain effective collimation and beam imaging in practical applications such as flashlights. As a result, a large amount of output energy is lost by leaking from the side of the LED assembly.

In addition, the light emitted from the LED assembly is typically unevenly distributed. The shape of the light emitting chip is projected onto the target as a high intensity region. Reflected light from the electrode and the wall due to the unpredictable light pattern is superimposed on the main beam. As a result, undesirable hot spots and shadows appear on the object being irradiated. Thus, for any light application requiring substantially even or uniform light distribution over a given area, a transmissive or partial diffuser is used to disperse the light emitted from each individual LED assembly so that hot spots and shadows are illuminated. It must not appear on the object to be However, while the diffuser removes hot spots and shadows, it is important that the "directionality" or geometry of the light beams emitted from the individual LED assemblies is not degraded or reduced.

In order to overcome these above mentioned disadvantages of known light sources, there is a need to provide LED curing lamp assemblies that have a flexible design and are easy to manufacture and reduce assembly costs.

In one embodiment of the invention, at least one LED, a conductive heat sink mounted in electrical coupling with the LED at one end, and a conductive reflector mounted at the one end of the conductive heat sink and surrounding the LED; An insulating member that electrically insulates the conductive reflector from the conductive heat sink, a conductive adhesive pin that forms a conductive coupling with the conductive reflector and extends through the conductive reflector, and an electrical coupling unit coupling the adhesive pin to the LED; Wherein the conductive heat sink and the conductive reflector form an electrically conductive location for powering the LED.
In another embodiment of the present invention, an LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly is disclosed having a generally cylindrical sleeve coated with electrical insulation. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly is divided into upper and lower parts, and the upper and lower parts are separated by an insulating member. At least one LED and a conductive reflector are mounted on top, and the conductive reflector surrounds the LED. A conductive heat sink is mounted on the bottom and is in electrical coupling with the LED. In addition, the conductive adhesive pin extends through the conductive reflector and is in a conductive bond with the conductive reflector. The electrical coupling causes the conductive adhesive pin to electrically couple to the LED, and the conductive heat sink and conductive reflector form an electrically conductive location for supplying power to the LED.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of attaching at least one LED to a conductive heat sink to be conductive, enclosing the LED with a conductive reflector comprising an adhesive pin extending therethrough, and attaching the adhesive pin to the LED. A method is provided for forming an LED electro-optical assembly, comprising electrically coupling to a.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, an LED electro-optic retention assembly, having a top and bottom, comprising a cylindrical sleeve coated with an electrical insulator, and at least one passage located at the top for insertion of an adhesive, wherein the top An LED electro-optic retention assembly is provided that is modified to hold an LED electro-optical system.

1 is a schematic diagram of an LED electro-optical assembly of the present invention.

2 is a schematic diagram of an LED optical conversion assembly using the LED electro-optical assembly of FIG.

3 is a schematic diagram of an LED electro-optic retention assembly of the present invention.

4 is a schematic diagram of an LED electro-optical electrical sleeve assembly of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the present invention, a schematic diagram of an LED electro-optical assembly 10, such as an LED light shaping contact assembly, is shown. The LED electro-optical assembly 10 is a compact means that provides a method of simultaneously contacting an LED to electrical contacts and forming light rays exiting the LED as described later. The LED electro-optical assembly 10 is divided into two contacts made of metal, namely an electrode, an upper electrode 10a and a lower electrode 10b. The upper electrode 10a comprises a conductive reflector 12, such as a metal reflector, preferably made of aluminum. Conductive reflector 12 is pressed into upper electrode 10a to form a conductor reflector assembly. Conductive reflector 12 may be curved and generally serve to collimate and direct LED light towards the lens, as described in more detail below. In a preferred embodiment, the conductive reflector 12 may be elliptical. The LED 14 is mounted in the upper electrode 10a, preferably centered, and partially or completely surrounded by the conductive reflector 12. The LED 14 is also electrically insulated from the conductive reflector 12. Since the metal is an electrical conductor, both the conductive reflector 12 and the upper electrode 10a provide an electrical transmission path away from the LED 14. A conductive adhesive pin 15, such as a conductive metal pin, preferably coated with gold, is pressed into the LED electro-optical assembly 10 in the upper electrode 10a as shown in FIG. Electrical couplings, such as gold wire or wire 16, extend from the top electrode 10a to the LEDs 14. One end of the gold wire 16 is soldered to the conductive adhesive pin 15 and the other end is welded to the top surface of the LED 14 to electrically couple the conductive adhesive pin 15 to the LED 14. The electrical bond is a wire jumper that interconnects the conductive adhesive pin 15 to the LED 14.

