DEVICE FOR EMITTING LIGHT

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (100) for emitting light, in particular for curing substances that cure when irradiated by light, in particular UV light, comprising—an electrical illumination body (1) having at least one thermal contact area (11) and at least two electrical connections (12a, 12b),—wherein the thermal energy that arises in the context of the emission of light is able to be dissipated via the thermal contact area (11),—wherein the illumination body (1) is applied to a carrier element (2),—wherein the carrier element (2) has at least one cutout (21) in the region of the thermal contact area (11) of the illumination body (1),—a heat sink (3), which is thermally conductively connected to the thermal contact area (11) of the illumination body (1) in the region of the cutout (21) in the carrier element (2), and—an NTC thermistor (4), which is electrically conductively connected to the electrical connections (12a, 12b) of the illumination body (1), wherein the NTC thermistor (4) is thermally conductively connected to the heat sink (3) and at the same time electrically insulated from the heat sink (3).

Claims

1. A light-emitting device (100), in particular for the hardening of substances which harden under the irradiation of light, in particular UV light, comprising: an electrical light fixture (1) with at least one heat contact surface (11) and at least two electrical connections (12a, 12b), whereby heat energy generated during the light emission can be dissipated over the heat contact surface (11), wherein the light fixture (1) is mounted on a support element (2), wherein the support element (2) has at least one recess (21) in the area of the heat contact surface (11) of the light fixture (1), a heat sink (3) which is heat conductively connected to the heat contact surface (11) of the light fixture (1) in the area of the recess (21) in the support element (2), and a thermistor (4) which is electrically conductively connected to the electrical connections (12a, 12b) of the light fixture (1), the thermistor (4) being heat conductively connected to the heat sink (3) and at the same time being electrically insulated from the heat sink (3).

2. Device (100) according to claim 1, characterised in that the light fixture (1) comprises a light emitting diode (13) which is designed to emit UV light, in particular UV-A light, preferably in a wavelength range of 315 bis 380 nm.

3. Device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the support element (2) is designed as a printed circuit board.

4. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the support element (2) has at least two passages (23a, 23b), the two contacts, in particular contact pins (41a, 41b) of the thermistor (4) being guided through the passages (23a, 23b) to the electrical connections (12a, 12b) of the light fixture (1).

5. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the heat sink (3) is made of copper or a copper alloy.

6. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the heat sink (3) has at least one connection point (31) in order to form a cohesive bond, in particular by brazing or gluing, in its region facing away from the thermistor (4).

7. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection between the thermistor (4) and the heat sink (3) is made by means of a heat-conducting and electrically insulating bonding agent, in particular an adhesive, preferably a high-temperature resistant, heat-conductive adhesive.

8. Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the heat sink (3) has a projection (33), the projection (33) being adapted in its shape and height to the shape and height of the recess (21) in the support element (2), so that the projection (33) is guided through the recess (21) to the heat contact surface (11) of the light fixture (1) and is in flat contact with the heat contact surface (11).

9. An arrangement for emitting light, in particular for hardening substances which harden under irradiation of light, in particular UV light, comprising a multitude of light emitting devices (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8, a power source for supplying the devices (100) with power, and a driver connected downstream from the power source, wherein the devices (100) are connected in series and connected to the driver, and wherein the driver is designed to adjust a constant power flow through the devices (100).

Description

[0021] Hereafter there are shown schematically:

[0022] FIG. 1 a side view of an example of a light emitting device according to the invention,

[0023] FIG. 2 a second side view of the device from FIG. 1, F

[0024] FIG. 3 a top view of the device from FIG. 1,

[0025] FIG. 4 an exploded view of the device from FIG. 1 and

[0026] FIG. 5 a diagonal view of the device from FIG. 1.

[0027] FIGS. 1 to 5 show an example of a light-emitting device 100 according to the invention. In the example shown, the device 100 comprises an electric light fixture 1 with a heat contact surface 11 and two electrical connections 12a, 12b. The light fixture 1 is arranged on a support element 2 and the heat contact surface 11 is used to dissipate the heat energy generated by the light emission from the light fixture 1. For this purpose, the support element 2 has a recess 21 in the area of the heat contact surface 11 of the light fixture 1.

[0028] The recess 21 has an elongated shape in the example shown, but can alternatively also have a round shape, for example. Furthermore, instead of one recess 21, there can also be a multitude of recesses 21, which are disposed e.g., one behind the other in the area of the heat contact surface 11.

[0029] In the example shown, the device 100 further comprises a heat sink 3 which is connected in a heat-conductive manner to the heat contact surface 11 of the light fixture 1 in the region of the recess 21 in the support element 2. Thus, the heat energy generated in the light fixture 1 is transmitted to the heat sink 3 via the contact surface 11.

[0030] The device 100 further comprises a thermistor 4, which is electrically conductively connected to the electrical connections 12a, 12b of the light fixture. The thermistor 4 is connected to the heat sink 3 in a thermally conductive manner and at the same time electrically insulated in relation to the heat sink 3.

