U.S. patent application number 12/973092 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-21 for fastening type heat-dissipation structure.
Invention is credited to Ya-Wen Liu, Xiangyu Wen, Xinliang Zhu.
Application Number | 20120152490 12/973092 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46232820 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120152490 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wen; Xiangyu ; et
al. |
June 21, 2012 |
FASTENING TYPE HEAT-DISSIPATION STRUCTURE
Abstract
A fastening type heat-dissipation structure for connecting a
light-emitting module to an enclosure includes a first fixing
member and a second fixing member separately attached to two
opposite inner sides of the enclosure; and a flat plate, on which
the light-emitting module is mounted. The flat plate is provided
with at least a first extended section and at least a second
extended section for abutting on and locking to the first and the
second fixing member, respectively, so that the flat plate is
firmly mounted in the enclosure via the fixing members. And, heat
produced by the light-emitting module mounted on the flat plate can
be transferred via the extended sections and the fixing members to
the enclosure and dissipated from the enclosure into ambient air to
enable largely upgraded heat-dissipation effect.
Inventors: |
Wen; Xiangyu; (Sinjhuang
City, TW) ; Liu; Ya-Wen; (Sinjhuang City, TW)
; Zhu; Xinliang; (Sinjhuang City, TW) |
Family ID: |
46232820 |
Appl. No.: |
12/973092 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/67 ;
165/104.26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F21V 29/70 20150115;
F21W 2131/103 20130101; F21Y 2115/10 20160801; F21V 29/507
20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/67 ;
165/104.26 |
International
Class: |
F28F 9/00 20060101
F28F009/00; F28D 15/04 20060101 F28D015/04 |
Claims
1. A fastening type heat-dissipation structure for connecting a
light-emitting module to an enclosure, comprising: a first fixing
member having a first fixing section for internally bearing against
one side of the enclosure; a second fixing member having a second
fixing section for internally bearing against another side of the
enclosure opposite to the first fixing member; and a flat plate
having at least a first extended section and at least a second
extended section; the first extended section having a first
mounting end for correspondingly abutting on the first fixing
member, and the second extended section having a second mounting
end for correspondingly abutting on the second fixing member; and
the light-emitting module being fixedly mounted on a top surface of
the flat plate.
2. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the first mounting end is fixedly connected to the
first fixing member by means of a fastening element.
3. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the second mounting end is fixedly connected to
the second fixing member by means of a fastening element.
4. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the light-emitting module is locked to the top
surface of the flat plate by means of at least one fastening
element.
5. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the light-emitting module is an LED module.
6. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, further comprising a thermally conductive element provided
between the first fixing section and the enclosure.
7. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, further comprising a thermally conductive element provided
between the second fixing section and the enclosure.
8. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 6, wherein the thermally conductive element is selected from
the group consisting of thermally conductive tape and thermally
conductive silicone adhesive.
9. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 7, wherein the thermally conductive element is selected from
the group consisting of thermally conductive tape and thermally
conductive silicone adhesive.
10. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the enclosure is a lamp shell.
11. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 1, further comprising a first heat pipe; the first heat pipe
being extended across an inner space of the enclosure to locate
between the flat plate and the enclosure; and having a first end
extended through the first fixing section to locate between the
first fixing section and the enclosure, as well as a second end
extended through the second fixing section to locate between the
second fixing section and the enclosure.
12. The fastening type heat-dissipation structure as claimed in
claim 11, further comprising a second heat pipe; the second heat
pipe being extended across an inner space of the enclosure to
locate between the flat plate and the enclosure; and having a first
end extended through the first fixing section to locate between the
first fixing section and the enclosure, as well as a second end
extended through the second fixing section to locate between the
second fixing section and the enclosure.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a fastening type
heat-dissipation structure, and more particularly to a fastening
type heat-dissipation structure that not only connects an LED
module to a lamp shell, but also transfers heat produced by the LED
module to the lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] For the current street lamps to meet the requirements and
targets of environmental protection, energy saving, and carbon
reduction, conventional light emitting elements for the street
lamps, such as halogen lamps and incandescent bulbs, have been
gradually replaced by light-emitting diodes (LED) lamps.
[0003] LED has been widely applied in many different fields since
it was developed in 1955.
[0004] The working principle of an LED lamp is to convert electric
energy into light energy. To manufacture an LED, first, group V
elements, such as N, P, As and the like, and group III elements,
such as Al, Ga, In and the like, are subjected to, for example,
liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) or vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) to produce
a group III-V compound semiconductor, such as GaP or GaAs, for use
as a substrate. Then, a voltage is applied to an anode and a
cathode of the substrate. When electric current flows through the
substrate, electrons and holes combine with one another. At this
point, the electrons fall into a lower energy level and
accordingly, release surplus energy in the form of photons, that
is, to emit light.
[0005] However, it is not easy to substitute LED street lamps for
all the conventional street lamps using halogen lamps and
incandescent bulbs. This is because the lamp holders and the
mounting structures for the conventional halogen lamps and
incandescent bulbs are quite different from those for the LED
lamps, and it is impossible to directly replace the halogen lamps
and incandescent bulbs with the LED lamps just in a very simple
manner. It requires high cost and is therefore not economical if a
whole street lamp is discarded in order to use the LED lamp.
[0006] On the other hand, while the LED has the advantages of low
power consumption and increased brightness, it would produce more
heat than the halogen lamp and incandescent bulb and therefore
requires additional heat-dissipating device to remove the produced
heat. Since the conventional halogen lamp and incandescent bulb
produce less heat and basically does not require heat dissipation,
the halogen and incandescent street lamps are not provided with any
heat-dissipation design. Therefore, some major parts, such as the
lamp shell, of the conventional halogen lamp and incandescent bulb
could not be directly used with the LED lamp that produces high
amount of heat and requires heat dissipation. To redesign these
major parts, including the lamp shell, for the LED street lamp,
molds must be made and new codes for use safety and tests must be
re-established. All these require high investment cost and long
developing time.
