Unpackaged LED Chips on Conductive Panel for Uniform Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current LED-based lighting technologies face challenges with high packaging costs, excessive brightness from large LED chips, distracting light distribution, and heat management issues, particularly in commercial and domestic settings.
Innovation Solution
The method involves patterning conductors on a panel's inner surface, mounting unpackaged LED chips directly to these conductors, and integrating the panel with a support structure to form a lighting product, allowing for a stochastic arrangement of small LED chips that emit light through a panel surface, enhancing thermal dissipation and reducing manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If large LED chips are used to reduce the number of chips and packages, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but the light sources become uncomfortably bright and create distracting light distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the lighting system into multiple small LED chips (e.g., 50-200 chips per fixture) instead of using fewer large chips. Each small chip emits light that is diffused through the panel, creating many low-intensity light sources that collectively provide adequate illumination without the discomfort of bright spots.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different properties to different parts of the system: small LED chips are used throughout the panel surface, each chip's light output is locally diffused through the panel material, and the conductive epoxy provides both electrical connection and thermal management at each chip location. This distributed approach ensures uniform light distribution and comfort.
2Ease of manufacture
If large LED chips are used, then fewer chips and packages are needed reducing cost, but heat transfer management becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
Heat management is segmented by providing individual thermal paths for each small LED chip through conductive epoxy to the panel substrate. This distributed thermal management approach prevents heat accumulation that would occur with fewer large chips, as each chip's heat can be independently conducted away through its own epoxy interface and panel contact area.
3Reliability
If traditional packaging is used for each LED, then individual LEDs are protected, but packaging cost accumulates in each product
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple protective and functional roles into the panel assembly itself. The panel substrate provides mechanical support, the conductive epoxy provides both electrical connection and thermal management, and the panel material itself provides diffusion and protection. This eliminates the need for separate individual LED packages while maintaining reliability through the integrated design.
4Illumination intensity
If small LED chips are used in a stochastic arrangement, then light distribution becomes even and less distracting, but the number of chips and packages increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using fewer large chips and accepting bright spots, the invention inverts the approach by using many small chips to achieve uniform distribution. The panel material is made translucent or transparent to allow the light from numerous small sources to diffuse evenly, creating the opposite effect of traditional approaches where a few large sources create concentrated brightness.
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 results in a more efficient, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing lighting solution with improved thermal management and even light distribution, reducing the discomfort of bright spots and enhancing overall energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
mounting a plurality of unpackaged LED chips directly on the conductors
Implementation Method 2
anodized aluminum fixture... enhancing thermal dissipation
Data Source
AI summary
A method of building a light-emitting diode (LED) based lighting product includes mounting a plurality of unpackaged LED chips or LEDs directly on conductors on a surface of a two-sided panel, integrating the panel with support structure to form the lighting product such that at least one surface of the panel forms an external surface of the lighting product, and coupling a diffuser, with a distance from the diffuser to the surface of the LED chips or LEDs being at least twice an average spacing between adjacent LED chips or LEDs. A method of building a an LED chip-based lighting product includes mounting unpackaged LED chips directly on conductors formed on a surface of a two-sided panel, and mounting a cover plate to the LED chips such that light emitted from the LED chips passes through the cover plate.