LED Fixture Heat Dissipation via Spring-Loaded Thermal Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
LED lighting fixtures in sealed environments face challenges in effectively dissipating heat, which can lead to performance degradation and potential damage from accumulated heat.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical hollow body member made of thermal conducting material, such as metal, with a heat dissipating feature like a flange at the distal end, combined with a biasing member like a coil spring to push the LED bulb against the body member, ensuring heat is conducted out of the fixture, and watertight seals to protect electrical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a LED is placed inside a sealed fixture, then protection from environmental damage is improved, but heat dissipation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealed fixture is divided into two separate sealed chambers: a first sealed chamber containing the LED and electrical components, and a second sealed chamber serving as a heat sink. This segmentation allows the fixture to maintain environmental sealing while enabling heat dissipation through the thermally conductive barrier between chambers.
Solution Approach 2:
The first sealed chamber is nested within the second sealed chamber (heat sink). The barrier separating the chambers is in thermal communication with both chambers, creating a nested structure where the heat sink chamber envelops the LED chamber while maintaining thermal connection for heat dissipation.
2Temperature
If a heat dissipating feature is added to a sealed LED fixture, then heat dissipation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier between the two sealed chambers serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a thermal barrier to maintain separate sealed environments while also serving as a heat dissipation pathway through its thermal communication with both chambers. The heat sink chamber serves both as a structural enclosure and as the active heat dissipation component.
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
The solution effectively dissipates heat from the LED bulb, preventing performance degradation and ensuring the longevity of the lighting fixture while maintaining a watertight seal to protect electrical components from water damage.
Implementation Method 1
a hollow body member having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the hollow body member includes a heat dissipating feature at the distal end... the hollow body member is constructed from a thermal conducting material, including but not limited to a metal
Implementation Method 2
a biasing member having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end contacts the socket and is configured to push the LED bulb into the heat dissipating feature; the biasing member is a coil spring
Implementation Method 3
a first O-ring is positioned between the base member and connection member to provide a watertight seal... a second O-ring is positioned between the body member and base member to provide a watertight seal preventing water from damaging electrical components
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting fixture comprising a hollow body member having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the hollow body member includes a heat dissipating feature at the distal end; a socket having a cavity, wherein the socket provides electrical current to a LED bulb having a base portion, wherein the base portion is encased inside the cavity; a biasing member having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end contacts the socket and is configured to push the LED bulb into the heat dissipating feature; a base member having a seat configured and sized to accept the second end of the biasing member, and a channel allowing the passage of electrical wires through the base member to the socket.