LED Electrical Contacts for 3D LEDs

Abstract

An electrical contact, a three-dimensional LED, and a method of manufacturing a three-dimensional LED are described. The electrical contact includes a printed circuit board (PCB) bridge and a PCB connector. The PCB bridge includes at least one electrical contact. The at least one electrical contact is configured to electrically couple with at least one interposer of a string of LEDs. The PCB connector is electrically coupled to the PCB bridge. The PCB connector includes an electrical contact configured to electrically couple with at least one external wire.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] [CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 288,928, filed December 13, 2021, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth. [Background technology]

[0002] Automotive lighting, including but not limited to front position indicators, daytime running lights, front and rear turn signals, rear stop and tail lights, body contours, roof rails, grill areas and interiors, are often designed as line or area emitters. These applications often require high mechanical flexibility, high luminous flux, high uniformity and compactness. To meet these criteria, light emitting diodes (LEDs) on wires may be used as the light source. LEDs run on electricity provided by the vehicle. A solution is needed to connect the vehicle's electrical wires to the LEDs. Summary of the Invention

[0003] An electrical contact, a three dimensional LED (3D LED), and a method for manufacturing a 3D LED are described. The electrical contact includes a printed circuit board (PCB) bridge and a PCB connector. The PCB bridge includes at least one electrical contact. The at least one electrical contact is configured to electrically couple with at least one interposer of a string of LEDs. The PCB connector is electrically coupled to the PCB bridge. The PCB connector includes an electrical contact configured to electrically couple with at least one external wire. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0004] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a top view of a 3D LED. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a 3D LED with electrical contacts. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an electric wire inserted into the connector housing. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a terminal pin inserted into a PCB connector. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a PCB bridge connected to an end interposer of a string of LEDs. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the PCB connector aligned with the PCB bridge. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an assembled 3-dimensional LED with electrical contacts. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a 3D LED with electrical contacts. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is another perspective view of a second embodiment of a three-dimensional LED with electrical contacts. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the SMD connector connected to the PCB connector and the wiring housing connected to the SMD connector. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an SMD connector connected to a PCB connector and a wiring housing connected to the SMD connector. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a method for fabricating a 3D LED with electrical contacts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0005] Examples of LED electrical contacts for three-dimensional light emitting diodes (LEDs) are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. These examples are not mutually exclusive, and features found in one example may be combined with features found in one or more other examples to achieve additional implementations. It will therefore be understood that the examples shown in the accompanying drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only, and that they are not intended to limit the present disclosure in any way. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

[0006] It will be understood that although terms such as first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element and a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term "and / or" may include any and all combinations of the associated listed items.

[0007] When an element, such as a layer, region, or substrate, is referred to as being "on" or "extending onto" another element, it will be understood that it may be directly on or extend directly onto the other element, or that intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" or "extending directly onto" another element, there may not be intervening elements present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it will also be understood that it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element and / or may be connected or coupled to the other element via one or more intervening elements. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intervening elements between the element and the other element. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the elements in addition to any orientations shown in the figures.

[0008] Unless otherwise stated, relative terms such as "bottom," "top," "upper," "lower," "horizontal," or "vertical" may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element, layer, or region shown in the figures to another element, layer, or region. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation shown in the figures.

[0009] Automotive lighting applications may include, but are not limited to, body contours, roof rails, and grill areas. In addition, vehicles include more interior lighting. This lighting is often designed as a line emitter or surface emitter. These applications require light sources with high mechanical flexibility, high luminous flux, high uniformity, and compactness. An example of an ideal light source for these applications is a 3D LED. A 3D LED can be a bendable, elongated light source that can be integrated as a line emitter or combined with optical elements to create a surface light. In some embodiments, the 3D LED can be a small, e.g., 10 mm long, LED lighting strip. If a longer strip is desired, multiple blocks of such designs can be joined together up to the maximum length. The final strip can be completed by adding a start and an end to the design and an electrical connector to plug into the vehicle's electrical system. WO 2020 / 016076 describes the construction principle and basic manufacturing method of such LED lighting strips, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0010] The 3D LED may include a string of LEDs on wires assembled or embedded in a silicone housing. The LEDs may run on current provided by the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle's wiring and the internal LEDs must be electrically coupled.