[0031] Such a light emitting device 100 can be used, for example, to cure substances that harden under the irradiation of light such as UV light. In the example shown, it is particularly advantageous in this context that the device 100 comprises a light-emitting diode 13 as the light fixture 1. In this way, the device 100 can be designed to be particularly small and compact, so that it not only does not require mercury in comparison with previously known mercury vapour lamps, which are used for the hardening of substances, but also has a significantly smaller space requirement and can thus be easily installed as a component, e.g., in robots.

[0032] In the example shown, the light fixture 1 or the light-emitting diode 13 is specifically a UV light-emitting diode designed to emit UV-A light in a wavelength range of 315 bis 380 nm. In the example shown, the semi-conductor crystal of the light-emitting diode 13 is applied to a square substrate which has an edge length of a few millimetres, for example 3 mm, as shown in FIG. 3 bis FIG. 5.

[0033] This light fixture 1 is arranged on a support element 2, which is designed as a printed circuit board and has a longitudinal recess 21 in the area of the heat contact surface 11 of the light fixture 1, which is located on the lower part of the substrate, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0034] The electrical connections 12a, 12b of the electrical light fixture 1 are disposed laterally on the substrate of the light emitting diode 13 in the illustrated embodiment, and the support element 2 advantageously has two passages 23a, 23b through which the contacts of the thermistor 4 are guided to the electrical connections 12a, 12b of the light fixture 1 (see FIG. 3, FIG. 5). In the example shown, the thermistor 4 has two contact pins 41a, 41b which pass through the round passages 23a, 23b in the support element 2 and are guided to the electrical connections 12a, 12b (see FIG. 2, FIG. 5).

[0035] Alternatively, depending on the area of application, in a device 100 according to the invention the light fixture 1 may also comprise a different lamp or a differently designed light emitting diode 13, which has a different structure or is designed to emit light in a different wavelength range.

[0036] In the example shown, the heat sink 3 is made of copper, as copper has a high heat conductivity. Alternatively, in all embodiments of a device 100 according to the invention, the heat sink can be made of a copper alloy or other materials with high heat conductivity.

[0037] The heat sink 3 has a projection 33 at which the heat sink 3 is in flat contact with the heat contact surface 11 of the light fixture 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the shape and height of the projection 33 is adapted to the shape and height of the recess 21 in the support element 2 in such a way that it projects through the support element 2 and is guided to the heat contact surface of the light fixture 1.

[0038] In the example shown, the shape of the heat sink 3 is composed of a half-cylinder and a half-truncated cone, whereby the heat sink 3 has a connection point 31 in order to form a cohesive connection. The connection point 31 is located in the area of the heat sink 3 facing away from the thermistor 4, so that a device 100 according to the invention can be easily incorporated into larger installations or devices, for example by brazing or gluing.

[0039] As already mentioned, the thermistor 4 is connected to the heat sink 3 in a heat-conducting manner and at the same time is electrically insulated with respect to the heat sink 3. In the example shown, this is achieved by establishing the connection between the thermistor 4 and the heat sink 3 by means of a heat-conducting and electrically insulating bonding agent. In the example shown, the bonding agent is a resin such as a synthetic resin, which is mixed with ceramic or mineral fillers, so that heat is conducted over the bonding agent, but no electrical power can flow. Such adhesives have the additional advantage that they have a high temperature stability of, for example, up to 200° C.

[0040] If during operation of the device 100 the electrical connections 12a, 12b of the light fixture 1 are passed by power, this generates UV light in a selected wavelength range, whereby heat energy is also generated. Since high temperatures can drastically shorten the service life of the light-emitting diodes 13 and can also lead to UV light no longer being emitted in the desired wavelength range, the thermistor 4 contacts the electrical connections 12a, 12b of the light fixture 1. In the cold state, the resistance of the thermistor 3 is comparatively high, but as the temperature rises, it decreases further in accordance with a characteristic curve for the relevant thermistor 4.

[0041] If the light fixture 1 generates heat energy during operation, this is transferred to the heat sink 3 via the heat contact surface 11. The contact on the heat contact surface 11 with the heat sink 3 is made, for example, by brazing. The heat sink 3 is thermally connected to the thermistor 4 so that the temperature of the thermistor 4 increases when the heat energy is generated by the light fixture 1 and conducted to the heat sink 3. In this way, the resistance or the electrical conductivity of the thermistor 4 decreases or increases according to the characteristic curve of the thermistor 4.

[0042] Particularly advantageous for illuminating large areas—in particular UV light—for hardening of substances that harden under radiation, is an arrangement according to the invention for emitting light comprising a multitude of devices 100, a power source for supplying the devices 100 with power and a driver connected downstream from the power source. In this way it is possible, for example, to connect up to 15 devices 100 in series, these being connected to the driver. The driver ensures a constant power flow through the devices 100. The intensity of the illumination can be increased accordingly with such an arrangement, so that a faster hardening is ensured. In addition, larger surface areas can also be illuminated in this way.