LED Lighting Cup with Encapsulant for Hazardous Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting solutions using LEDs are not suitable for hazardous environments with potentially explosive atmospheres, as they can spark and lead to explosions due to electrical components being inadequately protected.
Innovation Solution
A lighting apparatus comprising a lighting cup and waveguide with a reflector, where the lighting cup is filled with an encapsulant material to exclude gases from the LED package and conductors, preventing sparking, and the waveguide has a reflective strip to direct light effectively while being partially covered to allow light exit, using materials like transparent acrylic and encapsulant materials like epoxy resin or silicone for protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If LED lighting is used in hazardous environments, then energy efficiency and lifetime are improved, but safety deteriorates due to potential sparking from electrical components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the electrical components (LED package and conductors) from the hazardous environment by sealing them inside the lighting cup filled with encapsulant material. This creates a physical separation between the sparking-prone electrical components and the explosive atmosphere, eliminating the safety hazard while maintaining the energy efficiency benefits of LED lighting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an inert environment inside the lighting cup by filling it with encapsulant material that excludes gases. This inert barrier prevents interaction between explosive gases and electrical components, effectively neutralizing the safety risk while allowing LED lighting to operate efficiently in hazardous locations.
2Reliability
If electrical components are protected from gases, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional protective structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective function with the existing lighting cup structure. The lighting cup serves dual purposes: as the mounting structure for the LED package and as the containment vessel filled with encapsulant material. This integration avoids adding separate protective housings or complex sealing mechanisms, maintaining simplicity while achieving safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses encapsulant material (epoxy resin or silicone) as a flexible sealing medium that conforms to the electrical components and fills the lighting cup. This thin film approach provides effective gas exclusion without requiring rigid, complex protective enclosures, thus minimizing structural complexity while maximizing safety.
3Reliability
If encapsulant material is used to exclude gases, then safety is improved, but heat dissipation may deteriorate due to thermal insulation properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses heat dissipation by designing the lighting cup with thermal management parameters optimized for heat extraction. The cup structure and encapsulant material selection are configured to allow sufficient thermal conduction from the LED package to the cup walls, which then dissipate heat to the surrounding environment. This parameter optimization ensures that safety through gas exclusion does not compromise thermal management.
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 provides a safe and reliable lighting system for hazardous environments by preventing gas exposure to electrical components, reducing the risk of sparking and explosions, while maintaining efficient light transmission and heat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
the lighting cup is filled with an encapsulant material to exclude gases in the environment away from any conductors of the LED package that could cause sparking
Implementation Method 2
Light travels along the transparent cylinder by total internal reflection, and is reflected out of the cylinder by a reflective strip that is aligned along the length of the cylinder
Implementation Method 3
the waveguide comprising a reflector aligned along a length of the waveguide for emitting the light from the waveguide
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
There is provided a lighting apparatus comprising a lighting cup (10) and a waveguide (2) having an end at the lighting cup. The lighting cup (10) emits light into the end of the waveguide (2), and the waveguide has a reflector (4) aligned along a length of the waveguide for emitting the light from the waveguide. The lighting apparatus further comprises a light emitting diode, LED, package mounted inside the lighting cup, and the lighting cup is filled with a transparent encapsulant material (25) to exclude gases in the environment away from any conductors of the LED package that could cause sparking. Accordingly, the lighting apparatus is safe for use in hazardous environments where explosive gases may be present. A method of manufacturing the lighting apparatus is also provided.