[0011] However, electrical coupling or contact between the vehicle wiring and the internal LED string may be difficult due to spatial limitations imposed by the housing that encapsulates the LED string. As an example, adding standard SMD contacts to the LED string may require space for contact terminals on the PCB. However, the required space may not be available within the molded housing that encapsulates the LED string. In addition, if the contacts are soldered to the PCB of the LED string, there may be a high risk of the molded housing burning or melting. Also, the contact terminals may pass through the PCB of the LED and interfere with the optical side of the LED string. Therefore, electrical contacts for 3D LED technology that are compact in design while still electrically coupling the LED string to the vehicle's electrical system and extending beyond the silicone housing of the LED string may be advantageous.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of a three-dimensional LED lighting strip 100, or more precisely, a cross-section of the LED lighting strip 100. Cross-sections similar to the cross-section shown in FIG. 1 may be connected or the cross-section shown in FIG. 1 may be continued to the left or right of the cross-section shown to form a complete or entire LED lighting strip 100. The LED lighting strip 100 shown includes three wires 12, 14, and 15. Two of the wires are outer wires and may be referred to as the cathode wire 14 and the anode wire 12. The third of the three wires may be referred to as the center wire 15. LEDs 22 may be arranged along the strip to form a longitudinal LED lighting strip 100. The LEDs 22 may be directly connected to the wires 12, 14, 15 or may be attached to an interposer 24 (or carrier) as shown in FIG. 1. In embodiments where an interposer 24 or carrier is used, the wires 12, 14, 15 may be connected to the interposer 24 or carrier and electrically connected to the LEDs provided thereon. The traces 12, 14, 15 may be continuous or segmented. In embodiments where the traces are segmented, they may include trace segments that are connected, for example, by soldering to pads on the interposer 24. The LED lighting strip 100 may also include a containment member or housing 52 that may encase the traces 12, 14, 15, the LEDs 22, and the interposer 24. The housing 52 may be filled with an encapsulant material 53 up to a top edge 54 of the housing. The encapsulant material 53 may be silicone. The encapsulant material 53 may be transparent to allow light from the LEDs to pass through.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows three consecutive LEDs 22 arranged in a group 50. In the example shown in FIG. 1, each of the three LEDs 22 in the group 50 are electrically coupled in series by the central wire 15. Each group may have, for example, one LED connected to the outer wire 14 and one LED connected to the outer wire 12. Thus, repeating the cross section shown in FIG. 1 from side to side results in consecutive LED groups 50, with the LEDs 22 in each group 50 electrically connected in series via the inner wire 15, and the groups 50 electrically coupled in parallel to each other via the outer wires 12, 14. Bends 51 in the outer wires 12, 14 and bends 51 between at least some of the LEDs 22 in the central wire 15 may, for example, allow the LED lighting strip 100 to be bent or twisted into a three-dimensional shape to form three-dimensional LEDs.

[0014] While the bends 51 in the outer wires 12, 14 may provide sufficient flexibility for bending and twisting of the LED lighting strip 100, the thermal expansion of the components of the LED lighting strip 100 may vary in response to changes in ambient temperature and switching on / off the LEDs of the strip 100. In particular, the thermal expansion of the containment member or housing 52, which may comprise, for example, silicone rubber, and the central wire 15, which may comprise, for example, copper or a copper alloy such as CuFe2P or CuNiSi, may present problems that may be mitigated in some circumstances by introducing a bend 51 in the central wire 15. As mentioned above, many bend shapes, including straight sections, are within the scope of the embodiments described herein, so long as the required distance between the wires is maintained during bending and twisting.

[0015] The wiring 12, 14, 15 and the flexible housing 52 together may provide bending and twisting capabilities for the LED lighting strip 100, which may be advantageous for vehicle signal and styling lights. Exemplary LED electrical contacts for the three-dimensional LEDs are described below with respect to Figures 2-12 and may provide a mechanism for electrically connecting the three-dimensional LED lighting strip 100 shown in Figure 1 to a vehicle electrical system.

