Light emitting device

Abstract

To provide a light emitting device comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes that emit light in a linear or strip like pattern, specifically disclosing a constant current element that enables uniform brightness across its entire length.SOLUTION: It has a strip shaped substrate, a plurality of light emitting diodes mounted on the substrate and arranged along the entire length of the substrate, or a light emitting circuit including the light emitting diodes, and a constant current element mounted on the substrate, and the light emitting diode or the light emitting circuit, and the constant current element are connected in series on the substrate, and the constant current element is a constant current regulator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a light emitting device that emits light in a line or strip shape using a plurality of light emitting diodes. [Background technology]

[0002] A tape light (light-emitting device) has been known in the past, which comprises a flexible substrate (substrate) formed in a strip shape, a plurality of light-emitting diodes mounted on the flexible substrate and arranged along the entire length of the flexible substrate, and a current adjustment element mounted on the flexible substrate, the light-emitting diodes and the current adjustment element being connected in series on the flexible substrate, and the current adjustment element being a resistor.

[0003] While such light-emitting devices can adjust the current value flowing through each light-emitting diode by changing the resistance value of the resistor, the wiring used to emit light in a linear or band-like pattern is long, and the voltage drop caused by the internal resistance of this wiring results in a difference in the current value flowing through the light-emitting diode located farther from the power source and the current value flowing through the light-emitting diode located closer to the power source, resulting in a difference in brightness along the entire length.

[0004] In order to solve this problem, a tape light using a constant current element as a current adjusting element has been developed and is now known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] In this type of tape light, the constant current element allows a constant current to flow through each light-emitting diode, making it possible to uniformize the brightness of the tape light over its entire length. On the other hand, although the document mentions that the constant current element is a semiconductor element, it does not mention what kind of constant current element is specifically used. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-031113 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a light-emitting device that emits light in a line or band using a plurality of light-emitting diodes, and that specifically defines a constant current element that makes it possible to make the brightness uniform over the entire length of the device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, a light emitting device that emits light in a line or band using a plurality of light emitting diodes comprises a substrate formed in a band shape, a plurality of light emitting diodes or a light emitting circuit including the light emitting diodes mounted on the substrate and aligned along the entire length of the substrate, and a constant current element mounted on the substrate, wherein the light emitting diodes or the light emitting circuit and the constant current element are connected in series on the substrate, and the constant current element is a constant current regulator.

[0009] The substrate may have a single strip-shaped circuit mounting portion, or may have a plurality of circuit mounting portions arranged in a straight line with adjacent ends electrically connected to each other.

[0010] The substrate may have a plurality of the circuit mounting portions, and the constant current regulator may be mounted on at least one of the circuit mounting portions.

[0011] The constant current regulator may be provided in at least one of the circuit mounting section closest to the power supply device and the circuit mounting section farthest from the power supply device.

[0012] The constant current regulator may be provided individually for each of the plurality of circuit mounting sections.

[0013] The light emitting circuit may include a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in parallel.

[0014] Adjacent circuit mounting portions may be integrally formed.

[0015] The substrate may be made of a rigid material.

[0016] The substrate may be a flexible substrate.

[0017] The device may comprise a voltage application side circuit to which a voltage is applied, and a low voltage circuit that has a lower voltage than the voltage application side circuit, and may be configured such that a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in series or a plurality of the light emitting circuits connected in series and the constant current element are connected in series to form a closed circuit, and the closed circuit is connected to both in a state where a current flows from the voltage application side circuit to the low voltage circuit.

[0018] A plurality of the closed circuits may be provided.

[0019] The low voltage circuit may be provided individually for each of the plurality of closed circuits.

[0020] A plurality of the closed circuits may be provided for each of the colors of light emitted by the light emitting diodes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] According to the present invention, by using a constant current regulator, it is possible to make the brightness of a light emitting device that emits light in a linear or band shape uniform over the entire length of the device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an illumination device to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of a tape unit with a constant current function. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an electrical circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of a normal tape unit. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is an electrical circuit diagram showing another example of the configuration of a normal tape unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of a tape unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the configuration of an illumination device according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of the tape unit shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of a tape unit according to another embodiment. [Figure 9] 9 is a plan view of a main part of the tape light according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a lighting device to which the present invention is applied. The lighting device shown in the figure includes a strip-shaped light strip (light-emitting device) 1 and a power supply device 2 that supplies power to the light strip 1.

