Plastic LED Street Light Thermal Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing LED street lights face challenges in heat dissipation due to the temperature sensitivity of LEDs, leading to complex and expensive designs with aluminum components, which are heavy, costly, and prone to dirt and moisture issues, while plastic alternatives struggle with low thermal conductivity and strength.
Innovation Solution
A plastic LED street light design featuring a flat printed circuit board with evenly distributed LEDs, a transparent lens plate for optics, and a plastic housing that encloses the circuit board, allowing for direct heat dissipation through both the housing and lens plate, with optional ribs for stabilization and easy cleaning, and a modular structure for efficient lighting and assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If aluminum components with cooling fins are used for heat dissipation, then heat dissipation performance is improved, but weight and material cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from aluminum to plastic, specifically using plastic with added thermal conductive particles (aluminum oxide, boron nitride, or silicon carbide) to achieve both lightweight construction and adequate heat dissipation performance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material by combining plastic base material with thermal conductive particles (aluminum oxide, boron nitride, or silicon carbide) to achieve a material that is both lightweight and thermally conductive, resolving the contradiction between weight and heat dissipation performance
2Temperature
If aluminum components are used for heat dissipation, then heat dissipation performance is improved, but material cost and handling difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material from aluminum to plastic, which is easier to handle during assembly and reduces the burden on mounting structures, while maintaining heat dissipation performance through thermal conductive additives
3Weight of moving object
If plastic housing is used instead of aluminum, then weight and material cost are reduced, but thermal conductivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite material by combining plastic base material with thermal conductive particles (aluminum oxide, boron nitride, or silicon carbide) to achieve a material that is both lightweight and thermally conductive, resolving the contradiction between weight and heat dissipation performance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the thermal conductivity parameter of plastic by adding thermal conductive particles, achieving adequate heat dissipation performance while maintaining the lightweight advantage of plastic
4Temperature
If complex metal heat dissipation structure is used, then heat dissipation performance is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material from metal to plastic with thermal conductive additives, simplifying the overall structure by eliminating the need for separate metal heat sinks and cooling fins, thus reducing device complexity while maintaining heat dissipation performance
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 design achieves effective heat dissipation, stability, and cost-effectiveness by distributing heat evenly through the plastic components, reducing material costs and weight, while maintaining precise lighting control and resistance to environmental influences.
Implementation Method 1
the heat of the LEDs is first distributed and dissipated via metal parts and only then is dissipated via a heavily fissured plastic housing
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
A street light using LED technology, primarily made of plastic, is presented, which nevertheless exhibits good thermal management. The circuit board (1), with good thermal conductivity properties and uniformly distributed SMD LEDs (2), is covered on the LED side by an adjacent lens plate (3) which integrates recesses (4) for each LED (2) and optics (5, 6). The back of the lens plate rests against a housing (7). The lens plate (3) and housing (7) are preferably made of polycarbonate and are directly exposed to the outside. The heat generated is distributed evenly within the circuit board (1) and dissipated to the outside on both sides. To protect the circuit board (1) from the elements, the lens plate (3) and the housing (7) are tightly connected. A container (11) is attached to the housing (7), which houses the connections, the ballast, fuses, and communication modules, as well as an adjustable adapter (12) for cantilever mounting.The very thin construction can be mechanically reinforced by ribs (8, 8a).