[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an example three-dimensional LED lighting strip with electrical contacts 10. The illustrated three-dimensional LED lighting strip with electrical contacts 10 includes an LED lighting strip 100 and electrical contacts 200. As previously described, the three-dimensional LED lighting strip 100 may include a flexible housing 52, interposers 24a, 24b, LEDs 22 (not shown in FIG. 2), and traces 12, 14, 15. The interposer 24 may be an inner interposer 24b that may be connected to other inner interposers 24b on either side, and an end interposer 24a that may define an end of the LED lighting strip 100. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the interposers 24a, 24b may include at least one LED 22 on a surface whose light-emitting surface faces the housing 52. The interposers 24a, 24b, traces 12, 14, 15, and LEDs 22 are embedded or housed in the housing 52. The housing 52 may be made of a flexible material, such as silicone. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the housing 52 may include an opening at the location of the LED 22 to allow light from the LED 22 to pass through the housing 52 .

[0017] The electrical contacts 200 may electrically couple or connect the LED lighting strip 100 to an external power source, such as a vehicle's electrical line. The electrical contacts 200 may include a PCB bridge 210 and a PCB connector 220. The PCB bridge 210 may be configured to be electrically coupled or connected to the edge interposer 24a. The edge interposer 24a may be a merged interposer 24a that spans a distance of at least two inner interposers 24b. The edge interposer 24a may be the size of at least two inner interposers 24b to form an area of ​​an appropriate size to receive and connect the PCB bridge 210. Due to the larger size of the edge interposer 24a, the edge interposer 24a may have more LEDs 22 than the inner interposer 24b. For example, the edge interposer 24a may have twice as many LEDs 22 as the inner interposer 24b. The PCB bridge 210 may be soldered to the interposer 24a. For example, the PCB bridge 210 may be connected to the edge interposer 24a in the same reflow process as, for example, the LEDs 22, the traces 12, 14, 15, and, if applicable, the TVS diodes. The PCB bridge 210 may have a thickness that allows the top surface 216 of the PCB bridge 210 to extend beyond the top edge 54 of the housing 52 and the encapsulant material 53.

[0018] The PCB bridge 210 may include at least one solder pad 212. For example, the PCB bridge 210 may have four solder pads 212, one solder pad 212 at each corner. The solder pads 212 may connect the PCB connector 220 to the PCB bridge 210. The PCB bridge 210 may include an aperture 214. The aperture 214 of the PCB bridge 200 may be configured to receive a terminal pin 310 of the wire 320. The aperture 214 may be a single cylindrical aperture that receives multiple terminal pins 310. For example, the aperture 214 in FIG. 2 receives three terminal pins 310.

[0019] The PCB connector 220 may be connected to the top surface 216 of the PCB bridge 210. The PCB connector 220 may be electrically coupled to the PCB bridge 210. The PCB connector 220 may include at least one castellation 222. The castellation 222 may include a solder pad extending to a bottom surface of the PCB connector 220. The castellation 222 may be arc-shaped. The arc-shaped castellation 222 may create space so that the castellation 222 may be easily soldered to the solder pad 212 of the PCB bridge 210. Additionally, the PCB connector 220 may have a smaller width and / or length than the PCB bridge 222 to create space so that the PCB connector 220 may be easily soldered to the PCB bridge 210. As shown in FIG. 2, the PCB connector 220 may include four castellations 222, one castellation 222 at each corner of the PCB connector 220. The locations of the castellations 222 may correspond to the locations of the solder pads 212 of the PCB bridge 210. The solder pads of the castellations 222 may be soldered to the solder pads 212 of the PCB bridge 210 to connect the PCB connector 220 to the PCB bridge 210. The castellations 222 may be soldered to the solder pads 212 of the PCB bridge 210 by laser soldering, using either printed solder or solder wire feed. Although FIG. 2 shows four castellations 222 and solder pads 212 located at the corners, different locations and different numbers of castellations 222 and corresponding solder pads 212 may be sufficient to connect the PCB connector 220 to the PCB bridge 210. Alternatively, the PCB connector 210 may not include any castellations 222. Instead, the entire edge of the PCB connector 210 may be soldered to the PCB bridge 220. Because the top surface 216 of the PCB bridge 210 extends beyond the top edge 54 of the housing 52 , the PCB connector 220 may be soldered to the PCB bridge 210 without risk of burning, melting, or otherwise damaging the housing 52 .

