Flexible LED Carrier Helical Winding for Universal Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing LED lighting assemblies require a custom-designed PCB and heat spreader for each specific application, leading to increased costs due to the need for separate engineering and manufacturing for different types of LED lighting applications.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a flexible carrier and shaping element, where LEDs are mounted on a flexible carrier that can be wound in a helical manner around a flexible shaping element, allowing for a single carrier design to be used in various applications by adjusting the winding pitch and shape of the carrier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a custom-designed PCB and heat spreader are used for each specific LED lighting application, then the lighting assembly achieves optimal performance for that application, but the manufacturing cost and engineering complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single standardized PCB and heat spreader assembly that can be used across multiple different LED lighting applications. The flexible carrier with mounted LEDs can be wound around various shaping elements to create different lighting configurations, eliminating the need for custom-designed PCBs for each application while maintaining optimal thermal and electrical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamics by making the carrier flexible rather than rigid, allowing it to be wound into different shapes and configurations. This dynamic flexibility enables the same standardized PCB design to adapt to various application requirements, resolving the contradiction between performance optimization and manufacturing complexity.
2Reliability
If custom PCBs are engineered and manufactured for each lighting unit type, then the lighting assembly is optimized for its specific application, but the production cost increases due to separate engineering and manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 1:
The standardized flexible carrier design serves multiple applications universally, allowing a single PCB design to be mass-produced and then configured for different lighting needs through winding around various shaping elements, thereby reducing per-unit manufacturing costs while maintaining application-specific performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the carrier from rigid to flexible, enabling the same PCB design to achieve different shapes and configurations through winding. This parameter change allows a single standardized design to serve multiple applications, reducing the need for expensive custom engineering and manufacturing for each application type.
3Reliability
If a rigid PCB structure is used, then the electrical connections are stable and reliable, but the ability to create different lighting shapes and configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a static rigid PCB to a dynamic flexible carrier that can be wound into different configurations while maintaining stable electrical connections. The flexibility allows adaptation to various lighting shapes without compromising the reliability of electrical connections between LEDs and the circuit board.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible carrier structure that combines the electrical connectivity of a PCB with the adaptability of flexible materials. This flexible shell approach allows the carrier to be wound around different shaping elements to create various lighting configurations while maintaining stable electrical connections through the flexible circuit traces.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the creation of a wide range of LED lighting units with different shapes and configurations using a single carrier design, reducing production costs and allowing for versatile use across multiple applications without modification.
Implementation Method 1
incorporating a heat spreader in the flexible shaping element
Data Source
AI summary
The invention describes a method of manufacturing an LED lighting assembly, which method comprises the steps of preparing a flexible carrier for a number of light-emitting diodes; mounting the light-emitting diodes onto the flexible carrier; providing a flexible shaping element made of a material that can be bent into a desired shape or form and incorporating a heat spreader; and winding the flexible carrier about the flexible shaping element in a helical manner. The invention further describes such an LED lighting assembly, and an LED lighting unit comprising such an LED lighting assembly.