LED Lighting Fixture Thermal Management via Clamp Bar and Density Variation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lighting fixtures using LEDs face thermal management challenges due to heat generated by electrical components, which can impact their performance and efficiency, especially when accommodating higher wattage LED sources.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a housing with increased cooling fins for enhanced heat dissipation and a clamp bar to secure drivers to the housing, reducing thermal resistance and facilitating heat transfer, while also varying LED densities on the LED board to optimize heat distribution and temperature uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If higher wattage LED sources are used, then lighting output and energy efficiency are improved, but heat generation increases which deteriorates thermal management performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the electrical components (drivers) from the main housing and positions them in a separate location. This separation allows the housing to be optimized for thermal management of the LED light engine while the drivers are managed independently, reducing the thermal burden on the housing and enabling higher wattage LED installations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a clamp bar as an intermediary component between the drivers and the housing. The clamp bar decreases thermal resistance by providing a dedicated thermal pathway, allowing heat from the drivers to be efficiently transferred to the housing without direct contact, thus managing heat from higher wattage components.
2Device complexity
If electrical components are placed within the housing, then device integration is improved, but thermal resistance increases which worsens heat dissipation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the drivers from the housing interior and positions them externally or in a separate compartment. This extraction reduces thermal resistance by removing the heat-generating electrical components from the housing volume, allowing the housing to be optimized for thermal dissipation of the LED light engine while maintaining integration through the clamp bar attachment mechanism.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform LED density is used across the LED board, then manufacturing is simplified, but heat dissipation efficiency decreases due to poor thermal distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the LED density across different regions of the LED board. The peripheral portions have higher LED density to maximize light output in those areas, while the center portion has lower density to account for poorer heat dissipation conditions. This non-uniform distribution optimizes both thermal management and light production, with the clamp bar providing additional thermal management for the higher-density peripheral regions.
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 configuration effectively manages heat generated by high-wattage LED sources, improving thermal performance, reducing unsightly protrusions, and maintaining uniform temperature distribution across the LED board, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and reliability of the lighting fixture.
Implementation Method 1
The clamp bar can be attachable to the housing and can be positioned adjacent to the one or more drivers to decrease thermal resistance between the one or more drivers and the housing
Implementation Method 2
Lighting fixtures (e.g., luminaires) using light emitting diodes (LEDs) have in recent years become somewhat practical
Data Source
AI summary
Lighting fixtures are provided. In one example implementation, a lighting fixture can include a housing, one or more drivers, and means for securing the one or more drivers to the housing to decrease thermal resistance between one or more of the drivers and the housing. The lighting fixture can also include an LED system comprising a light engine having a plurality of LED devices. The plurality of LED devices can be arranged on an LED board of the light engine such that a first portion of the LED board has a first density of LED devices and a second portion of the LED board has a second density of LED devices. The first density can be different than the second density.