LED light fixture and unitary optic member therefor

• US 10,400,984 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Craig, Wilcox, Kurt S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kryukova, Erin
• Application Number:
  US13/843,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20140268762A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,363 Days
• Field of Search: 362331, 362332, 362335, 362235, 362236, 362237, 362244, 362326, 359642-830, 264 17
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/16 Making multilayered or multicoloured articles B29C45/0062 takes precedence; feeding colouring materials into the injection unit B29C45/1816
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/0074 Production of other optical elements not provided for in B29D11/00009- B29D11/0073
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2083/005 LSR, i.e. liquid silicone rubbers, or derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0031 Refractive
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2011/0016 Lenses
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/007 Array of lenses or refractors for a cluster of light sources, e.g. for arrangement of multiple light sources in one plane combination of two or more refractors F21V5/008
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/04 of lens shape
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2105/10 comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

A unitary optic member for directing light from a plurality of LED light sources on a board beneath the optic member which has a plurality of lens portions surrounded by and interconnected by a non-lens portion. The optic member being formed by a plurality of layers with layer-to-layer interface bonding between adjacent layers and comprising an asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface defining a pair of cavities, a portion of the inner surface which defines one of the cavities is at least partially formed by an innermost layer of the plurality of layers, at least a portion of another of the plurality of layers extending inwardly between the pair of cavities and being bonded to the innermost layer.

Claims

1. A unitary optic member for directing light from a plurality of LED light sources in spaced relationship to one another on a board beneath the optic member, the optic member having a plurality of lenses each for directing light from one of the plurality of LED light sources, the optic member comprising:

a first molded polymeric layer forming (a) a non-lens portion of the optic member, the non-lens portion surrounding each of the plurality of lenses and interconnecting them, and (b) an outermost layer of each of the lenses integral with and continuing from the surrounding non-lens portion; and

each of the lenses having an asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface defining a pair of cavities with at least a portion of a second molded polymeric layer extending inwardly between the cavities and being in layer-to-layer interface bonding with the outermost layer of each of the lenses, a portion of the asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface which defines one of the cavities is at least partially formed by a third polymeric layer in layer-to-layer interface bonding with the second polymeric layer.

2. The unitary optic member of claim 1 wherein the first and second layers are of different polymeric materials.

3. The unitary optic member of claim 2 wherein the first layer is an acrylic layer and the third layer is an LSR layer.

4. The unitary optic member of claim 1 wherein the third layer is an innermost layer.

5. The unitary optic member of claim 1 wherein the first polymeric layer forms a pocket-space at each lens, the second and third molded polymeric layers being within the corresponding pocket-space.

6. The unitary optic member of claim 5 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

7. The unitary optic member of claim 1 wherein the third layer is an LSR layer.

8. The unitary optic member of claim 1 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

9. The unitary optic member of claim 8 wherein the third layer is an LSR layer.

10. An LED light fixture comprising:

a heat-sink structure having a mounting surface;

a circuit board on the mounting surface, the circuit board having a plurality of LED light sources spaced thereon; and

a unitary optic member over the circuit board, the unitary optic member comprising a first polymeric layer forming a non-lens portion of the optic member interconnecting a plurality of lenses each of which is integral with and continuing from the surrounding non-lens portion, each of the plurality of lenses having an asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface defining a pair of cavities with at least a portion of a second polymeric layer extending inwardly between the cavities and being overmolded onto the first layer, a portion of the asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface which defines one of the cavities is at least partially formed by a third layer with layer-to-layer interface bonding with the second polymeric layer.

11. The LED light fixture of claim 10 wherein the first and second layers are of different polymeric materials.

12. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein the first layer is an acrylic layer and the third layer is an LSR layer.

13. The LED light fixture of claim 12 wherein the third layer is an innermost layer.

14. The LED light fixture of claim 10 wherein the first layer forms a pocket-space at each lens, the second and third molded polymeric layers being within the corresponding pocket-space.

15. The LED light fixture of claim 10 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

16. A lens for directing light from an LED light source, the lens being formed by a plurality of layers with layer-to-layer interface bonding between adjacent layers and comprising an asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface defining a pair of cavities, a portion of the inner-surface which defines one of the cavities is at least partially formed by an innermost layer of the plurality of layers, at least a portion of another of the plurality of layers extending inwardly between the pair of cavities and being bonded to the innermost layer.

17. The lens of claim 16 wherein the innermost layer is an LSR layer.

18. The lens of claim 16 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

19. The lens of claim 18 wherein one of the at least two layers is an LSR layer.

20. A unitary polymeric optic member for directing light received from a plurality of spaced apart LED light sources, the unitary optic member comprising a plurality of lenses each formed by a plurality of polymeric layers with layer-to-layer interface bonding between adjacent layers, each of the plurality of lenses having an asymmetric inner-surface defining a pair of cavities, a portion of the inner-surface which defines one of the cavities is at least partially formed by an innermost layer of the plurality of layers, at least a portion of another of the plurality of layers extending inwardly between the cavities and being bonded to the innermost layer.

21. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 20 wherein the plurality of LED light sources are in spaced relationship to one another on a board beneath the optic member, the plurality of the lenses each being for directing light from one of the plurality of LED light sources.

22. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 20 wherein the innermost layer is an LSR layer.

23. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 20 wherein each of the lenses comprises an outermost layer of an acrylic.

24. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 23 comprising an intermediate layer between the innermost and outermost layers.

25. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 24 wherein the innermost, intermediate, and outermost layers are of an acrylic.

26. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 20 wherein at least one pair of the bonded adjacent layers has different indices of refraction.

27. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 20 wherein the asymmetric inner-surface is formed by the innermost layer and an intermediate polymeric layer.

28. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 20 wherein the unitary optic member comprises an outer polymeric layer forming an outermost layer of each of the lenses and a non-lens portion therebetween.

29. The unitary polymeric optic member of claim 28 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

30. A unitary optic member for directing light from a plurality of LED light sources in spaced relationship to one another on a board beneath the optic member, the optic member comprising a plurality of lenses each for directing light from one of the plurality of LED light sources and each formed by a plurality of polymeric layers,

each of the plurality of lenses having an asymmetric light-receiving inner-surface defining a pair of cavities, a portion of the asymmetric inner-surface which defines one of the cavities being at least partially formed by an inner polymeric layer in layer-to-layer interface bonding with at least a portion of another polymeric layer which extends inwardly between the cavities.

31. The unitary optic member of claim 30 wherein the optic member further comprises an outer layer which is a molded polymeric layer forming a non-lens portion and an outermost layer of each of the plurality of lenses.

32. The unitary optic member of claim 31 wherein the outer layer is of different polymeric material than at least one other layer of the lenses.

33. The unitary optic member of claim 31 wherein the outer molded polymeric layer forms a pocket-space at each lens, the polymeric layers forming each of the lenses being within the corresponding pocket-space.

34. The unitary optic member of claim 31 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

35. The unitary optic member of claim 30 wherein the inner layer is an LSR layer.

36. The unitary optic member of claim 30 wherein at least two of the layers have different indices of refraction.

37. The unitary optic member of claim 30 wherein the inner layer and at least one other of the layers forming the corresponding lens have different indices of refraction.