LED lamp with internal reflector

• US 9,995,441 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2016
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting, LLC (Ideal Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CREE Incorporated (Wolfspeed, Inc.)
• Inventors: Power, David, Tiwari, Nishant, Lackey, Mark Corbin
• Primary Examiner(s): Mai, Anh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Glenn
• Application Number:
  US15/017,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20170227177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 362235, 362236, 362247, 36224902
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/232 specially adapted for generating an essentially omnidirectional light distribution, e.g. with a glass bulb
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/66 Details of globes or covers forming part of the light source
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/68 Details of reflectors forming part of the light source
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 29/70 characterised by passive heat-dissipating elements, e.g. heat-sinks
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/04 Optical design
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/043 with cylindrical surface
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2103/33 annular
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

In a LED lamp having an optically transmissive enclosure and a base connected to the enclosure a plurality of LEDs are operable to emit light when energized through an electrical path from the base. A reflector has an enclosed wall shape and is disposed such that LEDs are mounted inside of and outside of the reflector. The reflector includes a reflective outer surface where in cross-section the reflective outer surface is disposed at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the lamp such that the reflective outer surface diverges away from the longitudinal axis as it extends away from the base. The reflective outer surface may be disposed at an angle of between approximately 83 and 89 degrees relative to the plane of the LEDs.

Claims

1. A LED lamp comprising:

an optically transmissive enclosure and a base connected to the enclosure defining a longitudinal axis extending from the base to the enclosure;

a plurality of LEDs operable to emit light when energized through an electrical path from the base, the LEDs arranged in a plane;

a single reflector disposed in the enclosure extending above the plane, the reflector having an enclosed wall shape, at least one first LED of the plurality of LEDs being mounted inside of the reflector and a least one second LED of the plurality of LEDs being mounted outside of the reflector, the reflector comprising a reflective outer surface having a proximal end and a free distal end spaced from the enclosure where the reflective outer surface is disposed at a constant angle relative to the longitudinal axis between the proximal end and the distal end, the reflector being positioned relative to the at least one second LED such that the reflector reflects approximately 10% or less of the total lumen output by the at least one second LED whereby an omnidirectional luminous intensity distribution is generated.

2. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflector is a diffuse reflector.

3. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflector is made of molded plastic.

4. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflector comprises an annular shaped ring.

5. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the at least one first LED comprises a plurality of first LEDs and the at least one second LED comprises a plurality of second LEDs.

6. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface diverges away from the longitudinal axis as it extends away from the base.

7. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the at least one second LED comprises a plurality of second LEDs arranged in a plane and the reflective outer surface has a proximal end and a free distal end where the reflective outer surface is disposed at an angle of less than 90 degrees relative to the plane of the LEDs between the proximal end and the distal end.

8. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the at least one second LED comprises a plurality of second LEDs arranged in a plane and the reflector comprises a reflective outer surface where the reflective outer surface is disposed at an angle of between approximately 83 and 89 degrees relative to the plane.

9. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface is disposed at an angle of approximately 4 degrees relative to normal from the at least one second LED.

10. The lamp of claim 1 wherein in cross-section the reflective outer surface is a substantially straight line between the proximal end and the distal end.

11. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface has a height of approximately 7 mm.

12. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface has a height of less than approximately 10 mm.

13. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface has a height in the range of approximately 5 to 15 mm.

14. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface is disposed at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis where the angle is in the range of approximately 1 and 7°

.

15. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflective outer surface is a smooth curve in a transverse plane.

16. The lamp of claim 1 wherein the reflector is positioned relative to the at least one second LED such that the reflector does not reflect the peak light emitted by the at least one second LED.

17. The lamp of claim 4 wherein a center of the reflector is on the longitudinal axis.

18. The lamp of claim 10 wherein the distal end of the reflective outer surface terminates at a free corner such that the reflective outer surface does not include any structure that extends away from the reflective outer surface.

19. A LED lamp comprising:

an optically transmissive enclosure;

a base connected to the enclosure;

a plurality of LEDs operable to emit light when energized through an electrical path from the base;

a single reflector disposed in the enclosure, the reflector having a completely enclosed annular or oval shape, at least one first LED of the plurality of LEDs being mounted inside of the reflector and a plurality of second LEDs being mounted outside of the reflector, the plurality of second LEDs arranged in a plane and the reflector comprising a reflective outer surface having a proximal end and a free distal end where the reflective outer surface is disposed at an angle relative to the plane between the proximal end and the distal end in a range of between approximately 83 and 89 degrees, the reflective outer surface having a height of less than approximately 10 mm positioned such that the reflective outer surface reflects approximately 10% or less of the total lumen output by the at least one second LED and does not reflect peak intensity light emitted by the plurality of second LEDs.

20. A LED lamp comprising:

an optically transmissive enclosure and a base connected to the enclosure defining a longitudinal axis extending from the base to the enclosure;

a plurality of LEDs operable to emit light when energized through an electrical path from the base;

a single reflector disposed in the enclosure, the reflector having an enclosed wall shape, at least one first LED of the plurality of LEDs being mounted inside of the reflector and a least one second LED of the plurality of LEDs being mounted outside of the reflector, the reflector being positioned relative to the at least one second LED such that the reflector reflects approximately 10% or less of the total lumen output by the at least one second LED whereby an omnidirectional luminous intensity distribution is generated.

21. The lamp of claim 20 wherein the reflector comprises a center section having a first end and a second end and a first end section and a second end section where the first end section extends from the first end of the center section and the second end section extending from the second end of the center section, a first one of the at least one first LED being positioned inside of the first end section and a second one of the at least one first LED being positioned inside of the second end section.