WO2008072862A1

WO2008072862A1 - Light emitting diode package with odds of lead fram removed from its surface and method for fabricating the same

Info

Publication number: WO2008072862A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/006372
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jong Kook Lee
Original assignee: Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-12-13
Filing date: 2007-12-07
Publication date: 2008-06-19
Also published as: TWI373151B; TW200834998A; KR100765241B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light emitting diode package. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating an LED package having a smooth shape by allowing odd portions of a lead frame not to protrude to the outside of a package body. To this end, the present invention provides a method for fabricating a light emitting diode package, which comprises the steps of: preparing a lead frame member having a lead frame portion and odd portion for supporting the lead frame portion provided together; and forming a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame member to support the lead frame portion, wherein the odd portions are previously cut at an arbitrary position inside of an outline of the package body before forming the package body.

Description

LIGHT EMITTING DIODE PACKAGE WITH ODDS OF LEAD FRAME REMOVED FROM ITS SURFACE AND METHOD FOR

FABRICATING THE SAME

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a light emitting diode package, and more particularly, to a light emitting diode package, wherein odd portions of a lead frame conventionally left on a surface of a package body are clearly removed, and a method for fabricating the light emitting diode package. Background Art

[2] In general, a light emitting diode (LED) package comprises an LED, a lead frame for applying power to the LED therethrough, and a package body for supporting the lead frame and confining a mounting space of the LED.

[3] In order to fabricate such an LED package, a lead frame member having a lead frame portion is first prepared, a package body for surrounding a portion of the lead frame member is formed, for example, by resin molding, and the lead frame member is then cut and bent in a desired shape. At this time, odd portions for supporting the lead frame portion exist together with the lead frame member in a process of fabricating an LED package. The odd portions are cut and removed after the package body is formed.

[4] However, since odd portions are cut in the prior art after a package body is formed, the odd portions protrude to the outside of the package body, which may cause the fabricated LED package not to have a smooth shape. In order to solve such a problem, odd portions may be cut to be positioned on the same plane as a surface of a package body. However, this is actually impossible in fabricating a very small LED package. Even though it is possible, odd portions inevitably protrude to a certain extent. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[5] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating an LED package having a smooth shape by allowing odd portions of a lead frame not to protrude to the outside of a package body.

[6] Another object of the present invention is to provide an LED package having a smooth shape by allowing odd portions of a lead frame not to protrude to the outside of a package body. Technical Solution

[7] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for fabricating a LED package, which comprises the steps of: preparing a lead frame member having a lead frame portion and odd portion for supporting the lead frame portion provided together; and forming a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame member to support the lead frame portion, wherein the odd portions are previously cut at an arbitrary position inside of an outline of the package body before forming the package body.

[8] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for fabricating an LED package, which comprises the steps of: preparing a lead frame member having a lead frame portion and odd portion for supporting the lead frame portion provided together; and forming a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame member to support the lead frame portion, wherein the odd portions are previously and partially cut at an arbitrary position inside of an outline of the package body before forming the package body. At this time, the method may further comprise the step of removing the odd portions partially cut before forming the package body by applying an impact after forming the package body. In addition, the partially cutting step may be performed by forming a V-shaped cut groove in the odd portion.

[9] Preferably, the package body is formed by resin molding. The lead frame member is preferably prepared to have a plurality of lead frame portions.

[10] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an LED package, which comprises: a lead frame provided to apply power to an LED, the lead frame having odd portions to be cut and leads together; and a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame to support the lead frame, wherein the leads extend to pass through an outline of the package body, and the odd portions are positioned inside of the outline.

Advantageous Effects

[11] According to embodiments of the present invention, an LED package has a smooth shape by allowing odd portions of a lead frame not to protrude to the outside of a package body. In addition, since the odd portions reinforce and support major portions of the lead frame before the package body is formed, an undesired deformation of the lead frame can be prevented in a process. Brief Description of the Drawings

[12] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an LED package according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[13] Figs. 2 to 5 are views illustrating a method for fabricating the LED package in Fig.

