Light emitting bulb, luminary and illumination device using LED

• US 8,502,468 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2011
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lite-On Electronics Company Limited (Lite-On Technology Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lite-On Electronics Company Limited (Lite-On Technology Corporation), Lite-On Technology Corporation
• Inventors: LI, PO-WEI, Wang, Yan-Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DON P
• Application Number:
  US13/094,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20120056557A1
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: 315/294, 362/249.01, 362/249.02, 362/249.07, 313/318.01
• US Class Current: 315/294
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/23 Retrofit light sources for lighting devices with a single fitting for each light source, e.g. for substitution of incandescent lamps with bayonet or threaded fittings
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/06 the elements being coupling devices , e.g. connectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/74 with fins or blades
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/77 with essentially identical diverging planar fins or blades, e.g. with fan-like or star-like cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 33/22 for screw type base, e.g. for lamp
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light

Abstract

A light emitting bulb, a luminary and an illumination device are provided. The light emitting bulb includes a main body and a bulb base. The main body has a plurality of the light emitting units. The bulb base has a plurality of flexible pieces. The flexible pieces are connected to the light emitting units respectively to form a plurality of electrical transmission paths. The luminary further has a lamp holder for holding the light emitting bulb. A control unit in the illumination device is connected to the light emitting bulb through the lamp holder for selectively providing a supply of a power to the light emitting units to control brightness of light emitting units, respectively. The light emitting bulb may facilitate color changing and brightness control without having a control circuit disposed within the light emitting bulb and is associated with a longer lifetime and a lower manufacturing cost.

Claims

1. A light emitting bulb, comprising:

a main body having a plurality of light emitting units disposed therein;

a bulb cover disposed on the main body; and

a bulb base connected to the main body and having a plurality of flexible pieces electrically connected to first ends of the light emitting units, respectively and a bottom electrode electrically connected to second ends of the light emitting units.

2. The light emitting bulb of claim 1, wherein the bulb base has a threaded portion having a plurality of holes, each flexible piece has a flexible portion, and the flexible portions of the flexible pieces are disposed corresponding to the holes of the threaded portion.

3. The light emitting bulb of claim 2, wherein the bottom electrode of the bulb base is made of a conductive material and the threaded portion is made of an insulation material.

4. The light emitting bulb of claim 1, wherein the bulb base has a plurality of locking members, and ends of the flexible pieces are fixed to the bulb base via the locking members, respectively.

5. The light emitting bulb of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of the heat sinks circularly arranged around an external sidewall of the main body;

a circuit board disposed in the main body and the light emitting units being disposed on one side of the circuit board;

a heat sink member disposed on the other side of the circuit board; and

a centrifugal fan disposed in an inner space defined by the heat sinks and the heat sink member;

wherein the main body has a plurality of inlets and a plurality of outlets for communicating the inner space with an exterior outside of the main body, and the inlets are close to the bulb base, and the outlets are close to the heat sink member and locate between the heat sinks.

6. The light emitting bulb of claim 5, wherein one end of the centrifugal fan is electrically connected to the first ends of the light emitting units through a relay, and the first ends of the light emitting units are connected to the relay in parallel, and another end of the centrifugal fan is electrically connected to the second ends of the light emitting units.

7. The light emitting bulb of claim 1, wherein an electrical connection relationship between the flexible pieces and the light emitting units is one-to-one.

8. The light emitting bulb of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of light emitting units is formed by at least one light emitting diode (LED).

9. A luminary, comprising:

a light emitting bulb, comprising;

a main body having a plurality of light emitting units disposed therein;

a bulb cover disposed on the main body; and

a bulb base connected to the main body and having a plurality of flexible pieces electrically connected to first ends of the light emitting units, respectively and a bottom electrode electrically connected to second ends of the light emitting units, each flexible piece having a flexible portion; and

a lamp holder for holding the bulb base, comprising;

a hold body; and

a plurality of conductive pieces disposed on an inner sidewall of the hold body and corresponding to the flexible pieces;

wherein each conductive piece has a positioning groove corresponding to the flexible portion of the corresponding flexible piece for positioning the flexible pieces respectively.

10. The luminary of claim 9, wherein an end of the positioning groove extends to an edge of the corresponding conductive piece to form an opening, another end of the positioning groove is provided with a protrusion member, a bottom edge of the opening has a chamfer for guiding the flexible portion of the corresponding flexible piece to slide into the positioning groove of the corresponding conductive piece, the positioning groove has a positioning hole through which the flexible portion protrudes outwardly, and a fillet is formed at an edge of the positioning hole.

11. The luminary of claim 9, wherein the bulb base has a threaded portion having a plurality of holes, and each flexible piece has a flexible portion which protrudes outwardly from the bulb base through the corresponding hole.

12. The luminary of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of light emitting units is formed by at least one LED.

13. An illumination device, comprising:

a light emitting bulb, comprising;

a main body having a plurality of light emitting units;

a bulb cover disposed on the main body; and

a bulb base connected to the main body and having a plurality of flexible pieces electrically connected to first ends of the light emitting units and a bottom electrode electrically connected to second ends of the light emitting units; and

a control unit electrically connected to the flexible pieces of the bulb base for selectively providing a power to the light emitting units through at least one of the flexible pieces.

14. The illumination device of claim 13, wherein the control unit is electrically connected to the bulb base through a lamp holder, and the lamp holder comprises a hold body, and a plurality of conductive pieces disposed in the hold body for conducting with the flexible pieces.

15. The illumination device of claim 14, wherein each of the conductive pieces has a positioning groove corresponding to a flexible portion of the corresponding flexible piece respectively, and an end of the positioning groove extends to an edge of the corresponding conductive piece to form an opening, another end of the positioning groove is provided with a protrusion member, and a bottom edge of the opening has a chamfer for guiding the flexible portion of the corresponding flexible piece to slide into the positioning groove of the corresponding conductive piece.

16. The illumination device of claim 13, wherein the control unit has a plurality of switches coupled between a power source and the flexible pieces, for selectively providing the power of the power source to the light emitting units through the at least one of the flexible pieces.

17. The illumination device of claim 13, wherein the control unit has a multiplexer coupled between a power source and the flexible pieces for selectively providing the power of the power source to the light emitting units through the at least one of the flexible piece.

18. The illumination device of claim 13, wherein the control unit has a variable resistor coupled between the light emitting units and a power source, and the control unit controls driving currents of the light emitting units by adjusting a resistance of the variable resistor.

19. The illumination device of claim 13, wherein the bulb base has a threaded portion having a plurality of holes, and each flexible piece has a flexible portion which protrudes outwardly from the bulb base through the corresponding hole.

20. The illumination device of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of light emitting units is formed by at least one LED.