EP2933549B1

EP2933549B1 - Light module being capable of adjusting angle of illumination and utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation

Info

Publication number: EP2933549B1
Application number: EP14173106.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hai Lan
Original assignee: ARC Solid-State Lighting Corp; Arc Solid State Lighting Corp
Current assignee: ARC Solid-State Lighting Corp; Arc Solid State Lighting Corp
Priority date: 2014-04-16
Filing date: 2014-06-19
Publication date: 2016-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2034-06-19
Also published as: TWM484672U; PT2933549T; DE202015100296U1; CN203823514U; EP2933549A1; ES2609627T3

Description

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a light module utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation, more particularly to a light module being capable of adjusting angle of illumination and utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation.

Background

Although having not replaced all of the traditional incandescent lamps, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have become popular lighting devices. Compared with the traditional incandescent lamps, the LEDs have advantages of being environmentally friendly and energy saving. In addition, LEDs have longer lifespan than the incandescent lamps. A plurality of LEDs assembled together can be a light source with high power and high brightness, thereby being capable of replacing indoor and outdoor incandescent lamps. Since LEDs are eco-friendly, they are expected to be the future of the lighting industry.
Nevertheless, today's heat dissipation process of the LED is applied by thermal conduction, but the results thereof are not satisfactory. Moreover, the LED comprises fins for heat dissipation. However, the fins require a great deal of space for disposition, which affects the space allocation of components of the LED. Generally speaking, an illuminating region of a LED lamp is fixed so that users have to dispose additional lamps when the illuminating region needs to be changed, thereby increasing a cost for disposing the lamps. Therefore, it is crucial to design a heat dissipation system for the LED for improving flexibility of the illuminating region.
US 2011/0267815 A1 discloses a thermosyphon light engine and luminaire which includes a condenser, an evaporation chamber and a connecting element therebetween. The condenser returns a gaseous substance located therein to a liquid substance. The evaporation chamber includes a solid state light source, a working liquid and an optical element that shapes light emitted by the at least one solid state light source. The solid state light source is immersed in the working liquid such that heat generated by the solid state light source changes the working light into a gaseous substance. The gaseous substance travels through the connecting element to the condenser, which returns the gaseous substance to a liquid substance. The liquid substance then travels through the connecting element back to the evaporation chamber. However, the heat dissipation process is not very flexible and can be improved.
TW M 468 784 U discloses a lighting component and a heat dissipating component with a first and a second chamber. However, the heat dissipation process is not very flexible and can be improved.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is a light module for solving the unsatisfactory heat dissipation performance and the non-adjustable angle illumination.
A light module being capable of adjusting angle of illumination and utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation comprises a lighting component and a heat dissipating component with one side being in thermal contact with the lighting component. The heat dissipating component has a first chamber, a second chamber and two flexible channels flexibly connecting the first chamber and the second chamber. The distance from the second chamber to the lighting component is greater than that from the first chamber to the lighting component, and a working fluid is filled in the first chamber. When the working liquid absorbs heat generated from the lighting component, the working liquid vaporizes from a liquid state to a gaseous state and flows into the second chamber via one of the two flexible
channels for heat dissipation. After the working liquid in the second chamber condenses from a gaseous state to a liquid state, it flows back to the first chamber via the other one of the flexible channels.
Therefore, a cyclic close-loop is formed by the arrangement of the two flexible channels, the first chamber and the second chamber, and a convection induced by a phase-change of the working liquid conducts heat in the cyclic close-loop. This structure design may omit the active heat dissipating component and can significantly improve the heat dissipation effect. Furthermore, the first chamber connected to the lighting component is able to be moved to change a relative position of the lighting component and the second chamber by bending the two flexible channels. Therefore, users can manually change an illuminating area of the lighting component to improve the practicability of the light module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow, along with the accompanying drawings which are for illustration only, thus are not limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light module being capable of adjusting angle of illumination and utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation according to a first embodiment of the disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the light module in FIG. 1 when a first main body is located at a first position;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the light module in FIG. 1 when the first main body is located at a second position; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the light module in FIG. 1 when the first main body is located at a third position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light module being capable of adjusting angle of illumination and utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation according to a first embodiment of the disclosure. As seen in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the light module 10 comprises a lighting component 12 and a heat dissipating component 14. One side of the heat dissipating component 14 is in thermal contact with the lighting component 12. The lighting component 12 is a solid-state light-emitting element. In this embodiment, the lighting component 12 is a light-emitting diode, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the light module in FIG. 1 when a first main body is located at a first position. As seen in FIG. 2, the heat dissipating component 14 has a first main body 141, a second main body 142, a first chamber 145, a second chamber 146, two flexible channels 148, a fin group 149 and a working liquid 19.
