Solid state lights with thermosiphon liquid cooling structures and methods

• US 9,057,514 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2012
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ovonyx Memory Technology, LLC (Micron Technology, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Sills, Scott E., de Villiers, Anton J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hollweg, Thomas A
• Application Number:
  US13/542,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20120286640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,076 Days
• Field of Search: 313/12, 313/512, 313/484
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/51 using condensation or evaporation of a fluid, e.g. heat pipes
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/58 characterised by the coolants
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/22 Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials

Abstract

A solid state lighting (SSL) device with a solid state emitter (SSE) being partially exposed in a channel loop, and methods of making and using such SSLs. The SSE can have thermally conductive projections such as fins, posts, or other structures configured to transfer heat into a fluid medium, such as a liquid coolant in the channel loop. The channel loop can include an upward channel in which the SSE is exposed to warm the coolant in the upward channel, and a downward channel through which coolant moves after being cooled by a cooling structure. The coolant in the channel loop can naturally circulate due to the heat from the SSE.

Claims

1. A lighting device, comprising:

a housing including a fluid chamber having a plurality if channel loops;

a coolant fluid in the fluid chamber;

solid state emitters (SSEs) each including an active portion from which light is emitted and a back portion, wherein at least one of the active portion and the back portion directly contacts the coolant fluid in one of the channel loop; and

a reflective structure positioned between the SSEs, wherein the reflective structure is configured to direct light emitted by each of the SSEs out of the lighting device while the coolant fluid in each of the channel loops is heated by the least one of the active portion and the back portion to circulate the coolant fluid along the respective channel loops.

2. The lighting device of claim 1, further comprising a cooling structure coupled to the housing, the cooling structure including at least one fin extending into the fluid chamber to directly contact the coolant fluid.

3. The lighting device of claim 1, wherein each of the channel loops includes a channel configured such that the coolant fluid flows upwardly through the channel and past at least one of the SSEs to transfer heat away from the at least one of the SSEs when the channel is at a substantially vertical orientation.

4. The lighting device of claim 3 wherein at least one of the channels is positioned between at least one of the SSEs and the reflective structure such that the coolant fluid passes between the at least one of the SSEs and the reflective structure when the coolant fluid flows along the channel.

5. The lighting device of claim 1 wherein the coolant fluid flows across the active portions of the SSEs when the coolant fluid travels along the channel loops.

6. The lighting device of claim 5 wherein the coolant fluid is substantially transparent, and the SSE is positioned relative to the housing such that light emitted by the SSE travels through the coolant fluid and out of the lighting device.

7. The lighting device of claim 1 wherein the active portion of at least one of the SSEs directly contacts the fluid.

8. The lighting device of claim 1 wherein the back portion of at least one of the SSEs directly contacts the fluid.

9. The lighting device of claim 1 wherein the SSEs are positioned along the channel loops such that heat generated by the SSEs is transferred to the coolant fluid and causes thermosiphoning by circulating the coolant fluid about the channel loops and along the at least one of the active portion and the back portion.

10. A lighting device, comprising:

a housing having a fluid chamber holding a coolant fluid, the fluid chamber including a main chamber and a plurality of channel loops, the individual channel loops having an inlet positioned to receive the coolant fluid from the fluid chamber and an outlet positioned to output the coolant fluid to the main chamber;

a cooling structure configured to transfer thermal energy from the coolant fluid in the fluid chamber, the cooling structure including at least one heat transfer fin positioned in the fluid chamber to directly contact the coolant fluid;

a reflective structure; and

solid state emitters (SSEs) configured to emit light toward the reflective structure such that the reflective structure directs the emitted light out of the lighting device, wherein each of the SSEs is coupled to the housing such that heat generated by the SSEs is transferred to the coolant fluid in one of the channel loops and causes the coolant fluid to flow along the channel loops.

11. The lighting device of claim 10 wherein the cooling structure includes at least one external fin exposed outside the lighting device.

12. The lighting device of claim 10, wherein at least one of the channel loops comprises:

a first channel having a first inlet and a first outlet;

a second channel having a second inlet and a second outlet;

a first return between the first outlet and the second inlet; and

a second return between the second outlet and the first inlet.

13. The lighting device of claim 12, wherein when the first channel is at a generally vertical orientation, the first channel is oriented such that the coolant fluid in the first channel is heated by the SSEs and rises to induce a fluid current in the channel loop to cause the coolant fluid to flow upwardly through the first channel and downwardly through the second channel.

14. The lighting device of claim 10 wherein the SSEs include one or more fins that contact the coolant fluid.

15. The lighting device of claim 10 wherein when at least a section of the channel loop is at a generally vertical orientation, the channel loop is configured such that coolant fluid heated by at least one the SSEs flows upwardly along the SSE and coolant fluid cooled by the cooling structure flows along the channel loop towards the SSE.

16. The lighting device of claim 10 wherein heat from the SSEs sufficient to cause a first phase change in the coolant fluid and the cooling structure is configured to cause a second phase change in the coolant.

17. The lighting device of claim 10, wherein the channel loop includes a channel configured such that the coolant fluid in the channel flows vertically past at least one of the SSEs to transfer heat away from the SSE when the channel is at a substantially vertical orientation.

18. The lighting device of claim 10 wherein the SSEs are configured to produce a sufficient amount of heat to cause a convective flow of the coolant fluid in the channel loops.

19. A lighting device, comprising:

a housing including a fluid chamber holding a coolant fluid, the fluid chamber having a plurality of channel loops through which the coolant fluid is capable of independently flowing;

a reflective structure within the housing; and

a plurality of solid state emitters (SSEs) within housing, wherein the SSEs are configured to emit light toward the reflective structure, wherein each of the SSEs is positioned along one of the channel loops such that heat is transferred from the SSE to the coolant fluid to cause thermosiphoning by circulating the coolant fluid through the one of the channel loops while the reflective structure directs light from the SSEs out of the lighting device.

20. The lighting device of claim 19 wherein the SSEs directly contact the coolant fluid in the housing.

21. The lighting device of claim 19, further comprising a cooling structure configured to transfer thermal energy away from the coolant fluid, and the cooling structure including at least one heat transfer fin positioned in the fluid chamber to directly contact the coolant fluid.

22. The lighting device of claim 19 wherein each of the SSEs includes a plurality of projections extending into a respective one of the channel loops, and wherein the plurality of projections are spaced apart to define flow channels through which the coolant fluid flows.

23. The lighting device of claim 22 wherein the projections are fins.