Heat sinking and flexible circuit board, for solid state light fixture utilizing an optical cavity

• Main Authors: SANDERS CHAD N, ROBBINS JONATHAN A, BECKER ROBERT M, PHIPPS J. MICHAEL, RAMER DAVID P, LYONS STEVEN S, HANLEY ROGER T
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 04.10.2011
• Subjects: BLASTING; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMSTHEREOF; HEATING; INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21Sand F21V, RELATING TO THEFORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THELIGHT EMITTED; LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; LIGHT SOURCES USING CHARGES OF COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL; LIGHT SOURCES USING ELECTROCHEMILUMINESCENCE; LIGHT SOURCES USING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES AS LIGHT-GENERATINGELEMENTS; LIGHTING; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES USING LUMINESCENCE; NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; PRINTED CIRCUITS; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHERARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLEEXTERIORS; WEAPONS

Disclosed exemplary solid state light fixtures use optical cavities to combine or integrate light from LEDs or the like. In such a fixture, the cavity is formed by a light transmissive structure having a volume, and a diffuse reflector that covers a contoured portion of the structure. A heat sink member supports a flexible circuit board so as to position the light emitters to couple light to the transmissive structure and provide effective heat dissipation. The circuit board has flexible tabs mounting the emitters. When installed in the fixture, the tabs bend and the emitters press against a sufficiently rigid periphery of the light transmissive structure. TIM may be compressed between the heat sink member and the opposite surface of each tab. Heat conductive surface pads and heat conductors through vias through the tabs conduct heat from the emitters to the heat sink member, e.g. through the TIM.