One side of the first main body 141 is in thermal contact with the lighting component 12. The first chamber 145 is located in the first main body 141, while the second chamber 146 is located in the second main body 142. The two flexible channels 148 are located between the first chamber 145 of the first main body 141 and the second chamber 146 of the second main body 142 and flexibly connect them. The fin group 149 is disposed on the second main body 142. The fin group 149 extends outward from the second main body 142. The second main body 142 has a bottom surface 1425. The bottom surface 1425 is located between the second chamber 146 and the first main body 141, meanwhile facing the first main body 141. The first chamber 145 is able to be moved to a position relative to the second chamber 146 by bending the flexible channel 148. In this embodiment, the number of the flexible channels 148 is two, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the number of the flexible channels 148 can be adjusted if it is needed. The distance from the second chamber 146 to the lighting component 12 is greater than that from the first chamber 145 to the lighting component 12, and a working fluid 19 is filled in the first chamber 145. In this embodiment, the working liquid 19 is water, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the working liquid 19 may be refrigerant, methanol, ethanol, diethyl ether or any other liquid substance which is favorable for heat conduction. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a cross-sectional area A1 of each of the two flexible channels 148 is much smaller than a cross-sectional area A2 of the second chamber 146. In this embodiment, the two flexible channels 148 comprise a plurality of rings 1481 connected together in series, respectively. Therefore, the flexible channel 148 is capable of bending and preventing the working liquid 19 from leaking out from the rings 1481. In other words, the flexible channel 148 is a flexible bellow or a flexible metal channel.
The following describes a function of the lighting component 12 for adjusting angle of illumination. In this embodiment and some other embodiments, the lighting component 12 has a light-emitting surface 125. For example, in FIG. 2, normally, an angle θ1 between a normal vector N1 of the light-emitting surface 125 and an absolutely vertical direction V is 45 degrees. A user can manually move the first main body 141 to bend the flexible channel 148, thereby changing a relative position of the first chamber 145 and the second chamber 146 to adjust the corresponding position of the light-emitting surface 125. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the light module in FIG. 1 when the first main body is located at a second position. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the light module in FIG. 1 when the first main body is located at a third position. For example, in FIG. 3, a normal vector N2 of the light-emitting surface 125 is parallel to the absolutely vertical direction V, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in FIG. 4, an angle θ2 between the normal vector N2 of the light-emitting surface 125 and the absolutely vertical direction V is 90 degrees, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the angle between the normal vector N2 of the light-emitting surface 125 and the absolutely vertical direction V is able to be optionally adjusted at a range from 0 to 90 degrees. Therefore, the light module 10 is able to illuminate downward directly and does not influence the thermal dissipation. The absolutely vertical direction V thereof is the same as the gravitational direction. The lighting component 12 can be highly efficient so that the light module 10 is able to be applied to a spotlight.
Now the heat dissipation process of the heat dissipating component 14 dissipating the heat generated by the lighting component 12 will be illustrated. As seen in FIG. 2, when the lighting component 12 generates heat, it is transferred to the first chamber 145 in the first main body 141. After the working liquid 19 in the first chamber 145 absorbs the heat generated by the lighting component 12, it vaporizes, from the liquid state, into the working gas 19'. The working gas 19' rises and flows into the second chamber 146 of the second main body 142 along a first direction D1 (as shown in FIG. 2). In this embodiment, since the fin group 149 is disposed on the second main body 142, the heat of the working gas 19' can be dissipated via the fin group 149. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the heat of the working gas 19' can be directly dissipated to the external environment by the second main body 142. Since the heat is dissipated after the working gas 19' enters the second chamber 146, the working gas 19' gradually condenses into the working liquid 19. Subsequently, the working liquid 19 flows back to the first chamber via the other flexible channel 148 along a second direction D2. Furthermore, in other embodiments, since the cross-sectional area A1 of the flexible channel 148 is much smaller than the cross-sectional area A2 of the second chamber 146, a great pressure difference exists between them. Therefore, the working liquid 19' flows into the second chamber 146' as a high-speed airflow R1 along the first direction D1, which accelerates the heat conduction and the convection.
In the light module 10 of the first embodiment, the working liquid 19 vaporizes into the working gas 19' for accelerating the heat conduction, and the working gas 19' flows into the second chamber 146 via one of the two flexible channels 148 for heat dissipation. After the working gas 19' condenses into the working liquid 19, it flows back to the first chamber 145 via the other flexible channel 148. In this way, a cyclic close-loop is created and it can contribute to a better cooling effect due to the convection. Moreover, in this way, an active heat dissipating component is not necessary to be disposed in the light module 10. By the arrangement of the two flexible channels 148, the light module 10 can perform remote heat dissipation. That is, the part of the structure for heat conduction is separated from the part of the structure for heat dissipation. Thus, the interior space allocation of the whole structure is more flexible. Additionally, in this embodiment, the working liquid 19' flows into the second chamber 146' as a high-speed airflow R1 along the first direction D1, which accelerates the heat conduction and the convection.
To sum up, the cyclic close-loop is formed by the arrangement of the two flexible channels, and the convection of the working liquid as well as the working gas accelerates the heat conduction. This structure design may omit the active heat dissipating component and can significantly improve the heat dissipation effect.
Additionally, the first chamber connected to the lighting component is able to be moved to change the relative position of the lighting component and the second chamber via bending the two flexible channels. Therefore, users can manually change the illuminating region to improve the practicability of the light module.

