LED package methods and systems

• US 20060022214A1
• Filed: 07/08/2005
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signify North America Corporation (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Color Kinetics Incorporated (Signify N.V.)
• Inventors: Lys, Ihor A., Mueller, George G., Dowling, Kevin J., Morgan, Frederick M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,646,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/99
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/00 Light sources using semiconductor devices as light-generating elements, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED] or lasers
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 45/42 Forced cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/2612 Auxiliary members for layer connectors, e.g. spacers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73265 Layer and wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/167 comprising optoelectronic devices, e.g. LED, photodiodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1461 MEMS
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/22 using optical feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/325 Pulse-width modulation [PWM]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/355 Power factor correction [PFC]; Reactive power compensation
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/3725 Switched mode power supply [SMPS]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/375 using buck topology
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/38 using boost topology
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/385 using flyback topology
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/40 Details of LED load circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/50 responsive to malfunctions or undesirable behaviour of LEDs; responsive to LED life; Protective circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/56 involving measures to prevent abnormal temperature of the LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0306 : Inorganic insulating substrates, e.g. ceramic, glass
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10106 : Light emitting diode [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 : Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for LED modules that include an LED die integrated in an LED package with a submount that includes an electronic component for controlling the light emitted by the LED die. The electronic component integrated in the submount may include drive hardware, a network interface, memory, a processor, a switch-mode power supply, a power facility, or another type of electronic component.

Claims

1. A light source, comprising:

at least one LED die including an LED, and

a package for the LED die, the package including a submount, wherein the submount incorporates an electronic component for controlling the LED, wherein the electronic component facilitates control of at least one of the intensity and the apparent intensity of the LED die.

2. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package includes components selected from the group consisting of an optical facility, a lens, an LED die mounted in a reflector cup, a silicone filling, a wire bond between the LED and the edge of the reflector cup, a submount, a diode in the submount, and a plurality of isolated leads for electrically connecting the LED die to a power source.

4. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package includes an LED die and submount mounted in a reflector cup and surrounded by a plastic package.

6. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package has a substrate, wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of a metal core substrate, a ceramic substrate, a ceramic on metal substrate, an FR4 substrate, a sapphire substrate, an silicon on sapphire substrate, and a silicon carbide substrate.

8. The light source of claim 1 wherein the package includes a reflector.

9. The light source of claim 1 wherein the package includes an electro-static discharge protection diode.

11. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a current regulator for delivering a DC signal of between .5V and 100V to the LED.

12. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a circuit for receiving a 12V AC signal.

13. The light source of claim 12 wherein the electronic component includes at least one of a bridge rectifier, a capacitor, and a current regulator.

15. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a circuit for receiving an AC signal having a voltage in a range from 90V to 240V.

16. The light source of claim 15 wherein the electronic component includes a switch mode power supply and a current regulator.

18. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a dimming circuit.

20. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a data interface.

21. The light source of claim 20 wherein the data interface is configured to receive a signal selected from the group consisting of a DMX signal, a DALI signal, an Ethernet signal, a TCP/IP protocol signal, an HTTP protocol signal, an XML or other mark-up language instruction, a script, an 802.11 or other wireless signal, cellular or radio-frequency signal, an infrared signal, or a Bluetooth signal.

22. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes firmware.

23. The light source of claim 22 wherein the firmware includes an XML parser.

25. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes an application specific integrated circuit.

26. The light source of claim 25 wherein the application specific integrated circuit responds to signals according to a data protocol.

27. The light source of claim 26 wherein the protocol is a serial addressing protocol.

28. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component comprises a processor.

29. The light source of claim 28 wherein the processor controls a signal by at least one of pulse-width modulation and pulse-amplitude-modulation.

30. The light source of claim 28 wherein the processor selects between a pulse-width-modulation mode and a pulse-amplitude-modulation mode.

31. The light source of claim 28 wherein the processor provides calibration for the light source.

32. The light source of claim 28 wherein the processor receives signals from a sensor.

33. The light source of claim 32 wherein the sensor is a feedback type sensor.

34. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a voltage regulator.

35. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a power-factor-control circuit.

36. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes an inductive loop drive circuit.

37. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a feed-forward drive circuit.

38. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component responds to a combined power/data signal.

39. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component is assigned a unique address.

41. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a temperature sensor.

42. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a timing facility.

43. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a drive circuit adapted to receive a voltage.

44. The light source of claim 43 wherein the electronic component includes a microcontroller.

45. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a drive circuit adapted to receive high voltage.

46. The light source of claim 45 wherein the drive circuit includes a power-factor-corrected drive circuit.

55. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a digital-to-analog converter.

56. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes an analog-to-digital converter.

57. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a power facility.

58. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a wireless control facility.

59. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a bridge rectifier.

60. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a boost converter.

61. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a boost regulator.

62. The light source of claim 1 wherein the component includes an analog dimming input.

63. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a resistor for assisting in identification of the light source.

64. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a temperature sensor and a facility for controlling the LED in response to a thermal condition.

65. The light source of claim 1 further comprising a facility for connecting the light source to a conductive element.

71. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED die includes a high-power LED die.

72. The light source of claim 71 wherein the LED die includes a 5W or greater LED die.

74. The light source of claim 1 further comprising an external resistor for adjusting a voltage input to the light source.

75. The light source of claim 1 further comprising an optical facility including at least one of a lens, a filter, a diffuser, a reflector, a phosphorescent material, or a luminescent material.

