Diagonally Cuttable LED Strip for X-Axis Turns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional LED strip lighting struggles to make smooth x-axis turns due to geometric limitations of printed circuit boards and existing solutions like quick connectors or soldered jumper wires often create dark spots or cannot fit inside fixtures.
Innovation Solution
A flexible LED strip system with a printed circuit board designed to have designated cutting lines and shaped ends for acute and obtuse angles, allowing for conductive coupling and extension to create various angles and lengths, including x-axis turns without raising parts off the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional perpendicular cutting points are used, then the strip lighting can be cut to desired length, but the strip cannot make x-axis turns smoothly
Solution Approach 1:
The PCB is divided into multiple sections with designated cutting lines at various angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°). This segmentation allows the strip to be cut into segments that can be arranged to form smooth x-axis turns and various angular configurations, resolving the geometric limitation of conventional perpendicular-cut-only strips.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces flexibility and adaptability to the rigid PCB structure by providing multiple cutting angles and shaped ends. This allows the strip to dynamically adapt to different installation geometries including x-axis turns, converting a static geometric constraint into a dynamic solution.
2Ease of operation
If flexible strip lighting with curved sections is used, then x-axis turns are possible, but parts are raised off the surface of the fixture
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the strip into modular sections with angled cutting lines, the invention enables x-axis turns through planar geometry rather than vertical curvature. This keeps all parts flush with the fixture surface while achieving the desired turning capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of solving the turning problem in the vertical dimension (curved sections raising off surface), the invention solves it in the horizontal dimension through angled cutting lines and shaped ends, maintaining surface flushness while achieving smooth turns.
3Ease of operation
If plastic-based quick connectors or soldered jumper wires are used, then connections can be made, but dark spots are created
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the connection function directly into the PCB structure through shaped ends and designated cutting lines that allow direct soldering or conductive coupling. This eliminates separate connectors or jumper wires that create dark spots, integrating the connection mechanism into the light-emitting structure itself.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional strip lighting is used, then simple linear lighting is achieved, but versatility for various angles and configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The PCB is segmented with designated cutting lines at multiple angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°) and shaped ends, enabling the same simple linear strip structure to be configured for various angles and geometries including x-axis turns, maintaining ease of manufacture while dramatically increasing versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention makes a single strip design universal by incorporating multiple cutting angles and shaped ends, allowing it to serve multiple functions: linear lighting, angled configurations, and smooth x-axis turns, all from one standardized strip type.
Data Source
AI summary
A diagonally cuttable LED strip system comprising of a channel having a bottom and one or more side walls and a lens in which a primary circuit board having one or more LED diodes, one or more resistors, and one or more cutting lines resides therein. The one or more cutting lines include perpendicular and non-perpendicular cutting lines which divide the channel into cuttable increments at one or more angles. An extender is provided which attaches to the end of a channel to allow the cuttable increments of the channel to be extended, shortened, or a combination thereof.