When current flows through the chips of the individual LED 14 assemblies, both light and heat are generated. Increasing current through the chip raises the light output, but increased current flow also raises the chip temperature of the individual LED assemblies. This increase in temperature lowers the chip's efficiency. Overheating is a major cause of breakage of individual LED assemblies. To ensure safe operation, as a result of light output, some other means must be provided to keep the current at a low level or to transfer heat away from the chip of the individual LED assembly. Therefore, the bottom electrode 10b may also be formed by a conductive heat sink 18 that serves to transfer heat away from the LED 14. An example of a conductive heat sink 18 is a heat pipe. The upper electrode 10a and the lower electrode 10b are held together by an insulating member 19 such as a nonconductive adhesive. The LED 14 is disposed in the LED electro-optical assembly 10 in such a way that the bottom surface is glued or soldered to the conductive heat sink 18 through the insulating member 19. To enable electrical connection via the LED 14, a voltage is applied to both the upper and lower electrodes 10a and 10b, respectively. This causes the conductive heat sink 18 to absorb heat and the curved surface of the conductive reflector 12 forms light from the LEDs 14 in a predetermined pattern. Although only a single LED 14 is shown in FIG. 1, it is to be understood that multiple LEDs can be used in the LED electro-optical assembly 10.

By providing one of the top electrode 10a coupled with the conductive reflector and the other bottom electrode 10b coupled with the conductive heat sink, the LED electro-optical assembly 10 is easy to manufacture, the assembly cost is reduced, and the final Assembly is simplified. Moreover, the LED electro-optical assembly 10 allows scaling up to multiple LEDs in the assembly without further adding significant complexity.

To further illustrate the operation of the entire optical assembly, FIGS. 2A-2C show an exemplary light diagram for a single LED assembly. Those skilled in the art will understand that similar light diagrams are produced when the LEDs 14 of a single LED assembly are replaced with multiple LEDs 14.

2A-2C illustrate an LED optical conversion assembly 20 using the LED electro-optical assembly 10 of FIG. 1 combined with a compact optical element to form a complete light beam forming system. do. The optical element includes a lens 22 (ie, an optical lens member) that directs light generated by the LED 14 to a predetermined position by focusing the light at a predetermined spot size by collimating the light. The lens 22 is precisely attached or molded into the assembly so that it is centered in the collimated beam. The shape and / or size of the lens 22 can be changed to form a conical beam of light emitted from the LED to provide the desired optical illumination pattern.

The act of collecting to one point of the lens 22 depends on both the radius of the lens 22 and the position of the lens 22 with respect to the individual LED optical conversion assembly 20. Both the radius and position of the lens 22 can be formed during the design process to optimize irradiation of the object. The ability to precisely position and fix the lens 22 is an important concept for the application. Lens 22 needs to be positioned at the correct distance from LED 14 to achieve the desired light output.

