LED light fixture

• US 9,255,705 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2015
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilcox, Kurt S., Kinnune, Brian, Snell, Nathan, Sorenson, Jeremy, Goldstein, Corey, Medendorp, Nicholas W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): BRUCE, DAVID VERNON
• Application Number:
  US14/708,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20150241050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 274 Days
• Field of Search: 362/294, 362/218, 362/373
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/20 Light sources comprising attachment means
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 2/005 of modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 8/086 with lighting device attached sideways of the standard, e.g. for roads and highways
• 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 15/013 the housing being an extrusion
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 15/015 Devices for covering joints between adjacent lighting devices; End coverings
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 17/107 using hinge joints
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 19/0055 by screwing
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 19/04 with provision for changing light source, e.g. turret auxiliary devices for cleaning, placing, or removing incandescent lamps H01K3/32, fluorescent lamps H01J9/006
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/002 Arrangements of cables or conductors inside a lighting device, e.g. means for guiding along parts of the housing or in a pivoting arm
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/009 the casing being inside the housing of the lighting device
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/503 of light sources cooling arrangements structurally associated with gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps H01J61/52; cooling arrangements structurally associated with electric incandescent lamps H01K1/58; cooling arrangements structurally associated with light-emitting diodes H01L33/64
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/507 of means for protecting lighting devices from damage, e.g. housings
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/74 with fins or blades
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/75 with fins or blades having different shapes, thicknesses or spacing
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/763 the planes containing the fins or blades having the direction of the light emitting axis
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/83 the elements having apertures, ducts or channels, e.g. heat radiation holes
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 31/03 with provision for venting for vehicle head lights F21S45/33; for vehicle rear lights F21S41/192
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/103 of streets or roads
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/40 Lighting for industrial, commercial, recreational or military use
• 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]

Abstract

An LED lighting fixture comprising a housing portion and a light-emitting portion supporting at least one illuminator, the housing portion and the light-emitting portion defining an open space therebetween permitting air/water-flow therethrough. In some embodiments, at least one wall extends within the open space and open for air/water-flow along at least two sides thereof.

Claims

1. An LED lighting fixture comprising:

a housing portion;

a light-emitting portion supporting at least one illuminator;

the housing portion and the light-emitting portion defining an open space therebetween permitting air/water-flow therethrough; and

at least one wall extending within the open space and open for air/water-flow along at least two sides thereof.

2. The LED lighting fixture of claim 1 wherein the light-emitting portion has an illuminator-supporting region supporting the at least one illuminator and having a proximal end adjacent to the housing portion, the open space being between the housing portion and the proximal end.

3. The LED lighting fixture of claim 2 wherein:

the housing portion includes a substantially closed chamber enclosing at least one power-circuitry driver; and

the light-emitting portion comprises a heat sink including the illuminator-supporting region and heat-dissipating surfaces extending therefrom; and

the open space is between the chamber and the illuminator-supporting region.

4. The LED light fixture of claim 3 wherein

the heat sink includes central and peripheral portions;

the central portion including the illuminator-supporting region and a plurality of elongate fins protruding in a direction opposite the illuminator, at least a subset of such elongate fins extends from the central heat-sink portion across the open space and have proximal fin-ends secured to the housing portion; and

the peripheral portion having peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces along the heat sink sides and including the at least one wall within the open space.

5. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the light-emitting portion comprises a central and peripheral portions, the central portion including an illuminator-supporting region supporting the at least one illuminator, the peripheral portion having peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces along central-portion sides and including the at least one wall within the open space.

6. The LED light fixture of claim 5 wherein at least one of the peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces extends across the open space and has a proximal fin-end secured to the housing portion.

7. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the at least one wall within the open space includes a plurality of fins extending across the open space and having two opposite fin ends each connected to one of the housing portion and the light-emitting portion.

8. The LED lighting fixture of claim 1 wherein the at least one wall extends within the open space substantially along the light-emitting portion.

9. The LED lighting fixture of claim 8 wherein:

the light-emitting portion comprises an illuminator-supporting region with the at least one illuminator secured with respect thereto;

the housing portion includes a substantially closed chamber enclosing at least one power-circuitry driver; and

the at least one wall divides the open space into an illuminator-adjacent flow region and a chamber-adjacent flow region.

10. The LED lighting fixture of claim 9 wherein the light-emitting portion comprises at least one fin which extends from the illuminator-supporting region and has a fin-end secured to the at least one wall within the open space.

11. The LED lighting fixture of claim 10 wherein the light-emitting portion comprises a plurality of fins extending from the illuminator-supporting region across the illuminator-adjacent flow region to the at least one wall.

12. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the housing portion and the light-emitting portion are formed as a single piece, at least one illuminator being secured with respect to an illuminator-supporting region of the light-emitting portion.

13. An LED lighting fixture comprising a housing portion and a light-emitting portion supporting at least one illuminator, the housing portion and the light-emitting portion defining an open space therebetween permitting air/water-flow therethrough.

14. The LED lighting fixture of claim 13 wherein:

the housing portion includes a substantially closed chamber enclosing at least one power-circuitry driver; and

the at least one illuminator of the light-emitting portion comprises at least one LED module; and

the open space is between the chamber and the at least one LED module.

15. The LED lighting fixture of claim 13 wherein the light-emitting portion has an illuminator-supporting region supporting the at least one illuminator and having a proximal end adjacent to the housing portion, the open space being between the housing portion and the proximal end.

16. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein the housing portion and the light-emitting portion are each formed as part of a one piece which comprises at least one frame member supporting the light-emitting portion with respect to the housing portion.

17. The LED light fixture of claim 16 wherein the frame member has two ends secured to the housing portion and extends therefrom around the light-emitting portion with through-space(s) between the frame member and the light-emitting portion.

18. The LED light fixture of claim 17 wherein the frame member defines a forward region and a rearward region with the open space therebetween, the forward region has the light-emitting portion, and the rearward region has the housing portion.

19. The LED light fixture of claim 18 wherein the rearward region has an enclosure defining a chamber enclosing at least one power-circuitry driver, the enclosure having upper and lower shells, the upper shell being part of the one piece, the lower shell being movably secured with respect to the upper shell.

20. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein the housing portion and the light-emitting portion are formed as a single piece, at least one illuminator being secured with respect to an illuminator-supporting region of the light-emitting portion.