1.

[14] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a lead frame member used for an LED package according to another embodiment of the present invention. [15] < Explanation of Reference Numerals for Major Portions Shown in Drawings >

[16] 10: Package body 20: Lead frame

[17] 22: Inner lead 24: Outer lead

[18] 26: Odd portion 262: Cut groove

[19] 200: Lead frame member 30: Lens

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[20] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[21] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an LED package according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein a portion which is a major feature of the LED package is shown as an enlarged view. Referring to Fig. 1, the LED package 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a structure in which an LED 2 is mounted, and comprises a package body 10, a lead frame 20, a lens 30, a heat sink 40 and the like.

[22] The lead frame 20 comprises a plurality of inner leads 22 (only one of the inner leads is shown in this figure) and a plurality of outer leads 24 integrally connected to the plurality of inner leads 22. The outer lead 24 extends and is bent from the inside to the outside of the package body 10 to be positioned on a bottom surface of the package body 10. The package body 10 supports the lead frame 20 while surrounding portions of the lead frame 20, particularly the inner leads 22, and an opening for mounting the LED 2 is formed in an upper portion of the package body 10.

[23] In this embodiment, a slug for promoting heat dissipation of the LED 2, i.e., the heat sink 40, is mounted in the package body 10. The heat sink 40 has an upper portion on which the LED 2 is attached and a lower portion exposed to the outside of the package body 10 through a bottom opening of the package body 10. The LED 2 on the heat sink 40 is connected to the inner leads 22 by bonding wires 3, and thus the LED 2 can receive a current applied from the outside through the lead frame 20. Although a heat sink is used in this embodiment, an LED package without heat sink is also within the scope of the present invention. When the heat sink is omitted, the LED may be attached on any one of the inner leads.

[24] The lens 30 is formed within the opening formed on the upper portion of the package body 10 to protect the LED 2, and is generally formed by resin molding. At this time, since the lens 30 is less directly related to the spirit of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereon will be omitted.

[25] Referring to an enlarged view in Fig. 1, holes 12 with a roughly rectangular cross section are formed on a side outline of the package body 10. In addition, there are portions of the lead frame 20, i.e., odd portions 26 of the lead frame 20, inside the respective holes 12. The odd portions 26 are portions for supporting or reinforcing major portions of the lead frame 20 in a process of fabricating the LED package 1. The odd portions 26 are partially cut before the package body 10 is formed, and then completely cut by an impact applied after the package body 10 is formed. Since the odd portions 26 are positioned inside of the holes 12, i.e., inside of the side outline of the package body 10, the package body 10 can have a smooth surface.

[26] Hereinafter, a method of fabricating an LED package in which the odd portions 26 of the lead frame 20 are removed from a surface of the package body 10 will be de scribed with reference to Figs. 2 to 5.

[27] Fig. 2 is a perspective view partially showing a lead frame member 200 used in forming the aforementioned lead frame 20. Referring to Fig. 2, the lead frame member 200 is made, for example, of a metallic material such as copper, and integrally has inner and outer leads 22 and 24 constituting a component of the aforementioned lead frame 20 (see Fig. 1). Further, the lead frame member 200 integrally has heat sink support portions 25 used to support the aforementioned heat sink 40. At this time, portions to be positioned inside the package body 10, such as the inner leads 22 and the heat sink support portions 25, are reinforced or supported by the odd portions 26 of the lead frame member 200 connected to an outer frame 210. The lead frame member 200 may be formed by press machining. Although not illustrated in detail, a plurality of lead frame portions are preferably connected to one lead frame member 200. This enables a process of forming a plurality of package bodies 10 in the plurality of lead frame portions to be performed at a time.