In Fig. 2A, the ball lens 22a is partially located in the conductive reflector 12 of the upper electrode 10a. Although the ball lens 22a is shown in the present invention, it can be appreciated that other shaped lenses can be selected. The lens can be changed according to a predetermined output. In the present invention, the ball lens 22a is selected to produce the maximum optical power density at the available LED output. The LED output is concentrated at a predetermined spot outside the ball lens 22a. If a collimation beam is required, it is preferable to use a half ball lens 22b as shown in Fig. 2B or a parabolic lens 22c as shown in Fig. 2C. The half ball lens 22b of FIG. 2B is positioned in such a way that a part of the half ball lens is located in the conductive reflector 12 and the other part is located outside of the LED optical conversion assembly 20. This positioning of the half ball lens 22b, as shown in Fig. 2B, radiates a wider light pattern to illuminate a larger area on the workpiece. On the other hand, the parabolic lens 22c is positioned completely outside of the conductive reflector 12 and / or the LED optical conversion assembly 20, as shown in Fig. 2C. This positioning of the parabolic lens 22c of FIG. 2 (c) emits a narrower light pattern than the area of FIG. 2 (b) to irradiate a specific area on the workpiece. This method provides a rigid assembly that can be manufactured precisely and quickly. The size of the LED light shaping contact assembly, other lenses 22 can be varied as desired, and the distance and position between the LEDs 14 and the lens 22 can be varied over a wide range of optical components while reducing cost and complexity of the finished assembly. It can be changed to accommodate.

The number of LED assemblies used determines the size of the LED array and the desired output intensity. The end user can easily increase or decrease the output intensity by adding an LED assembly to or removing the LED assembly from the LED array. In addition, a user can change the operating wavelength of the assembly by replacing one or more LED assemblies having a first operating wavelength with one or more replacement assemblies having a second wavelength. In addition, the user can replace a damaged or stopped LED assembly without replacing the total LED arrangement.

With regard to the optical characteristics of each of the LED electro-optical assembly 10 and the LED optical conversion assembly 20, the LED 14 emits radiated light at a given light power and at a given optical wavelength. Exemplary LED 14 according to the present invention preferably emits optical power greater than 500 mw at 405 nm. When the LED 14 is placed at a predetermined position in the reflective cavity, the reflective cavity collimates most of the emitted light emitted by the LED 14. Parabolic conductive reflector 12 represents an exemplary reflective cavity that collimates most of the light when LED 14 is placed at or near the focal point of elliptical conductive reflector 12 as shown in FIG. . Those skilled in the art will understand that the collimation means of the present invention is not limited to elliptical conductive reflector 12. Other LED collimation means known to those skilled in the art may also be practiced in the present invention.

Preferably, to manufacture a compact optical assembly, such as an LED optical assembly, it is necessary to have means for holding the output optics in place and providing a passage for electrical conduction. One such means is an LED electro-optic retention assembly 30, such as the electrical sleeve assembly shown in FIG. The LED electro-optic retention assembly 30 is preferably conducted with an aluminum alloy comprising an overall cylindrical sleeve 32 which is preferably made of aluminum coated with an electrical insulator 34 such as a nonconductive adhesive. As described in more detail below, the exterior of the sleeve 32 is masked to be in contact with the external electrical connection. FIG. 3 shows a cutaway view of an LED electro-optic retention assembly 30 having a slot 36 (ie, a passage) on top. These slots 36 are preferably machined into the sleeve after the sleeve 32 is coated. Since the slot 36 now allows the LED electro-optic retention assembly 30 to be exposed over a large area, a conductive coating such as an adhesive is applied between the slot 36 of the sleeve and the metal contact inside the sleeve 32. When exposed, the entire exposed surface provides very low ohmic contact. The conductive adhesive connects the conductive reflector 12 inside the assembly to the outside of the sleeve 32. Alternatively, wire bonding may be applied to bond the conductive reflector 12 to the sleeve 32. Two slots 36 provide four open surfaces for contacting the sleeve 32. The electrical conductivity is also maximized due to the length of the slot 36 and the fact that two surfaces for each of the two slots 36 provide the maximum surface area in the compact assembly. The top shape of the sleeve 32 is preferably changed to hold the optics used in the LED electro-optic retention assembly 30. Simply by placing the lens in the sleeve 32 and sliding it onto the LED assembly, the conductive adhesive is then applied to the slot 36 or the conductive reflector 12 is wire-bonded to the sleeve 32, subsequently with reference to FIG. As will be explained in more detail, the electro-optical assembly is electrically connected.

