Safety accommodation arrangement in LED package/lens structure

• US 7,938,558 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2007
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Ruud Lighting Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Guillien, Wayne P., Wilcox, Kurt S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Jong-Suk (James)
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tsidulko; Mark
• Application Number:
  US11/774,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20080273327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 362/236, 362/612, 362/613, 362/227, 362/267, 362/800, 362/812, 361/760, 361/806
• US Class Current: 362/236
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 2/005 of modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 15/01 Housings, e.g. material or assembling of housing parts F21V15/02 takes precedence housings forming signs or letters G09F13/04
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 25/00 Safety devices structurally associated with lighting devices gas- tight or water-tight arrangements F21V31/00; in general F16P; protective circuit arrangements per se H02H7/00
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 25/12 Flameproof or explosion-proof arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 31/005 Sealing arrangements therefor
• 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 5/08 producing an asymmetric light distribution
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/103 of streets or roads
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/812 Signs

Abstract

An LED apparatus including (a) a mounting board, (b) a plurality of LED packages thereon, (c) a lens member over each LED package, and (d) a safety barrier positioned over the mounting board, the barrier having sufficient thickness for enclosure of electrical elements on the mounting board and including a plurality of openings each sized to permit light from an LED package to pass therethrough and through a light-transmission portion of the lens member over such LED package to prevent finger-contact of electrical elements on the mounting board when the light-transmission portion is not present.

Claims

1. An LED apparatus including (a) a mounting board, (b) a plurality of LED packages thereon, (c) a lens member over each LED package, (d) a safety barrier positioned over the mounting board, the barrier having sufficient thickness for enclosure of electrical elements on the mounting board and including a plurality of openings each sized to permit light from an LED package to pass therethrough and through a light-transmission portion of the lens member over such LED package to prevent finger-contact of electrical elements on the mounting board when the light-transmission portion is not present, and (e) a resilient gasket member having apertures for each of the lens members, the gasket member yieldingly constraining movement caused by thermal expansion during operation.

2. The LED apparatus of claim 1 wherein the barrier includes a metal layer.

3. The LED apparatus of claim 2 wherein the barrier further includes an insulating layer positioned between the mounting board and the metal layer.

4. The LED apparatus of claim 3 wherein the metal layer and the insulating layer form a laminate.

5. The LED apparatus of claim 1 wherein the barrier has a layer portion spaced from the mounting board.

6. The LED apparatus of claim 5 wherein the barrier has at least one spacing structure supporting the layer portion on the mounting board.

7. The LED apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the lens members each include a light-transmission portion and a flange thereabout, the gasket member being against the flanges; and

the gasket member includes an inner surface which faces and yieldingly abuts the flanges.

8. The LED apparatus of claim 1 further including a cover having openings aligned with the lens members and securing them over the LED packages, the cover pressing the gasket member toward the safety barrier.

9. The LED apparatus of claim 7 wherein each of the lens members is a secondary lens and each LED package includes a primary lens in alignment with the secondary lens over such LED package.

10. The LED apparatus of claim 9 wherein the safety barrier is positioned between the flanges of the secondary lenses and the mounting board.

11. An LED light fixture having a plurality LED modules, each including (a) a mounting board, (b) a plurality of LED packages thereon, (c) a lens member over each LED package, (d) a safety barrier positioned over the mounting board, the barrier having sufficient thickness for enclosure of electrical elements on the mounting board and including a plurality of openings each sized to permit light from an LED package to pass therethrough and through a light-transmission portion of the lens member over such LED package to prevent finger-contact of electrical elements on the mounting board when the light-transmission portion is not present, and (e) a resilient gasket member having apertures for each of the lens members, the gasket member yieldingly constraining movement caused by thermal expansion during operation.

12. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein the barrier of each module includes a metal layer.

13. The LED light fixture of claim 12 wherein the barrier of each module further includes an insulating layer positioned between the mounting board and the metal layer.

14. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein the metal layer and the insulating layer of each barrier form a laminate.

15. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein the barrier of each module has a layer portion spaced from the mounting board of the module.

16. The LED light fixture of claim 15 wherein the barrier of each module has at least one spacing structure supporting the layer portion on the mounting board of the module.

17. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein:

the lens members each include a light-transmission portion and a flange thereabout, the gasket member being against the flanges; and

the gasket member includes an inner surface which faces and yieldingly abuts the flanges.

18. The LED light fixture of claim 17 wherein each module further includes a cover having openings aligned with the lens member and securing them over the LED packages, the cover pressing the gasket member toward the safety barrier.

19. The LED light fixture of claim 17 wherein each of the lens members is a secondary lens and each LED package includes a primary lens in alignment with the secondary lens over such LED package.

20. The LED light fixture of claim 19 wherein the safety barrier of each module is positioned between the flanges of the secondary lenses and the mounting board of the module.

21. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein a lens member can be more than one lens member.

22. The LED light fixture of claim 21 wherein the lens members over each LED package are separate and discrete lenses.

23. An LED apparatus including (a) a mounting board, (b) a plurality of LED packages thereon, (c) a lens member over each LED package, (d) a resilient gasket member having apertures for each lens members, the gasket member yieldingly constraining movement caused by thermal expansion during operation, and (e) a safety barrier positioned over the mounting board, the barrier having sufficient thickness for enclosure of electrical elements on the mounting board and including a plurality of openings each sized to permit light from an LED package to pass therethrough and through a light-transmission portion of the lens member over such LED package to prevent finger-contact of electrical elements on the mounting board when the light-transmission portion is not present.