[0024] The power supply unit 2 is configured to convert household AC voltage into DC voltage and output it. The voltage (power) output from the power supply unit 2 is supplied to the light strip 1 via a power cable 3 that combines a voltage application line 3a, to which the voltage is applied, and a ground line 3b, which serves as a reference (0 V).

[0025] The light strip 1 comprises one or more (single in this example) flexible substrates (substrates) 4 formed in a strip shape along its entire length (tape direction), and an end member 7 detachably attached to one end of the light strip 1. When the light strip 1 is made up of multiple flexible substrates 4, the multiple flexible substrates 4 are arranged in a line and adjacent ends of the flexible substrates 4 are electrically and physically connected to form the light strip 1. Note that the light strip 1 may also be provided with members or components other than the flexible substrates 4, such as a cover that covers the flexible substrates 4.

[0026] The flexible substrate 4 has a plurality of tape units (circuit mounting sections) 6 arranged linearly along its entire length, and is integrally formed as a whole. The plurality of tape units 6 are formed in a strip shape along the tape direction, and the ends of adjacent ones are electrically connected.

[0027] The flexible substrate 4 can be cut into individual tape units 6. The tape light 1 (flexible substrate 4) shown in FIG. 1 has five integral tape units 6, but if four tape units 6 are sufficient, the tape light 1 may be constructed from four tape units 6 by cutting the output end tape unit (output end unit portion) that is the tape unit 6 farthest from the power supply 2 in terms of the electrical circuit (in the illustrated example, the fifth tape unit 6 from the power supply 2). In this case, the fourth tape unit 6 from the power supply 2 becomes the new output end tape unit.

[0028] That is, the length of the light tape 1 can be freely selected for each tape unit 6, and a single light tape 1 and flexible substrate 4 may be constructed from as few as one tape unit 6. The light tape 1 is also available in two types: a tape unit 6A with a constant current function that has the function of maintaining the current flowing through it at a predetermined constant value, and a normal tape unit 6B that does not have such a function.

[0029] In this example, both the input end tape unit 6, which is the tape unit 6 closest to the power supply 2 in terms of electrical circuitry (in other words, the tape unit 6 directly connected to the power supply 2), and the output end tape unit 6 are constant current function-equipped tape units 6A, but it is also possible to use only one of them as a constant current function-equipped tape unit 6A and the other as a normal tape unit 6B. Furthermore, it is also possible to use all tape units 6 as constant current function-equipped tape units 6A, which is most preferable in order to obtain a constant brightness.

[0030] Incidentally, if only one of the input end side tape unit 6 and the output end side tape unit 6 is a tape unit with constant current function 6A, it is preferable to use the output end side tape unit 6 as a tape unit with constant current function 6A and the input end side tape unit 6 as a normal tape unit 6B.

[0031] 2 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of a tape unit with constant current function. The tape unit with constant current function 6A is composed of all or part of a flexible substrate 4 (part in the illustrated example). On this tape unit, there are mounted a plurality of light-emitting circuits 9 each consisting of a plurality of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 8 (two in the illustrated example) connected in parallel, a voltage application side circuit (voltage application section) 12 each consisting of a constant current element 11 electrically connected in series, and a ground side circuit (low-voltage circuit, low-voltage section) 13.

[0032] One end of the voltage application circuit 12 is an input port 12a, and the other end is an output port 12b. The forward direction of each LED 8 is set so that electricity flows from the input port 12a to the output port 12b.

[0033] Each constant current element 11 is a constant current regulator (CCR) that supplies a constant current regardless of the applied voltage. The reason why a CCR is used as the constant current element 11 instead of a constant current diode (CRD) is that a CCR is more resistant to power supply noise than a CRD, operates at a lower voltage, and is compact in size. The constant current regulator 11 used in this example operates normally over a wide temperature range of -40 to 165°C, and obtains a substantially constant current of around 19 mA over a voltage range of 0.6 to 36.0 V.

[0034] The voltage range differs depending on the type of constant current regulator 11, and is changed appropriately depending on the desired light intensity and the number of installed LEDs 8 and constant current regulators 11. In addition, the constant current regulator 11 of this example is capable of applying a voltage of 0.3 to 40.0 [V].