In order to form an LED electro-optical electrical sleeve assembly 40, such as a completed LED electro-optical assembly, as shown in FIG. 4, the LEDs 14 have an LED electro-optical assembly 10 and an LED optical conversion assembly 20. And an LED electro-optic retention assembly 30. The LED 14 is glued or soldered to a conductive heat sink 18 made of an electrically conductive material. When the LED 14 is connected to the conductive heat sink 18 with an insulating member 19, the LED electro-optical assembly 10 is glued in place. In addition, the upper surface of the LED 14 is bonded to the conductive adhesive pin 15 via the gold wire 16. The conductive adhesive pin 15 is preferably coated with gold and pressed into the LED electro-optical assembly. Since the metal of the LED electro-optical assembly is selected for reflectivity and electrical conductivity, it will serve to induce the LED output and to electrically connect the top surface of the LED 14 to the outer surface of the LED electro-optical assembly 10. Next, the ball lens 22a is preferably installed in the LED optical conversion assembly 20.

Finally, an LED electro-optic retention assembly 30 holding an LED lens is installed while applying electrical insulation 34 onto the conductive heat sink 18. The conductive reflector 12 is preferably bonded to the conductive heat sink 18 with an electrical insulator 34. Thus, the electrical insulator 34 keeps the assembly fixed together and functions to conduct some heat from the conductive heat sink 18 and further electrically insulate it.

It is also preferred that a conductive adhesive 42 is applied to the slot 36 to adhere the exterior of the sleeve 32 to the conductive reflector 12. Alternatively, as described above, a wire, preferably aluminum (not shown), may be used to bond the wire between the conductive reflector 12 inside the assembly and the outside of the sleeve 32, which is preferably made of aluminum. Preferably, multiple wire bonding may be used to bond recesses (not shown) below the outer surface of the conductive reflector 12 and sleeve 32. In addition, the recess is preferably coated for protection. The conductive material is heat cured and an LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly 40 is formed. In addition, although the LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly 40 shows only a single LED 14, preferably multiple LED devices can be attached to the assembly.

Individual alignment of the LEDs 14 or multiple LEDs is necessary because the two individual LED assemblies are not completely identical. The difference is due to the positioning of the LED 14 in the conductive reflector 12, the positioning of the conductive reflector 12, the positioning of the upper and lower electrodes 10a and 10b, and the positioning of the lens 22. Occurs. All of these factors affect the geometry and direction of the light beam. Due to the manufacturing process of the individual LED assemblies, the components of the individual LED assemblies exhibit a very wide range of positional relationships. Therefore, for any application requiring irradiation of a particular area, each individual LED assembly must be manually aligned and then permanently held in place by some mechanical support means.

Although a single LED is used herein to describe the invention, those skilled in the art can understand that the invention described herein can be applied to multiple LEDs or LED arrays. The plurality of LEDs may be arranged in a predetermined manner for irradiation.

In the present invention, the LED 14 is shown to be a rectangular frame, but according to the disclosed invention the LED illuminator includes, but is not limited to, light curing, video, shop windows, photography or specialty displays for light for a wide range of applications. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be formed into any shape suitable for providing. Because of the durability and robust construction of the disclosed LED illuminators, they may be used in outdoor settings, marine applications or in adverse environments.