Claims

A light module (10), capable of adjusting angle of illumination and utilizing phase-change thermal dissipation, comprising a lighting component (12) and a heat dissipating component (14) with one side being in thermal contact with the lighting component, the heat dissipating component (14) comprising a first chamber (145) and a second chamber (146), the distance from the second chamber (146) to the lighting component (12) being greater than that from the first chamber (145) to the lighting component (12), and a working liquid (19) being filled in the first chamber (145); the light module (10) characterized in that
the heat dissipating component (14) further comprising two flexible channels (148) flexibly connecting the first chamber (145) and the second chamber (146); each of the two flexible channels (148) comprising a plurality of rings (1481) connecting together in series, respectively; the lighting component (12) having a light-emitting surface (125), and the two flexible channels (148) being bendable for adjusting an angle between a normal vector of the light-emitting surface (125) and an absolutely vertical direction at a range from 0 to 90 degrees;
wherein, when the working liquid (19) absorbs heat generated from the lighting component (12), the working liquid (19) vaporizes from a liquid state to a gaseous state and flows into the second chamber (146) via one of the flexible channels (148) for the heat dissipation, and after the working liquid (19) in the second chamber (146) condenses from the gaseous state to the liquid state, it flows back to the first chamber (145) via the other one of the flexible channels (148).
The light module (10) according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area of each of the two flexible channels (148) is smaller that that of the second chamber (146), so that the working liquid (19) flows into the second chamber (146) in a high speed via the one of the two channels (148).
The light module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating component (14) further comprises a first main body (141), a second main body (142) and a fin group (149), one side of the first main body (141) is in thermal contact with the lighting component (12), the first chamber (145) is located in the first main body (141), the second chamber (146) is located in the second main body (142), and the fin group (149) is disposed on the second main body (142).
The light module (10) according to claim 3, wherein the fin group (149) extends outward from the second main body (142).
The light module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the working liquid (19) is water, methanol, ethanol or diethyl ether.
The light module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting component (12) is a solid-state lighting component.
The light module (10) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting component (12) is a light-emitting diode.