Method and apparatus for the thermal protection of LED light modules in a range hood appliance
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsHoward James Oagley, Justin Tyler Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for the thermal protection of LED light modules in a range hood appliance is provided. If the temperature of the LED light module reaches a predetermined temperature, one or more protective actions are taken to prevent over heating the LED light module. Such protective actions can include e.g., decreasing and/or terminating the power to the LED light module, opening a damper to provide air for cooling the LED light module, and/or activating a fan to provide forced convection cooling of the LED light module.
Claims9
A range hood appliance, comprising:
- a fan for pulling air into the range hood;
- a first duct for routing the flow of air through the range hood;
- a second duct separate from the first duct;
- an LED light module positioned at least partially in the second duct, said LED light module providing for illumination of a surface located near the range hood;
- a temperature device for measuring the temperature of said LED light module;
- and
- means for initiating at least one protective action in order to effect a reduction in the temperature of said LED light module if the temperature of said LED light module as measured by said temperature device is greater than a predetermined temperature, TTHR.
A range hood appliance, comprising:
- a fan for pulling air into the range hood;
- a first duct for routing the flow of air through the range hood;
- a second duct separate from the first duct;
- an LED light module positioned at least partially in the second duct, said LED light module providing for illumination of a surface located near the range hood;
- and
- a bi-metallic switch positioned in proximity to said LED light module and configured for initiating at least one protective action if the temperature of said LED light module rises to a predetermined temperature, TTHR.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.