[28] In Fig. 2, a side outline L of the package body 10 to be formed in a subsequent process is represented by an imaginary line. Referring to the enlarged view of Fig. 2, cut grooves 262 with a roughly V shape are formed in the odd portions 26 inside of the side outline L. Since the cut grooves 262 exist inside of the side outline L of the package body 10, the odd portions 26 protruding to a side surface of the package body 10 can be completely cut and removed by an impact applied to the lead frame member 200 after the package body 10 (see Fig. 1) is formed. Accordingly, the package body 10 can have a smooth surface without protrusion of the odd portions 26.

[29] Fig. 3 shows a process of allowing the heat sink 40 to be supported by the lead frame member 200. In this process, the heat sink 40, which has been previously prepared, is inserted and supported between the plurality of heat sink support portions 25 that are portions of the lead frame member 200. At this time, it will be apparent that the process shown in Fig. 3 may be omitted when the LED package is fabricated without the heat sink 40.

[30] Fig. 4 shows a state that the package body 10 is formed so as to cover a portion of the lead frame member 200. As shown in Fig. 4, the package body 10 is formed to cover a portion of the lead frame member 200, i.e., the inner leads 22, the heat sink support portions 25 and a part of the odd portions 26 of the lead frame, for example, by resin molding. At this time, the cut grooves 262 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are formed in the odd portions 26 inside of the package body 10.

[31] After the package body 10 is formed as described above, a process of cutting and bending the outer leads of the lead frame member 200 is performed. Then, processes of mounting an LED on the package body 10 and filling the opening formed on the upper portion of the package body 10 with a transparent resin by a molding method to form a lens 30 (see Fig. 1) are performed. If all the processes are completed as described above, the LED package 1 can be fabricated as shown in Fig. 5.

[32] Referring to Fig. 5, the odd portions 26 of the lead frame partially extend up to the outside of the package body 10. In this case, if an impact is applied to the odd portions 26, vicinities of the cut grooves 262 (see Figs. 2 and 3) inside of the package body 10 are cut, and thus the odd portions 26 outside of the package body 10 can be removed. The odd portions 26 outside of the package body 10 are removed, so that the LED package has a smooth surface.

[33] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a lead frame member 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 6, it can be seen that odd portions 26 of the lead frame member 200 are completely cut inside a side outline L of a package body 10 (see Fig. 1), represented by an imaginary line. At this time, although the odd portions 26 are cut, the lead frame member 200 is formed integrally by outer leads 24. Accordingly, it is possible to form the package body 10 on the lead frame member 200 as described in the previous embodiment.

[34] Although the present invention have been described with a specified embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, changes and variations can be made thereto within the scope of the present invention and the appended claims. Therefore, the aforementioned descriptions and the accompanying drawings should be construed as not limiting the technical spirit of the present invention but illustrating the present invention.

Claims

[1] A method for fabricating a light emitting diode (LED) package, comprising the steps of: preparing a lead frame member having a lead frame portion and odd portion for supporting the lead frame portion provided together; and forming a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame member to support the lead frame portion, wherein the odd portions are previously cut at an arbitrary position inside of an outline of the package body before forming the package body. [2] A method for fabricating an LED package, comprising the steps of: preparing a lead frame member having a lead frame portion and odd portion for supporting the lead frame portion provided together; and forming a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame member to support the lead frame portion, wherein the odd portions are previously and partially cut at an arbitrary position inside of an outline of the package body before forming the package body. [3] The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of removing the odd portions partially cut before forming the package body by applying an impact after forming the package body. [4] The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the partially cutting step is performed by forming a V-shaped cut groove in the odd portion. [5] The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the package body is formed by resin molding. [6] The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lead frame member is prepared to have a plurality of lead frame portions. [7] An LED package, comprising: a lead frame provided to apply power to an LED, the lead frame having odd portions to be cut and leads together; and a package body surrounding a portion of the lead frame to support the lead frame, wherein the leads extend to pass through an outline of the package body, and the odd portions are positioned inside of the outline.