76. The light source of claim 1 further comprising an optical facility including at least one of a Bragg cell, a holographic film, a digital mirror, a spinning mirror, a light pipe, a color mixing system, or a microlens array.

155. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package includes a thermal facility for cooling at least one of the LED die and the submount.

156. The light source of claim 155 wherein the thermal facility is selected from the group consisting of a Peltier effect device, a fluid cooling facility, a potting facility, a thermally conductive plate, a gap pad, a micro-machine, a MEMs device, and a fan.

157. The light source of claim 1 further comprising an external electrical component for the package, wherein the external component is selected from the group consisting of a capacitor, a resistor, and an inductor.

158. The light source of claim 157 wherein the external component is a capacitor for energy storage and wherein the submount includes a dimmer-compatible circuit.

159. The light source of claim 157 wherein the external component is a resistor to set a voltage level of the input signal to the LED package.

160. The light source of claim 157 wherein the external component is a capacitor for bulk energy storage.

161. The light source of claim 157 wherein the external component is an inductor.

163. The light source of claim 1 wherein at least one of the submount and the LED is comprised of a heat-tolerant material.

164. The light source of claim 163 wherein the heat-tolerant material is silicon carbide.

166. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component is a buck converter.

167. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component is a flyback converter.

170. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package includes a material selected from the group consisting of a metal, a ceramic, an epoxy, a plastic, a glass, a polymer, and a compound.

172. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package is used as an indicator.

173. The light source of claim 172 wherein the indicator indicates a sensed condition.

174. The light source of claim 173 wherein the condition is at least one of acceleration, pressure, temperature, time, humidity, light, a fault condition, proximity, and a chemical condition.

175. The light source of claim 172 wherein the indicator displays a state of a device.

176. The light source of claim 172 wherein the indicator displays a state of a sensor.

177. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a MEMS device.

178. The light source of claim 177 wherein the MEMS device comprises at least one of a pressure transducer, an active cooling device, a chemical detector, a gyroscopic device, an accelerometer, a timer, and an oscillator.

185. The light source of claim 1 wherein the electronic component includes a Peltier effect device.

186. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package is used as a component for a display.

187. The light source of claim 186 wherein the display includes one or more of a graphics display, a monitor, a video display, and an animation display.

188. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package has an input/output facility.

190. The light source of claim 1 further comprising a photovoltaic energy source.

195. The light source of claim 1 wherein the LED package operates on power supplied from a battery.

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47. The light source of claim I wherein the electronic component includes a data storage facility.

49. The light source of claim 47 wherein the data storage facility includes a lookup table for storing values for a control signal for the LED.

50. The light source of claim 47 wherein the data storage facility stores programs for controlling the light source.

51. The light source of claim 47 wherein the data storage facility stores programs for responding to control signals from a signal source.

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54. The light source of claim I wherein the electronic component includes a photosensor.

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77. A method for providing a light source comprising:

providing at least one LED in an LED die, and

packaging the LED die with a submount, wherein the submount incorporates an electronic component for controlling the LED, wherein the electronic component facilitates control of at least one of the intensity and the apparent intensity of the LED die.

78. The method of claim 77 wherein the LED package includes components selected from the group consisting of a an optical facility, a lens, an LED die mounted in a reflector cup, a silicone filling, a wire bond between the LED and the edge of the reflector cup, a submount, a diode in the submount, and a plurality of isolated leads for electrically connecting the LED die to a power source.

80. The method of claim 77 wherein the LED package includes an LED die and submount mounted in a reflector cup and surrounded by a plastic package.

84. The method of claim 77 wherein the package includes a reflector.

87. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a current regulator for allowing the LED to take a DC signal of between .5V and

88. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a circuit for directly receiving AC signal.

91. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a circuit for receiving an AC signal with voltage in a range from 90V to 240V.

95. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component is responsive to power-cycle events.

104. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a processor.

105. The method of claim 104 wherein the processor controls a signal by at least one of pulse-width-modulation and pulse-amplitude-modulation.

107. The method of claim 104 wherein the processor provides calibration for the light source.

108. The method of claim 104 wherein the processor is in communication with a sensor.

115. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component is assigned a unique address.

116. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component receives a control signal the control signal being a DMX signal, a DALI signal, an Ethernet signal, a TCP/IP protocol signal, an HTTP protocol signal, an 802.11 signal, a cellular telephony signal, a radio-frequency signal, an infrared signal, or a Bluetooth signal.

121. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a drive circuit adapted to receive high voltage.

122. The method of claim 121 wherein the drive circuit includes a power-factor-corrected drive circuit.

123. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a data storage facility.

125. The method of claim 123 wherein the data storage facility includes a lookup table for storing values for a control signal for the LED.

126. The method of claim 123 wherein the data storage facility stores programs for controlling the light source.

127. The method of claim 123 wherein the data storage facility stores programs for responding to control signals from a signal source.

140. The method of claim 77 wherein the electronic component includes a temperature sensor and a facility for controlling the LED in response to a thermal condition.

150. The method of claim 77 further comprising an external resistor for adjusting a voltage input to the light source.

151. The method of claim 77 further comprising providing an optical facility having at least one of a lens, a filter, a diffuser, a reflector, a phosphorescent material, or a luminescent material.

152. The method of claim 77 further comprising providing an optical facility having at least one of a Bragg cell, a holographic film, a digital mirror, a spinning mirror, a light pipe, a color mixing system, or a microlens array.

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