Illumination Apparatus

Abstract

 An illumination apparatus (10) includes a cover (11), a light emitting element module (12), and a power supply module (13). The light emitting element module (12) is arranged inside the cover (11). The power supply module (13) is electrically connected to the light emitting element module (12) thereby providing electric power to the light emitting element module (12). The power supply module (13) is arranged at the exterior of the cover (11) and thermally insulated from the cover (11) and the light emitting element module (12).

Description

1. Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to illumination apparatus and particularly, to an illumination apparatus with high heat dissipation efficiency.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have many advantages, such as high luminosity, low operational voltage, low power consumption, compatibility with integrated circuits, easy driving, long term reliability, and environmental friendliness; thus, LEDs have been widely promoted as a light source.

[0003] The regular illumination apparatus usually includes at least one light emitting element, a heat sink thermally attached to the light emitting element, a power supply module electrically connected to the light emitting element, all arranged in a housing.

[0004] However, because the power of the light emitting element like LEDs is great, the light emitting element produces a lot of heat. The power supply module converts the AC to DC and provides electricity to the light emitting element. Moreover, the power supply module also generates heat and has large volume. Because the volume of the housing is limited, heat produced from the light emitting element and the power supply module accumulates inside the housing, and the illumination apparatus easily overheats, reducing its lifetime.

[0005] What is needed therefore, is an illumination apparatus with high dissipation efficiency overcoming the described limitations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Many aspects of the present illumination apparatus can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present illumination device. Moreover, in the drawing, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an illumination apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment.

[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the illumination apparatus of FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a housing of the illumination apparatus of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Embodiments of the illumination apparatus 10 are described in detail here with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Referring to FIGs. 1 and 2, the illumination apparatus 10 in accordance with a first embodiment includes a cover 11, a light emitting element module (light module) 12, and a power supply module 13. The light module 12 is arranged inside the cover 11. The cover 11 and the power supply module 13 are mounted on a holder 20.

[0012] The cover 11 includes a housing 14 and a shelter plate 15. Referring to FIG. 3, the housing 14 includes a supporting surface 140 and a back side 142 opposite to the supporting surface 140. The edges of the supporting surface 140 of the housing 14 forms a retaining wall 144 extending along the direction away from the back side 142. The retaining wall 144 forms a closed ring along the edge of the supporting surface 140. Therefore, a recession 146 for receiving the light module 12 is defined by the retaining wall 144 and the supporting surface 140.

[0013] In this embodiment, the extending direction of the retaining wall 144 is perpendicular to the supporting surface 140. The extending direction can be other than perpendicular to the supporting surface 140 and the retaining wall 144 is not limited to being mounted on the edge of the supporting surface 140. Moreover, the retaining wall 144 is not limited to form a closed ring.

[0014] In this embodiment, the housing 14 is made of thermally conductive materials, such as metal. Therefore, the supporting surface 140 can absorb the heat from the light module 12 and the entire housing 14 participates in dissipating heat.

[0015] Moreover, a fixing arm 148 is mounted on the back side 142. The fixing arm 148 extends along the direction away from the supporting surface 140 and a fixing hole 1480 is formed in one free end of the fixing arm 148 for fixing on the holder 20.

[0016] The fixing hole 1480 can be a screw hole. A plurality of thermally conductive columns 149 is mounted on the back side 142 with a protrusion extending along the direction away from the supporting surface 140. The columns 149 assist in dissipating heat of the housing 14.

[0017] The column 149 can be a truncated prism or a truncated cone. In this embodiment, the size of one end of the column 149 away from the supporting surface 140 is smaller than the other end. Moreover, in this embodiment, the sizes of the columns 149 are not exactly the same.

