LED chip-based lighting products and methods of building

• US 8,558,255 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2012
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Current Lighting Solutions, LLC (f/k/a GE Lighting Solutions, LLC) (American Industrial Partners)
• Original Assignee: Albeo Technologies (Savant Systems, LLC)
• Inventors: Bisberg, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hoai V
• Application Number:
  US13/718,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20130105829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 257/88, 257/98, 257/99, 257/100, 257/E33.056
• US Class Current: 257/88
• 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: H01L 2933/0033 relating to semiconductor body packages
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/54 having a particular shape
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/58 Optical field-shaping elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/60 Reflective elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/62 Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the semiconductor body, e.g. lead-frames, wire-bonds or solder balls
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/056 the metal substrate being covered by an organic insulating layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4913 Assembling to base an electrical component, e.g., capacitor, etc.

Abstract

A method of building a light-emitting diode (LED) based lighting product includes mounting a plurality of unpackaged LED chips or LEDs directly on conductors on a surface of a two-sided panel, integrating the panel with support structure to form the lighting product such that at least one surface of the panel forms an external surface of the lighting product, and coupling a diffuser, with a distance from the diffuser to the surface of the LED chips or LEDs being at least twice an average spacing between adjacent LED chips or LEDs. A method of building a an LED chip-based lighting product includes mounting unpackaged LED chips directly on conductors formed on a surface of a two-sided panel, and mounting a cover plate to the LED chips such that light emitted from the LED chips passes through the cover plate.

Claims

1. LED chip-based lighting product, comprising:

PCB with at least one LED chip mounted directly thereon;

cover plate coupled with the PCB such that light emitted by the LED chip transmits through the cover plate;

fill material between the PCB and the cover plate; and

an insulating dam that bounds a space between the cover plate and the PCB for containing the fill material therein.

2. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, further comprising phosphor layer between LED chips and the cover plate, such that light emitted by the LED chip causes fluorescence in the phosphor layer.

3. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 2, the phosphor layer being present only between the LED chip and the cover plate.

4. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, the cover plate comprising phosphor.

5. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, further comprising conformal gel between the LED chip and the cover plate.

6. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 5, the conformal gel having a refractive index that matched to the cover plate.

7. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 5, further comprising a phosphor admixed with the conformal gel, such that light emitted by the LED chip fluroesces the phosphor.

8. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, further comprising at least one standoff attached to the PCB and the cover plate, thereby defining a separation distance between the PCB and the cover plate.

9. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 8, the cover plate comprising at least one conductor, the standoff forming an electrical connection between the PCB and the conductor.

10. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, further comprising a reflector attached to at least one of the PCB and the cover plate, to reflect light emitted by the LED chip through the cover plate.

11. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 10, wherein the reflector couples to the PCB and the cover plate and defines a separation distance between the PCB and the cover plate.

12. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 10, the reflector forming an electrical connection between the PCB and the conductor.

13. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, the cover plate forming optics that modify light passing therethrough.

14. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 1, the LED chip comprising a plurality of LED chips.

15. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 14, the plurality of LED chips being arranged as an array on the PCB.

16. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 14, the plurality of LED chips being arranged stochastically on the PCB.

17. LED chip-based lighting product, comprising:

a panel having an inner surface, and a counterfacing outer surface that forms at least part of an external surface of the lighting product;

conductors patterned on the inner surface, and

a plurality of unpackaged LED chips stochastically mounted to the conductors such that lines, grids or other regular patterns are not visually present.

18. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 17, the panel comprising an aluminum troffer, the plurality of unpackaged LED chips comprising 500 unpackaged LED chips.

19. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 17, at least some of the plurality of unpackaged LED chips having one or both of a protective material and a phosphor applied thereto.

20. LED chip-based lighting product of claim 17, further comprising a heat sink coupled with the outer surface.