Color-variable LED light, particularly for lighting the interior of vehicles

• US 8,118,441 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Goodrich Lighting Systems GmbH (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Goodrich Lighting Systems GmbH (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Hessling, Andre
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THUY V
• Application Number:
  US12/593,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20100102736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,407 Days
• Field of Search: 362/84, 362/471, 362/488, 362/249.01, 362/249.02, 257/88, 257/99, 257/103, 307/10.2, 307/10.8
• US Class Current: 362/84
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/44 Spotlighting, e.g. reading lamps
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/47 Circuits; Control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/68 using ultraviolet light
• 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: F21W 2106/00 Interior vehicle lighting devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0753 the devices being arranged next to each other
• 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 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/20 Controlling the colour of the light

Abstract

The invention relates to an LED light, particularly a reading or seat lamp for vehicles such as travel coaches or airplanes, said light being equipped with a housing (36), a plurality of LEDs comprising first LEDs (16) that transmit electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range, and an activation unit (12) for activating the first LEDs (16). The LED light further comprises a conversion material (24) that, upon excitation by at least part of the electromagnetic radiation from the first LEDs (1.6), emits electromagnetic radiation in a conversion wavelength range that is in the visible spectrum range and is at least partially different from the first wavelength range. The LEDs further comprise second LEDs (18) that, in order to shift the color of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the conversion material (24) upon excitation by the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the first LEDs (16), emit electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range. The second LEDs (18) may be selectively activated by the activation unit (12) in addition to the first LEDs (16), wherein the electromagnetic radiation from the second LEDs (18) is at least partially in the visible spectrum range and is at least partially different from the wavelength range of the first LEDs (16) and passes the conversion material (24) substantially without exciting said conversion material and/or wherein the electromagnetic radiation of the second LEDs (18) additionally excites the conversion material (24) to emit electromagnetic radiation, the wavelength range of which is inside or outside of the conversion wavelength range.

Claims

1. An LED light, particularly for use as a reading or seat light in vehicles, said LED light comprising:

a housing (36),

a plurality of LEDs comprising first LEDs (16) emitting electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range,

a drive unit (12) for activating said first LEDs (16), and

a conversion material (24) which, when excited by at least a fraction of the electromagnetic radiation of the first LEDs (16), emits electromagnetic radiation in a conversion wavelength range which is in a visible range of a spectrum and is at least partially different from the first wavelength range,

wherein the plurality of LEDs further comprise at least second LEDs (18) which, for effecting a color shifting of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the conversion material (24) upon its excitation by the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the first LEDs (16), emit electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range,

the first and second LEDs (16,18), provided as semiconductor components with a common substrate (14) having arranged above it a layer of the conversion material (24) with an exit side (25) facing away from the common substrate (14), are configured in a manner that space angle regions (27) of radiation emitted by individual LEDs at least contact each other before the exit side (25) of said layer of the conversion material (24),

that, by means of the drive unit (12), the second LEDs (18) are driven in addition to the first LEDs (16),

the electromagnetic radiation of the second LEDs (18) being at least partially in the visible range of the spectrum and at least partially different from the wavelength range of the first LEDs (16) and passing the conversion material (24) substantially without exciting the same, and

the electromagnetic radiation of the second LEDs (18) additionally exciting the conversion material (24) to cause the conversion material (24) to emit electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength range is within or outside the conversion wavelength range.

2. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein (i) the overlapped electromagnetic radiation from the conversion wavelength range and the first wavelength range is effective to generate light of a cool white color and, by additionally activating the second LEDs (18), said cool white color can be shifted toward warm white light, or (ii) the overlapped electromagnetic radiation from the conversion wavelength range and the first wavelength range is effective to generate light of a warm white color and, by additionally activating the second LEDs (18), said color is shifted toward cool white light.

3. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the first LEDs (16) emit blue light, at least a fraction of said blue light passing the conversion material (24) without exciting the same, wherein the conversion material (24) is excited by the remaining fraction of said blue light to emit light of lower energy, which is yellow and/or green light, and wherein the second LEDs (18) emit UV light, a fraction of said UV light exciting the conversion material (24) to cause the conversion material (24) to additionally emit electromagnetic radiation within or outside the conversion wavelength range, and/or light of lower energy, at least a fraction of said light of lower energy passing the conversion material (24) substantially without exciting the same.

4. The LED light according to claim 3, further comprising a UV filter for filtering the UV light of the second LEDs (18) that passes the conversion material (24) without exciting the same.

5. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the first LEDs (16) are arranged in groups of LEDs connected in series relative to each other, the groups of the first LEDs (16) in turn being connected parallel to each other, and that the second LEDs (18) are arranged in at least one group of LEDs connected in series relative to each other.

6. The LED light according to claim 5, wherein said at least one group of second LEDs (18) are connected parallel to said groups of first LEDs (16) and with reversed polarity relative to the latter, and wherein the first and second LEDs (16,18) are driven through application of a voltage to said parallel arrangement of groups of first and second LEDs (16,18) by means of the drive unit (12) by application of a DC voltage with a first polarity, to selectively drive only the first LEDs (16), by application of a DC voltage with a second polarity opposite to said first polarity, to selectively drive only the second LEDs (18), and by application of an AC voltage, to selectively drive the first and second LEDs (16,18) alternately.

7. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the first and second LEDs (16,18) are arranged on the common substrate (14) and are combined to form a common constructional unit.

8. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the at least second LEDs (18) comprise second and third LEDs, the electromagnetic radiation of the second LEDs being at least partially in the visible range of the spectrum, further being at least partially different from the wavelength range of the first LEDs (16) and passing the conversion material (24) substantially without exciting the same, and that the electromagnetic radiation of said third LEDs additionally excites the conversion material (24) to cause the conversion material (24) to emit electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength range is within or outside the conversion wavelength range.

9. An LED light comprising:

a housing having a light exit aperture;

a first plurality of LEDs contained within said housing, said first plurality of LEDs being capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range;

a conversion material which, when excited by electromagnetic radiation in the first wavelength range, emits electromagnetic radiation in a conversion wavelength range which is in a visible range of the spectrum and is at least partially different from the first wavelength range, said conversion material covering said light exit aperture;

a second plurality of LEDs contained within said housing, said second plurality of LEDs being capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range at least partially in a visible spectrum and at least partially different from the first wavelength range;

said first and second plurality of LEDs configured so that a space angle region of radiation emitted by at least one of said first plurality of LEDs overlaps a space angle region of radiation emitted by at least one of said second plurality of LEDs when passing through said conversion material; and

a drive device for selectively driving said first plurality of LEDs at a first duty cycle and said second plurality of LEDs at a second duty cycle.

10. The LED light of claim 9, wherein:

said first plurality of LEDs are connected between a common source line and a common drain line with a common forward bias direction defining a first polarity; and

said second plurality of LEDs are connected between said common source and said common drain with a common forward bias direction having a polarity opposite said first polarity;

whereby positive voltage on the common source line will cause current to flow through one of said first and second plurality of LEDs and negative voltage on the common source line causes current to flow through the other of said first and second plurality of LEDs.

11. The LED light of claim 10, wherein:

said drive device provides an alternating current signal across said common source line and said common drain line.

12. The LED light of claim 11, wherein:

said drive device provides a first duty cycle when said alternating current signal is positive and a second duty cycle when said alternating current signal is negative, whereby a duty cycle of said first plurality of LEDs is variable independent of a duty cycle of said second plurality of LEDs.