[0035] A plurality of series-connected light-emitting circuits 9 are arranged between the input port 12a and the constant current element 11 in the voltage application side circuit 12, and a plurality of series-connected light-emitting circuits 9 are also arranged between the output port 12b and the constant current element 11. In other words, in the voltage application side circuit 12, the constant current element 11 is arranged between a group of a plurality of series-connected light-emitting circuits 9 and another group of a plurality of series-connected light-emitting circuits 9. The constant current element 11 may be arranged on the side (end side) of the voltage application side circuit 12 closest to the input port 12a or the output port 12b.

[0036] When the tape unit 6 is an input end side tape unit, the input port 12a is electrically connected to the voltage application line 3a of the power cable 3. When the tape unit 6 is a tape unit other than the input end side tape unit, the input port 12a is electrically connected to the output port 12b of the other tape unit 6.

[0037] The ground-side circuit 13 has an input port 13a, an output port 13b, and a connection line 13c that electrically connects them. If the tape unit 6 is an input-end tape unit, the input port 13a is electrically connected to the ground line 3b of the power cable 3. That is, the ground-side circuit 13 has a lower voltage than the voltage-application-side circuit 12. If the tape unit 6 is a tape unit other than the input-end tape unit, the input port 13a is electrically connected to the output port 13b of the other tape unit 6.

[0038] Furthermore, when the tape unit 6 is an output-end side tape unit, the output ports 12b, 13b are electrically connected to each other by a closed circuit (circuit forming portion) 14 that connects the output ports 12b, 13b to form a circuit. The closed circuit 14 is mounted on the end member 7. The closed circuit 14 is configured to directly connect the pair of output ports 12b, 13b of the output-end side tape unit 6 to each other.

[0039] That is, the end member 7 is detachably attached to the end of the output end side tape unit 6 on the output port 12b, 13b side.

[0040] Fig. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of a normal tape unit. The voltage application circuit 12 of the normal tape unit 6B shown in Fig. 3 omits the constant current element 11 from the voltage application circuit 12 of the constant current function-equipped tape unit 6A shown in Fig. 2, and is composed only of a plurality of light-emitting circuits 9 connected in series and input / output ports 12a, 12b. The rest of the configuration of the normal tape unit 6B is the same or substantially the same as that of the constant current function-equipped tape unit 6A shown in Fig. 2.

[0041] Incidentally, the current adjustment element can be omitted from the part where the light-emitting circuits 9 are connected in series because the parts where the light-emitting circuits 9 are connected in series are connected in series throughout the entire tape light 1, and instead a closed circuit 14 is required.

[0042] Fig. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram showing another example of the configuration of a normal tape unit. The voltage application circuit 12 of the normal tape unit 6B shown in Fig. 4 is configured by replacing the constant current element 11 of the constant current function-equipped tape unit 6A shown in Fig. 2 with a resistor 18, but the other configuration is the same as that shown in Fig. 3.

[0043] The tape unit 6 used as the normal tape unit 6B in one tape light 1 may be either the one shown in Figure 3 or the one shown in Figure 4. Furthermore, when one tape light 1 is provided with multiple normal tape units 6B, only one of the one shown in Figure 3 or the one shown in Figure 4 may be used, or both may be used in combination.

[0044] With the lighting device configured as described above, even if a voltage drop occurs due to the internal resistance of the wiring of the flexible substrate 4 (specifically, the connection wire 13c, the wiring connecting the light-emitting circuits 9 to each other, and the wiring connecting the light-emitting circuits 9 to the constant current elements 11), the value of the current flowing through the circuits 12 and 13 of each tape unit 6 is kept constant by the action of one or more constant current elements 11. This makes it possible to light up the multiple LEDs 8 provided on the tape light 1 with approximately the same brightness.

[0045] The substrate 4 may be made of a hard material, in which case the light emitting device 1 is non-deformable and emits light in a line or strip shape. Such a light emitting device 1 is used to illuminate shelves, plants in a plant factory, etc.

[0046] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5, focusing on the differences from the above embodiment.

[0047] 5 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of a tape unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The tape unit 6 shown in the figure has a voltage application circuit 12 formed by connecting multiple LEDs 8 in series. The example shown in the figure is a tape unit 6A with a constant current function, but a normal tape unit 6B also has a voltage application circuit 12 formed by connecting multiple LEDs 8 in series in a similar manner.

[0048] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, focusing on the differences from the above embodiment.

[0049] Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the configuration of a lighting device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The lighting device shown in the figure includes a light strip 1 and a power supply 2 that supplies power to the light strip 1. The power supply 2 is the same as that described above, and the voltage output from this power supply 2 is supplied to the light strip 1 via a power cable 3 that integrates a voltage application line 3a to which the voltage is applied and a reference ground line 3b.