Claims (40)

One or more LEDs, A conductive heat sink having the LED electrically coupled and mounted at one end thereof; A conductive reflector mounted at the one end of the conductive heat sink and surrounding the LED; An insulating member for electrically insulating the conductive reflector from the conductive heat sink; A conductive adhesive pin that forms a conductive bond with the conductive reflector and extends through the conductive reflector; An electrical coupling portion coupling the conductive adhesive pin to the LED, The conductive heat sink and the conductive reflector form an electrically conductive location for powering the LED. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 1, wherein the conductive heat sink includes a planar surface at the one end and the LED is mounted to the planar surface. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 2, wherein the conductive reflector is an elliptical reflector having a penetrating central opening, and wherein the LED is mounted to the central opening. 4. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 3, wherein the insulating member comprises an adhesive for securing the conductive reflector to the conductive heat sink. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 1, wherein the conductive heat sink is a heat pipe. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 1, wherein the conductive adhesive pin is gold plated. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 1, wherein the electrical coupling is a wire jumper interconnecting the conductive adhesive pins to the LED. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 1, further comprising an optical lens member positioned adjacent the conductive reflector, wherein the optical lens member is spaced apart from the LED to focus light rays emitted from the LED. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 8, wherein the optical lens member is at least partially supported within the conductive reflector. 9. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 8, wherein the optical lens member is a ball lens for production of improved optical power density. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 8, wherein the optical lens member is a half ball lens for the production of collimated light. 10. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 8, further comprising a conductive retaining sleeve for supporting the conductive heat sink, the conductive reflector, and the optical lens member. 13. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 12, wherein the conductive retaining sleeve is disposed in electrical continuity with the conductive reflector. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 13, wherein the conductive retaining sleeve is insulated from the conductive heat sink. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 13, wherein the conductive retaining sleeve is insulated from the conductive heat sink by an insulating adhesive that secures the conductive retaining sleeve to the conductive heat sink. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 13, wherein the conductive retaining sleeve is insulated coated. 16. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 15, wherein the conductive retaining sleeve includes one or more passageways adjacent to the conductive reflector. 18. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 17, wherein the passageway is filled with a conductive adhesive to form a conductive bond between the conductive retaining sleeve and the conductive reflector. 18. The LED electro-optical assembly of claim 17, wherein the passage is electrically coupled with the conductive retaining sleeve and the conductive reflector. Attaching one or more LEDs to the conductive heat sink to be conductive; Surrounding the LED with a conductive reflector comprising an adhesive pin extending therethrough; Electrically coupling the adhesive pin to the LED. delete delete delete delete LED electro-optic retention assembly, A cylindrical sleeve having a top and a bottom and coated with an electrically insulating material, One or more passageways located thereon for insertion of the adhesive, And the upper portion is modified to retain the LED electro-optical system. delete delete delete delete delete delete A cylindrical sleeve coated with an electrical insulating material and having a top and a bottom separated by an insulating member, One or more LEDs and conductive reflectors mounted on the top; A conductive heat sink configured to be electrically coupled to the LED and mounted to the lower portion; A conductive adhesive pin that forms a conductive bond with the conductive reflector and extends through the conductive reflector; An electrical coupling portion coupling the conductive adhesive pin to the LED, The conductive reflector surrounds the LED, and the conductive heat sink and the conductive reflector form an electrically conductive location for powering the LED. 33. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly of claim 32, further comprising a pair of slots positioned at the top. 34. The LED electro-optical sleeve assembly of claim 33, wherein the slot is coated with a conductive adhesive to adhere the slot to the conductive reflector. 34. The LED electro-optical electrical sleeve assembly of claim 33, wherein the conductive reflector is attached to the sleeve via an aluminum wire. 33. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly of claim 32, wherein the conductive reflector is adhered to the conductive heat sink by the insulating member. 33. The LED electro-optical electrical sleeve assembly of claim 32, further comprising an optical lens member positioned adjacent the conductive reflector, wherein the optical lens member is positioned spaced from the LED to focus light rays emitted from the LED. . 38. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly of claim 37, wherein said upper portion retains said optical lens member. 38. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly of claim 37, wherein the optical lens member is at least partially supported within a reflector. 38. The LED electro-optic electrical sleeve assembly of claim 37, wherein the optical lens member is located completely outside of the conductive reflector.

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