LED lighting unit including elongated heat sink and elongated lens
AssigneeAltair Engineering, Inc.
InventorsDennis Siemiet, David L Simon, Huaiyao Yuan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A LED lighting unit including an elongated heat sink having two spaced apart longitudinal grooves, the grooves facing tangentially or at an angle greater than an angle between a tangent of the lighting unit at the groove and a radius of the lighting unit at the groove. At least one LED is mounted to the heat sink between the grooves, and the at least one LED is enclosed by a lens having bulged longitudinal edges by sliding the bulged longitudinal edges into the grooves.
Claims21
A LED lighting unit comprising:
- an elongated heat sink having two spaced apart longitudinal grooves and forming a single cavity with a flat surface therebetween, wherein an angle between a facing direction of each groove and a radius extending from a center of the lighting unit to an opening of the groove is at least as large as the angle between a tangent of the lighting unit at the opening of the groove and the radius;
- at least one LED mounted to the flat surface of the heat sink between the grooves and within the cavity;
- and
- an elongated lens having bulged longitudinal edges, each edge slidably engaged with the groove on the heat sink such that the elongated lens encloses the at least one LED.
An LED light tube configured to replace a conventional fluorescent light tube in a conventional fluorescent light socket, the LED light tube comprising:
- an elongated heat sink having a constant cross-section along its longitudinal length, the heat sink including two spaced apart, tangentially facing, longitudinal grooves, a flat strip between the grooves, and a plurality of fins projecting from the flat strip on the opposite side as the grooves, the grooves each having a cross-section including a circular portion;
- a plurality of LEDs in electrical communication with a printed circuit board, the printed circuit board mounted on the flat strip;
- an elongated, substantially U-shaped lens having a constant cross-section including bulged longitudinal edges having a circular cross-section, the edges slidably engaged with the grooves on the heat sink to form a housing that covers the LEDs;
- a sheet of diffusing film inserted between the heat sink and the lens;
- and
- at least one electrical connector in electrical communication with the printed circuit board, the electrical connector attached to an end of the housing.
An LED light tube configured to replace a conventional fluorescent light tube in a conventional fluorescent light socket, the LED light tube comprising:
- an elongated heat sink having a constant cross-section, the heat sink including two spaced apart longitudinal grooves facing in opposing directions and having a cross-section including a circular portion, a flat strip between the grooves, and a plurality of fins projecting from the heat sink on the opposite side as the flat strip;
- a plurality of LEDs in electrical communication with a printed circuit board, the printed circuit board mounted on the flat strip;
- an elongated, substantially U-shaped lens having a constant cross-section including bulged longitudinal edges having a circular cross-section, the lens including a bend toward the interior of the light tube near the bulged longitudinal edge, the edges slidably engaged with the grooves in the heat sink to form a housing that covers the LEDs;
- a sheet of diffusing film inserted between the heat sink and the lens;
- and
- at least one electrical connector in electrical communication with the printed circuit board, the electrical connector attached to an end of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.