[0020] The PCB connector 220 may include at least one opening 224 for receiving a terminal pin 310 of the wire 320. The terminal pin 310 may enter through a top surface 226 of the PCB connector 220 and extend through the PCB connector 220. After the terminal pin 310 is inserted into the PCB connector 220, the terminal pin 310 is soldered to a bottom surface of the PCB connector 220, not shown in FIG. 2. The bottom surface of the PCB connector 220 is opposite the top surface 226 of the PCB connector 200 and may be adjacent to the top surface 216 of the PCB bridge 210. The number of openings 224 in the PCB connector 220 may correspond to the number of terminal pins 310. For example, the PCB connector 220 of FIG. 2 includes three openings 224 sized and positioned to receive three terminal pins 310. When the PCB connector 220 is connected to the PCB bridge 210, the terminal pin 310 is inserted into the opening 214 of the PCB bridge 210.

[0021] The electrical wire 320 may be housed in a connector housing 300. The connector housing 300 may abut against the PCB connector 220 when the terminal pin 310 is inserted into the PCB connector 220. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a second end of the electrical wire 320 opposite the connector housing 300 may include a second connector configured to be connected to a vehicle electrical wire. The vehicle electrical wire may provide electricity via the electrical wire 320, the terminal pin 310, the PCB connector 220, the PCB bridge 210, and the interposer 24a to be connected to a string of LEDs.

[0022] 3-8 illustrate an example process for assembling the example three-dimensional LED light strip 100 and electrical contacts 200 shown in FIG.

[0023] 3 shows a perspective view of an electrical wire 320 inserted and housed in a connector housing 300. The connector housing 300 may receive the electrical wire 320. A terminal pin 310 may extend beyond the connector housing 300. The terminal pin 310 may include a crimp connector terminal. The crimp connector terminal may be of a through-hole terminal type. As previously mentioned, the electrical wire 320 may be configured to be connected to a vehicle electrical wire. The electrical wire 320 may provide electricity from the vehicle electrical wire to the LED lighting strip 100 via the electrical contacts 200.

[0024] Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of the terminal pin 310 shown in Figure 3 inserted into the PCB connector 210. An electrical wire 320 is electrically coupled to the PCB connector 210. Although not shown in Figure 4, the terminal pin 310 is inserted into an opening 224 in the PCB connector 210. The connector housing 300 may abut against a top surface 226 of the connector 220.

[0025] Figure 5 is a bottom view of Figure 4. Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the bottom surface 228 of the PCB connector 220. As shown in Figure 5, the terminal pin 310 extends through the PCB connector 220. The terminal pin 310 may be connected to the bottom surface 228 of the PCB connector 220. The terminal pin 310 may be soldered to the bottom surface 228 of the PCB connector 220 by soldering.

[0026] 6 is a perspective view of a PCB bridge 210 connected to an end interposer 24a of a string of LEDs. In the illustrated example, the PCB bridge 210 is soldered to the top surface 27 of the end interposer 24a. The bottom surface of the end interposer 24a opposite the top surface 27 may include the LEDs 22. The PCB bridge 210 may be connected to the interposer 24a before the interposer 24a, the LEDs 22, and the traces 12, 14, 15 are assembled or encapsulated in the housing 52. As shown in FIG. 6, the end interposer 24a may be at least as long as the two inner interposers 24b.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the PCB connector 220 aligned with the PCB bridge 210. As shown in FIG. 7, the PCB bridge 210 and the string of LEDs may be embedded or encapsulated in the housing 52. The PCB bridge 210 may extend beyond the top edge 54 of the housing 52. The housing 52 may be filled with an encapsulant 53, as previously described. The encapsulant 53 fills the space around the string of LEDs. The encapsulant 53 mechanically stabilizes the traces 12, 14, 15 and the interposers 24a, 24b within the housing 52. The encapsulant 53 may also provide electrical insulation. The PCB connector 220 may be centered with the opening 214 of the PCB bridge 210 such that the terminal pin 310 of the wire 320 is inserted into the opening 214 of the PCB bridge 210.