[0050] The tape light 1 is similar to the above-mentioned form in that it has one or more (in this example, a single) flexible substrate (substrate) 4 formed in a strip shape along its entire length (tape direction), but differs from the above-mentioned form in that the end member 7 is not required due to the configuration described below.

[0051] Incidentally, when the tape light 1 is constructed from multiple flexible substrates 4, the tape light 1 is constructed by arranging multiple flexible substrates 4 in a line and electrically and physically connecting adjacent ends of the flexible substrates 4, which is similar to the above-mentioned form, and it is also possible to provide the tape light 1 with members and components other than the flexible substrates 4, such as a cover body that covers the flexible substrates 4.

[0052] The flexible substrate 4 has a plurality of tape units (circuit mounting sections) 6 arranged linearly along its entire length, and is integrally formed as a whole. The plurality of tape units 6 are formed in a strip shape along the tape direction, and the ends of adjacent ones are electrically connected.

[0053] The flexible substrate 4 can be cut into individual tape units 6. For example, the tape light 1 (flexible substrate 4) shown in Fig. 6 has five integrated tape units 6, but if four tape units 6 are sufficient length, the tape unit 6 on the output end side can be cut to form the tape light 1 from four tape units 6. In this case, the fourth tape unit 6 from the power supply 2 becomes the new tape unit on the output end side.

[0054] That is, in the light tape 1 of this embodiment, as in the above-described embodiment, the length of each tape unit 6 can be freely selected, and a single light tape 1 and flexible substrate 4 may be constructed from a minimum of one tape unit 6. Furthermore, the multiple tape units 6 provided in this light tape 1 are all constructed from constant current function-equipped tape units 6A of the same or approximately the same configuration.

[0055] Fig. 7 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of the tape unit shown in Fig. 6. Each of the multiple constant current function-equipped tape units 6A has input / output ports 12a, 12b and a connection line 12c that electrically connects the two together, and is configured in the same way as the ground side circuit 13.

[0056] The tape unit 6A with constant current function shown in Fig. 6 is provided with a closed circuit 14. The closed circuit 14 has substantially the same configuration as the voltage application side circuit 12 of the tape unit 6A with constant current function shown in Fig. 2, and has a plurality of LEDs 8 or a plurality of light-emitting circuits 9 (a plurality of light-emitting circuits 9 in this example) and a constant current element 11 connected in series.

[0057] The closed circuit 14 is arranged to electrically connect the voltage application side circuit 12 and the ground side circuit 13. The forward direction of each LED 8 is set to the direction from the voltage application side circuit 12 toward the ground side circuit 13.

[0058] In the illustrated example, all tape units 6 are constant current function-equipped tape units 6A, but some may be normal tape units 6B, in which the constant current element 11 in the unit shown in Figure 7 is replaced with a resistor 18. However, from the viewpoint of obtaining a constant light intensity, the illustrated example is preferable. Incidentally, in this embodiment, due to the presence of the closed circuit 14, it is necessary to provide at least one of the constant current element 11 or the resistor 18 in each of the multiple tape units 6.

[0059] According to the above-described configuration, since the closed circuit 14 is provided in each tape unit 6, the end member 7 is not required. Incidentally, the configurations shown in Figures 6 and 7 are preferable to the configurations shown in Figures 1 to 5.

[0060] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, focusing on the differences from the above-described embodiment.

[0061] 8 is an electrical circuit diagram showing the configuration of a tape unit according to another embodiment. A plurality of closed circuits 14 are provided. In the illustrated example, each closed circuit 14 is a circuit in which a plurality of light-emitting diodes 8 and constant current elements 11 are electrically connected in series.

[0062] The closed circuit 14 may be configured by a circuit in which a plurality of light emitting circuits 9 and constant current elements 11 are electrically connected in series.

[0063] In this example, a closed circuit 14 is provided for each of the plurality of light emitting colors. Specifically, three types of light emitting diodes 8 or light emitting circuits 9 are provided for the three primary colors of light, red, green and red, and a closed circuit 14 dedicated to each of the light emitting colors is provided individually in correspondence therewith.

[0064] Similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 7, each of the plurality of closed circuits 14 connects the voltage application side circuit 12 and the ground side circuit 13 in a state where a current flows from the voltage application side circuit 12 to the ground side circuit 13.