[0018] The light module 12 includes a circuit board 120 and a plurality of light emitting elements 122 mounted on the circuit board 120. In this embodiment, the circuit board 120, as a plate type circuit board, includes a first surface 1202 thermally attached to the supporting surface 140 and a second surface 1204 opposite to the first surface 1202. The light emitting elements 122 are mounted on the second surface 1204 of the circuit board 120. The light emitting elements 122 are light emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0019] The shelter plate 15 can be made of transparent materials and fixed at the opening of the recession 146. Therefore, the light module 12 is enveloped in the recession 146 to protect the light emitting elements 122 from contamination and damage. The shelter plate 15 includes a light incident surface 150 adjacent to the light module 12 and a light emitting surface 152 away from the light module 12. The cover 11 can have an optical element having a specific structure to change the direction of the light from the light emitting elements 122 of the light module 12 to provide desired distribution curve of luminous intensity according to specific illumination need.

[0020] To easily assemble and disassemble the shelter plate 15 and the housing 14, a plurality of positioning grooves 145 runs through the housing 14 on the edge of the back side 142 of the housing 14. A plurality of cavities 155 each corresponding to one of the positioning grooves 145 is defined in the edge of the light emitting surface 152 of the shelter plate 15. By use of a clip (not shown) cooperating with the positioning groove 145 and the cavity 155, the shelter plate 15 and the housing 14 can be assembled and disassembled quickly without using screws.

[0021] The power supply module 13 is mounted on the holder 20 outside the cover 11. The power supply module 13 supplies electricity to the light module 12. The power supply module 13 can be an AC-DC converter, a transformer, a high power driving integrated circuit, or a combination thereof, and thermally insulated from the cover 11 and the light module 12.

[0022] Referring to FIGs. 2 and 3, the housing 14 is configured with a through hole 147 passing through the housing 14. The power supply module 13 outside the cover 11 is electrically connected to the light module 12 in the cover 11 by an electric wire (not shown) passing through the through hole 147.

[0023] The light module 12 and the power supply module 13 are separately configured. Therefore, the light module 12 and the cover 11 receiving the light module 12 are thermally insulated from the power supply module 13, thus avoiding the heat produced by the light module 12 and the power supply module 13 accumulating inside the cover 11 and thereby providing high heat dissipation efficiency.

[0024] While certain embodiments have been described and exemplified above, various other embodiments from the foregoing disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described and exemplified but is capable of considerable variation and modification without departure from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An illumination apparatus comprising: a cover, at least one light emitting element, and a power supply module, wherein the at least one light emitting element is arranged inside the cover, the power supply module is electrically connected to the light emitting element and the power supply module is arranged in the exterior of the cover and thermally insulated from the cover and the light emitting element.

2. The illumination apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cover includes a housing and a shelter plate, the housing includes a recession having an opening for receiving the light emitting element, and the shelter plate is fixed on the opening of the recession for sealing the recession.

3. The illumination apparatus of claim 2, wherein the housing includes a supporting surface supporting the light emitting element, a back side parallel to the supporting surface mutually and arranged oppositely, and a retaining wall mounted on the supporting surface and extended along the direction away from the back side, and the recession is defined by the retaining wall and the supporting surface.

4. The illumination apparatus of claim 3, wherein the housing is made of thermally conductive materials, and a thermal conductive column is mounted on the back side of the housing with protrusion extending along the direction away from the supporting surface.

5. The illumination apparatus of claim 3, wherein a fixing arm is mounted on the back side of the housing, the fixing arm extends along the direction away from the supporting surface and a fixing hole is formed in one free end of the fixing arm for fixing with other elements.

6. The illumination apparatus of claim 4, wherein the column is a truncated prism or a truncated cone.

7. The illumination apparatus of one of claims 3 to 6, wherein a plurality of positioning grooves runs through the housing on the edge of the back side of the housing, and a plurality of cavities each corresponding to one of the positioning grooves is defined in the edge of the shelter plate, the grooves and the cavities being cooperatively configured for fastening the housing and the shelter plate together.

8. The illumination apparatus of claim 7, wherein the shelter plate includes a light incident surface adjacent to the light module and a light emitting surface away from the light module, and the cavities are defined in the light emitting surface of the shelter plate.

9. The illumination apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the power supply module is an AC to DC converter, a transformer, a high power driving integrated circuit, or a combination thereof.

10. The illumination apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one light emitting element is a light emitting diode.

Drawing