Motor vehicle lighting unit with heat sink

• US 10,641,455 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2017
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ZKW Group GmbH (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ZKW Group GmbH (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Mayer, Matthias, Reinprecht, Markus, Mitterlehner, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Sufleta, II, Gerald J
• Application Number:
  US16/074,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20190316751A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/141 Light emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 41/675 by moving reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 45/43 using gas
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 45/46 using liquid
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

The invention relates to a lighting unit (1) for a motor vehicle, which comprises a light module (2) and a mirror module (3), wherein the mirror module (3) is designed to reflect the light emission produced by the light module (3) in an emission direction of the lighting unit (1), characterized by: the light module (2), which comprises at least one light source (4) and a first heat sink (5), the mirror module (3), which comprises a mirror unit (6) and a second heat sink (7), a cooling system (8), which comprises at least one inlet (9), at least one outlet (10), at least one line (11), at least one flow unit (12), a cooling medium, a first cooling sink, and a second cooling sink, wherein the inlet (9) and the outlet (10) are connected by the line (11), and the flow unit (12) is inserted into the line (11) in order to produce a flow of the cooling medium in the line (11) and sucks in the cooling medium through the inlet (9) and discharges the cooling medium through the outlet (10), and the first cooling sink is formed by the first heat sink (5) of the light module (2) and the second cooling sink is formed by the second heat sink (7) of the mirror module (3), wherein the first cooling sink is arranged downstream of the second cooling sink.

Claims

1. A lighting unit (1) for a motor vehicle, the lighting unit comprising:

a light module (2); and

a mirror module (3), wherein the mirror module (3) is adapted to reflect light emission produced by the light module (2) in an emission direction of the lighting unit (1),

wherein;

the light module (2) comprises at least one light source (4) connected in a thermally conductive manner to a first heat sink (5),

the mirror module (3) comprises a mirror unit (6) connected in a thermally conductive manner to a second heat sink (7),

the lighting unit further comprises a cooling system (8) which comprises at least one inlet (9), at least one outlet (10), at least one line (11), at least one flow unit (12), a cooling medium, a first cooling sink and a second cooling sink, wherein the at least one inlet (9) and the at least one outlet (10) are connected by the at least one line (11) and the at least one flow unit (12) is inserted into the line (11) and configured to produce a flow of the cooling medium in the line (11) and thereby suck in the cooling medium through the at least one inlet (9) and expel the cooling medium through the at least one outlet (10), and

the first cooling sink is formed by the first heat sink (5) of the light module (2) and the second cooling sink is formed by the second heat sink (7) of the mirror module (3), wherein the first cooling sink is arranged downstream of the second cooling sink, and

the second heat sink (7) is arranged upstream of the at least one inlet (9) in such a manner that the second heat sink (7) is cooled by the sucked in cooling medium.

2. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flow unit (12) is disposed in the at least one line (11) between the first heat sink (5) and the second heat sink (7).

3. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the first heat sink (5) is disposed in the at least one line (11) upstream of the at least one outlet (10).

4. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the first heat sink (5) is arranged downstream of the at least one outlet (10) in such a manner that the first heat sink (5) is cooled by the expelled cooling medium.

5. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the second heat sink (7) is disposed in the at least one line (11) downstream of the at least one inlet (9).

6. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one line (11) of the cooling system (8) runs through the first heat sink (5) of the light module (2) or rests upon the first heat sink.

7. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one line (11) of the cooling system (8) runs through the second heat sink (7) of the mirror module (3) or rests upon the second heat sink.

8. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the first heat sink (5) of the light module (2) is structurally separated from the second heat sink (7) of the mirror module (3).

9. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cooling medium is air and the at least one flow unit (12) is a fan.

10. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cooling medium is a cooling liquid or oil and the at least one flow unit (12) is a pump.

11. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the light module (2) comprises at least one semiconductor light source.

12. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the mirror unit (6) comprises a digital or analogue micro-mirror array.

13. The lighting unit (1) according to claim 11, wherein the semiconductor light source comprises at least one power LED or at least one semiconductor laser.