[0028] 8 is a perspective view of an example assembled three-dimensional LED string with electrical contacts 10. In the example shown, PCB connector 220 is connected to PCB bridge 210 with terminal pin 310 of electrical wire 320 inserted into PCB bridge 210 via PCB connector 220. Electrical wire 320 can provide power to the LED light string via PCB connector 220, PCB bridge 210 and interposer 24a connection when electrically coupled to, for example, vehicle wiring.

[0029] 9-10 show an alternative embodiment of an exemplary three-dimensional LED string with electrical contacts 20. The alternative embodiment of FIG. 9-10 is similar to the previous embodiment, but the PCB connector 220 is connected to the wire 320 shown in FIG. 11-12 via an SMD connection 400. As shown in FIG. 9-10, the PCB bridge 210 connected to the end interposer 24a of the LED string can be embedded in a housing 52 or encapsulated in an encapsulation material 53. The PCB connector 220 can also be connected to the PCB bridge 210. The SMD connector 410 can be connected to the PCB connector 220. The SMD connector 410 can be soldered to the PCB connector 220. The SMD connector 410 can include surface mount technology (SMT) terminals 412. The wiring housing 420 can connect the wire 320 to the SMD connector 410. The SMD connector 410 and the wiring housing 420 can be various types of SMD connectors. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the SMD connector 410 may be a receptacle type having a female end 414, and the wiring housing 420 may be a plug type having a male end 422. In this example, the male end 422 of the wiring housing 420 may be inserted into the female end 414 of the SMD connector 410, as shown in Figure 10. Alternatively, the male and female portions of the connection may be reversed, such that the SMD connector 410 has a male end and the wiring housing 420 has a female end.

[0030] 11 and 12, the wire housing 420 can receive and accommodate the ends of the wires 320. The wires 320 can be inserted into the wire housing 420 at a right angle. The wire housing 420 and SMD connector 410 can be connected vertically, as shown in FIG. 11, or at a near right angle, as shown in FIG.

[0031] 13 shows a flow chart of a method for fabricating a three-dimensional LED with electrical contacts 1300. The three-dimensional LED and electrical contacts can be any of the three-dimensional LEDs and electrical contacts described above.

[0032] At 1310, a PCB bridge may be connected to at least one interposer. The interposer may be on the backside of at least one LED of the string of LEDs. The interposer may be an edge interposer. The PCB bridge may be soldered to the at least one interposer. The string of LEDs with the PCB bridge connected may be placed in a silicone housing.

[0033] At 1320, the PCB bridge and the string of LEDs including at least one interposer may be encapsulated in a silicone housing. The PCB bridge and the string of LEDs may be encapsulated by filling the silicone housing with an encapsulant material. The PCB bridge and the string of LEDs may be encapsulated in the silicone housing by molding liquid silicone around the PCB bridge, the at least one interposer, and the string of LEDs. The PCB bridge may extend beyond an edge of the silicone housing. The PCB bridge may include at least one solder pad.

[0034] At 1330, the PCB connector may be connected to the at least one electrical wire. The PCB connector may be or may include an SMD connector. The SMD connector may be soldered to the PCB connector. A wiring housing including the at least one electrical wire may be connected to the SMD connector. Alternatively, at least one terminal pin of the at least one electrical wire may be inserted and extend through at least one opening in the PCB connector. The at least one terminal pin may be soldered to the PCB connector.

[0035] At 1340, the PCB connector may be connected to the PCB bridge. The PCB connector may be soldered to the PCB bridge. The PCB connector may include at least one castellation having at least one solder pad. The solder pad of the castellation of the PCB connector may be soldered to at least one solder pad on the PCB bridge. If at least one terminal pin of at least one electrical wire extends through the PCB connector, the PCB bridge may include an opening to receive the at least one terminal pin.

[0036] Although the embodiments have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will understand, given the description herein, that modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit of the disclosed concepts. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described, and the scope of protection is limited only by the appended claims. In the claims, the term "comprises" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Reference signs in the claims should not be interpreted as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. a printed circuit board (PCB) bridge including at least one electrical contact configured to electrically couple with at least one interposer of a string of LEDs; a PCB connector including electrical contacts electrically coupled to the PCB bridge and configured to electrically couple to at least one external electrical wire; The electrical contacts include

2. 2. The electrical contact of claim 1, wherein the at least one external wire is configured to electrically couple the string of LEDs to power supplied by a vehicle through the PCB bridge, the PCB connector, and the interposer.