[0065] Incidentally, in this example, the above-mentioned ground side circuit 13 is also provided individually for each of the multiple closed circuits 14. As a result, even if a malfunction occurs in one ground side circuit 13, the light emitting diodes 8 of the closed circuits 14 connected to the remaining ground side circuits 13 can still emit light.

[0066] Fig. 9 is a plan view of the main part of the tape light according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 8. The tape unit 6 (specifically, the tape unit 6A with constant current function) constituting at least a part of the tape light 1 has the same number of light-emitting units 19 as the number of light-emitting diodes 8 or light-emitting circuits 9 each having a different light emission color, and these light-emitting units 19 are arranged in the overall length direction of the tape unit 6 (tape light 1).

[0067] One output port 12b of the voltage application side circuits 12, 12 of adjacent tape units 6, 6 is electrically connected to the input port 12a of the other by a connection 21 such as soldering. Also, one of the multiple output ports 13b, 13b, 13b of the ground side circuits 13, 13 of adjacent tape units 6, 6 is electrically connected to the corresponding input ports 13a, 13a, 13a of the other by connection parts 21, 21, 21 such as soldering.

[0068] Furthermore, a constant current element 11 is also disposed between adjacent light emitting diodes 8, 8 or between adjacent light emitting circuits 9, 9.

[0069] With the tape light 1 configured as described above, even if the number of luminous colors is increased, the settings can be easily changed, and it is easy to use, for example, two luminous colors or four or more luminous colors. Specifically, the same number of closed circuits 14 as the number of luminous colors may be provided, and the same number of ground-side circuits 13 as the closed circuits 14 may be provided as needed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 1. Tape light (light-emitting device) 2 Power supply 4 Flexible PCB (PCB) 6 Tape unit (circuit mounting part) 6A constant current tape unit (tape light) 6B Normal tape unit (Tape light) 8 LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 9 Light-emitting circuit 11 Constant current element (constant current regulator) 12 Voltage application side circuit (voltage application section) 12a input port 12b output port 13 Ground side circuit (low voltage circuit, low voltage section) 13a Input port 13b output port 14 Closed circuit (circuit forming part) 18 resistor 19 Lighting unit

Claims

1. A light emitting device that emits light in a line or strip shape using a plurality of light emitting diodes, a substrate formed in a strip shape; a plurality of light-emitting diodes mounted on the substrate and arranged in the overall length direction of the substrate, or a light-emitting circuit including the light-emitting diodes; a constant current element mounted on the substrate, the light-emitting diode or the light-emitting circuit and the constant current element are connected in series on the substrate; The constant current element is a constant current regulator. A light emitting device characterized by:

2. The substrate has a single strip-shaped circuit mounting portion, or a plurality of circuit mounting portions arranged in a line and having adjacent ends electrically connected to each other. The light emitting device according to claim 1 .

3. the substrate has a plurality of the circuit mounting portions, At least one of the circuit mounting sections is mounted with the constant current regulator. The light emitting device according to claim 2 .

4. The constant current regulator is provided in at least one of the circuit mounting section closest to the power supply device and the circuit mounting section farthest from the power supply device. The light emitting device according to claim 3 .

5. The constant current regulator is provided individually for each of the plurality of circuit mounting sections. The light emitting device according to claim 3 .

6. The light emitting circuit has a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in parallel. The light emitting device according to claim 1 .

7. The adjacent circuit mounting portions are integrally formed. The light emitting device according to claim 3 .

8. The substrate was made of a hard material. The light emitting device according to claim 1 .

9. The substrate is a flexible substrate. The light emitting device according to claim 1 .

10. a voltage application side circuit to which a voltage is applied; a low-voltage circuit that has a lower voltage than the voltage application side circuit, a plurality of light-emitting diodes connected in series or a plurality of the light-emitting circuits connected in series are connected in series with the constant current element to form a closed circuit; The closed circuit is configured to connect the voltage application side circuit and the low voltage circuit in a state where a current flows from the voltage application side circuit to the low voltage circuit. The light emitting device according to claim 1 .

11. A plurality of the closed circuits are provided. The light emitting device according to claim 10.

12. The low voltage circuit is provided individually for each of the plurality of closed circuits. The light emitting device according to claim 11.

13. The closed circuits are provided in plural for each light-emitting color of the light-emitting diode. The light emitting device according to claim 11.

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