[0007] In brief, the conventional way of substituting LED lamp for
halogen lamp and incandescent bulb used in street lamps has the
following disadvantages: (1) requiring high cost; (2) requiring
long developing time; and (3) requiring differently designed parts,
such as lamp shell.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a
fastening type heat-dissipation structure, with which an
incandescent bulb in the conventional street lamps can be directly
replaced with an LED lamp simply by mounting the LED lamp on the
heat-dissipation structure and then fastening the latter on the
existing lamp shell.
[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
fastening type heat-dissipation structure that is able to transfer
heat produced by a lamp to a lamp shell for dissipating into
ambient air, so as to enable upgraded heat dissipation
performance.
[0010] To achieve the above and other objects, the fastening type
heat-dissipation structure according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention is designed to connect a light-emitting
module to an enclosure, and includes a first fixing member, a
second fixing member, and a flat plate. The first fixing member has
a first fixing section for internally bearing against one side of
the enclosure; the second fixing member has a second fixing section
for internally bearing against another side of the enclosure
opposite to the first fixing member; and the flat plate has at
least a first extended section and at least a second extended
section. The first extended section has a first mounting end for
correspondingly abutting on the first fixing member, and the second
extended section has a second mounting end for correspondingly
abutting on the second fixing member. And, the light-emitting
module is fixedly mounted on a top surface of the flat plate.
[0011] With the specially designed fastening type heat-dissipation
structure of the present invention, an incandescent bulb for the
conventional street lamp or other types of lamps can be directly
replaced with an LED lamp simply by mounting the LED lamp on the
fastening type heat-dissipation structure of the present invention
and then fastening the latter to an existing lamp shell. In this
manner, it is not necessary to discard the whole lamp shell when
the lamp holder structure is changed. Further, the heat produced by
the LED lamp can be transferred via the heat-dissipation structure
to the lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air. Thus, the
present invention advantageously enables reduced lamp cost,
enhanced heat dissipation effect, and prolonged lamp service
life.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best
understood by referring to the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings,
wherein
[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fastening type
heat-dissipation structure according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention; and
[0014] FIG. 2 is an assembled view of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that are exploded and
assembled perspective views, respectively, of a fastening type
heat-dissipation structure according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention. As shown, the fastening type
heat-dissipation structure is so designed that it connects a
light-emitting module 1 to an enclosure 2, such as a lamp shell,
while dissipating the heat produced by the light-emitting module 1.
The fastening type heat-dissipation structure includes a first
fixing member 21, a second fixing member 22, a flat plate 23, a
first heat pipe 24, and a second heat pipe 25.
[0016] The first fixing member 21 includes a first fixing section
211 for internally bearing against one side of the enclosure 2; and
the second fixing member 22 includes a second fixing section 221
for internally bearing against another side of the enclosure 2
opposite to the first fixing member 21.
[0017] The flat plate 23 is made of a thermally conductive
material, and includes at least a first extended section 231 and at
least a second extended section 232. The first extended section 231
has a first mounting end 2311 for abutting on the first fixing
member 21; and the second extended section 232 has a second
mounting end 2321 for abutting on the second fixing member 22. The
light-emitting module 1 is fixedly mounted on a top surface of the
flat plate 23.
[0018] The light-emitting module 1 is fastened to the top surface
of the flat plate 23 by means of at least one fastening element 3,
and is an LED module in the illustrated preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0019] A heat-conducting element 4 can be further provided between
each of the first and second fixing sections 211, 221 and the
enclosure 2. The heat-conducting elements 4 can be thermally
conductive tapes or thermally conductive silicone adhesive.
[0020] The first mounting end 2311 is fixedly locked to the first
fixing member 21 by means of a fastening element 3 that is screwed
through the first mounting end 2311 into the first fixing member
21. Similarly, the second mounting end 2321 is fixedly locked to
the second fixing member 22 by means of a fastening element 3 that
is screwed through the second mounting end 2311 into the second
fixing member 22.
[0021] The first heat pipe 24 is extended across an inner space of
the enclosure 2 to locate between the flat plate 23 and the
enclosure 2; and has a first end extended through the first fixing
section 211 to locate between the first fixing section 211 and the
enclosure 2, as well as a second end extended through the second
fixing section 221 to locate between the second fixing section 221
and the enclosure 2.
[0022] The second heat pipe 25 is also extended across the inner
space of the enclosure 2 to locate between the flat plate 23 and
the enclosure 2; and has a first end extended through the first
fixing section 211 to locate between the first fixing section 211
and the enclosure 2, as well as a second end extended through the
second fixing section 221 to locate between the second fixing
section 221 and the enclosure 2.
[0023] With the specially designed fastening type heat-dissipation
structure of the present invention, an incandescent bulb in the
conventional street lamps or other types of lamps can be directly
replaced with an LED lamp simply by mounting the LED lamp on the
fastening type heat-dissipation structure of the present invention
and then fastening the latter to an existing lamp shell. In this
manner, it is not necessary to discard the whole lamp shell when
the lamp holder structure is changed. Further, the heat produced by
the LED lamp can be transferred via the heat-dissipation structure
to the lamp shell for dissipating into ambient air to achieve the
purpose of heat dissipation. Thus, the present invention
advantageously enables reduced lamp cost, enhanced heat dissipation
effect, and prolonged lamp service life.
[0024] The present invention has been described with a preferred
embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and
modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out
without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention
that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
* * * * *