Curvilinear LED light source

• US 7,273,300 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Issued: 09/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Current Lighting Solutions, LLC (f/k/a GE Lighting Solutions, LLC) (American Industrial Partners)
• Original Assignee: Lumination LLC
• Inventors: Mrakovich, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Luebke; Renee
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee; Gunyoung T.
• Application Number:
  US10/913,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20060028837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 362/551, 362/555, 362/558, 362/581, 362/235, 362/249, 362/311, 362/355
• US Class Current: 362/249.01
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 4/22 flexible or deformable, e.g. into a curved shape
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 4/28 rigid, e.g. LED bars
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/001 the light being emitted along at least a portion of the lateral surface of the fibre
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/22 electroluminescent electroluminescent light sources per se H05B33/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10106 Light emitting diode [LED]

Abstract

An LED system that simulates bare or exposed neon in appearance. The curvilinear LED light source comprises a rigid, formable light guide having a generally circular cross-section and a flexible LED light engine. The light guide is made of a material or materials that can be heated and formed into a desired shape. The light guide retains the desired shape upon cooling. The flexible light engine is inserted into a groove in the light engine.

Claims

1. A method for simulating neon lighting using a light emitting diode (“

LED”

) device comprising;

thermoforming a rod into a desired shape, the rod including a groove running along a greatest dimension of the rod, the groove being substantially U-shaped in a cross section taken normal to the greatest dimension of the rod, the rod being made from a light transmissive material that is rigid and formable when heated to retain a rigidly formed shape after being cooled, the rod also including light diffusing material for producing light that is similar to neon light; and

after cooling of the rod pressing a light engine into the groove of the rod in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the greatest dimension of the rod, the light engine including a plurality of light emitting diodes (“

LEDs”

) overmolded by a flexible material, the light engine being retained by the rod in the groove via a frictional fit or a snap fit between the flexible material of the light engine and the rod.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermoforming step further comprises thermoforming the rod at a site of installation for the device.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the light engine includes a plurality of LEDs and a plurality of printed circuit boards (“

PCBs”

), each PCB having at least one LED being mounted thereon and the PCBs being spaced apart from one another and electrically connected to one another.