3. 10. The electrical contact of claim 1, further comprising a surface mount device (SMD) connector electrically coupled to the PCB connector, the SMD connector configured to connect to a wiring housing containing the at least one electrical wire.

4. the PCB connector further includes at least one first opening configured to receive at least one terminal pin of the at least one electrical wire such that the at least one terminal pin extends through the PCB connector; The electrical contact of claim 1 , wherein the PCB bridge further comprises at least one second opening configured to receive the at least one terminal pin of the at least one electrical wire.

5. the PCB bridge further includes at least one first solder pad; 2. The electrical contact of claim 1, wherein the PCB connector further comprises at least one castellation having at least one second solder pad soldered to the at least one first solder pad.

6. The electrical contact of claim 1 , wherein the PCB bridge extends beyond a silicone housing that encapsulates the string of LEDs.

7. A three-dimensional LED, A string of LEDs; at least one interposer on a back surface of at least one LED of the string of LEDs; a PCB bridge including at least one electrical contact configured to electrically couple with the at least one interposer; a silicone housing encapsulating the string of LEDs, the at least one interposer, and the PCB bridge, the PCB bridge extending beyond the silicone housing; a PCB connector electrically coupled to the PCB bridge; at least one electrical wire electrically coupled to the PCB connector, the PCB bridge, and the at least one interposer, the at least one electrical wire configured to electrically couple the three-dimensional LED to power provided by a vehicle; and A three-dimensional LED including:

8. 8. The three dimensional LED of claim 7, further comprising a surface mount device (SMD) connector electrically coupled to the PCB connector, the SMD connector being electrically coupled to a wiring housing containing the at least one electrical wire.

9. The three dimensional LED of claim 8 , wherein the SMD connector is soldered to the PCB connector.

10. 9. The three dimensional LED of claim 8, wherein the SMD connector is at least one of a receptacle connector and a plug connector, and the wiring housing is at least one of a receptacle wiring housing and a plug wiring housing.

11. the at least one electrical wire includes at least one terminal pin; The PCB connector further includes at least one first opening; the at least one terminal pin extends into the PCB connector through the at least one first opening; the PCB bridge further includes at least one second opening; The three dimensional LED of claim 7 , wherein the at least one terminal pin of the at least one electrical wire extends at least into the at least one second opening of the PCB bridge.

12. The three dimensional LED of claim 11 , wherein the at least one terminal pin is soldered to a surface of the PCB connector.

13. the PCB bridge further includes at least one first solder pad; The PCB connector further includes at least one castellation having at least one second solder pad; 8. The three dimensional LED of claim 7, wherein the at least one first solder pad and the at least one second solder pad are soldered together.

14. The three dimensional LED of claim 7 , wherein the at least one electrical wire includes a second connector configured to be connected to a vehicle electrical wire.

15. The three dimensional LED of claim 7 , wherein the three dimensional LED is mechanically flexible.

16. 1. A method for manufacturing a three-dimensional LED, comprising: connecting the PCB bridge to at least one interposer on a backside of at least one LED of the string of LEDs; encapsulating the PCB bridge, the at least one interposer, and the string of LEDs in a silicone housing with the PCB bridge extending beyond the silicone housing; connecting at least one wire to a PCB connector; connecting the PCB connector to the PCB bridge such that the PCB bridge and the PCB connector electrically couple the string of LEDs to the at least one electrical wire; A method comprising:

17. connecting an SMD connector to the PCB connector; connecting a wire housing containing the at least one wire to the SMD connector; 20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

18. inserting at least one terminal pin of the at least one electrical wire through at least one first opening of the PCB connector; connecting the at least one terminal pin to a surface of the PCB connector; 20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

19. 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising inserting the at least one terminal pin of the at least one electrical wire into at least one second opening of the PCB bridge when connecting the PCB connector to the PCB bridge.

20. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the PCB bridge, the at least one interposer, and the string of LEDs are encapsulated within the silicone housing by molding liquid silicone around the PCB bridge, the at least one interposer, and the string of LEDs.

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