ILLUMINATION DEVICE

Abstract

An Illumination device includes light emitting devices and an optical system for collimating light emitted by the light emitting devices. A first group of the light emitting devices are arranged in a first array having first gaps, and a first optical system is arranged near the first group of light emitting devices. At least one second group of the light emitting devices are arranged in a second array, and the second array has second gaps. The second optical system is arranged near the second group of light emitting devices. The first and second optical systems are arranged so that, in a distance from the illumination device, light emitted by the first group of light emitting devices, collimated by the first optical system, and light emitted by the second group of light emitting devices, collimated by the second optical system, are superimposed to form a gap-free illumination field.

Claims

1. An illumination device, including: a LED module; and an optical system arranged in proximity to the LED module and configured to collimate light emitted by the LED module, wherein the LED module includes: a plurality of light sources for emitting excitation light; a plurality of phosphors covering each of the plurality of light sources and configured to convert the excitation light into illumination light; and a light blocking layer arranged on lateral surfaces of the plurality of phosphors; wherein: a first group of the light sources is arranged in a first linear array having first gaps between the light sources, a second group of the light sources is arranged in a second linear array parallel to the first linear array and having second gaps between the light sources, each of the plurality of phosphors has a light emitting surface having a size of 1 mm.sup.2 or less, and at least one of the light sources in the first group is controlled separately from at least one of the light sources in the second group.

2. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the light sources in the first group are disposed along a first direction and the second linear array is disposed from the first linear array along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

3. The illumination device of claim 2, wherein the light sources in the second group are disposed along the first direction.

4. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of phosphors includes transparent resin with phosphor particles.

5. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the first linear array and the seco nd linear array are arranged side by side along a base line.

6. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the optical system comprises a lens, and the first linear array and the second linear array are substantially arranged on focus planes of the lens.

7. The illumination device of claim 1, wherein the optical system comprises a first optical system including a first lens and a second optical system including a second lens, the first optical system and the second optical system disposed apart from each other.

8. An illumination device, including: a LED module; and an optical system for collimating light emitted by the LED module, wherein the LED module includes: a plurality of light sources for emitting excitation light; a plurality of phosphors covering each of the plurality of light sources and configured to convert the excitation light into illumination light; and a light blocking layer arranged on lateral surfaces of the plurality of phosphors; wherein: a first group of the light sources is arranged in a first linear array having first gaps between the light sources, a second group of the light sources is arranged in a second linear array parallel to the first linear array and having second gaps between the light sources, each of the plurality of phosphors has a light emitting surface and a number of light emitting surfaces covering the light sources in the first group is greater than a number of light emitting surfaces covering the light sources in the second group, at least one of the light sources in the first group and at least one of the light sources in the second group are controlled separately from each other.

9. The illumination device of claim 8, wherein the optical system comprises a first optical system including a first lens and a second optical system including a second lens, the first optical system and the second optical system disposed apart from each other.

10. The illumination device of claim 8, wherein the light sources in the first group are disposed along a first direction and the second linear array is disposed from the first linear array along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

11. The illumination device of claim 10, wherein the light sources in the second group are disposed along the first direction.

12. The illumination device of claim 8, wherein the first group of light emitting devices is placed on a first circuit board, and the second group of light emitting devices is placed on a second circuit board.

13. The illumination device of claim 8, wherein regions of light emitted by the light sources in the first group and the light sources in the second group overlap to form a continuous light field.

14. An illumination device, including: a LED module; and an optical system arranged in proximity to the LED module and configured to collimate light emitted by the LED module, wherein the LED module includes: a plurality of light sources for emitting excitation light; a plurality of phosphors covering each of the plurality of light sources for converting the excitation light into illumination light; and a light blocking layer arranged on lateral surfaces of the plurality of phosphors; wherein: a first group of the light sources is arranged in a first linear array having first gaps between the light sources, a second group of the light sources is arranged in a second linear array parallel to the first linear array and having second gaps between the light sources, a region of the light blocking layer overlapping with at least one of a first gap or a second gap is about 0.01 mm or less, and at least one of the light sources in the first group and at least one of the light sources in the second group are controlled separately from each other.

15. The illumination device of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of phosphors has a light emitting surface and a number of light emitting surfaces covering the light sources in the first group is greater than a number of light emitting surfaces covering the light sources in the second group.

16. The illumination device of claim 14, each of the plurality of phosphors has a light emitting surface having a size of 1 mm.sup.2 or less.

17. The illumination device of claim 14, wherein the optical system comprises: a first optical system arranged in proximity to the first group of light sources and having an optical axis being substantially orthogonal to the first linear array; and a second optical system arranged in proximity to the second group of light sources and having an optical axis being substantially orthogonal to the second linear array; and

18. The illumination device of claim 17, wherein the optical axis of the first optical system and the optical axis of the second optical system are substantially parallel to each other.

19. The illumination device of claim 14, wherein the light sources in the first group are disposed along a first direction and the second linear array is disposed from the first linear array along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

20. The illumination device of claim 19, wherein the light sources in the second group are disposed along the first direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an LED light source device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates an illumination device including the LED light source device shown in FIG. 1.

[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates an array of light emitting devices.

[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates a light field emitted by the illumination device of FIG. 2.

[0029] FIG. 5A illustrates an improved illumination device including a first group of LED light source devices arranged in a first array.

[0030] FIG. 5B illustrates the improved illumination device including a second group of LED light source devices arranged in a second array.

[0031] FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate a light field emitted by the illumination device of FIG. 5, where:

[0032] FIG. 6A illustrates a light field emitted by a first array of the illumination device;

[0033] FIG. 6B illustrates a light field emitted by a second array of the illumination device; and

[0034] FIG. 6C illustrates a light field emitted by the first array and the second array of the illumination device.

[0035] FIGS. 7A to 7C illustrates printed circuit boards, where:

[0036] FIG. 7A illustrates at least two arrays of the illumination device placed on separate circuit boards;

[0037] FIG. 7B illustrates at least two arrays of the illumination device placed on a common circuit board; and

[0038] FIG. 7C illustrates another arrangement of the illumination device on a circuit board.

[0039] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate two-dimensional arrays of LED light emitting devices, where:

[0040] FIG. 8A illustrates a combination of two arrays where each array includes two rows of the LED light source devices in a first arrangement; and

[0041] FIG. 8B illustrates that light of respective LED light source devices merges into a seamless light field having two rows of light beams.

[0042] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate two-dimensional arrays of LED light emitting devices, where:

[0043] FIG. 9A illustrates a combination of two arrays where each array includes three rows of LED devices in a second arrangement; and

[0044] FIG. 9B illustrates that light of respective LED light source devices merges into a seamless light field having three rows of light beams.

[0045] FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate two-dimensional arrays of LED light emitting devices, where:

[0046] FIG. 10A illustrates a combination of two arrays where each array includes four rows of LED devices in a third arrangement; and

[0047] FIG. 10B illustrates that light of respective LED light source devices merges into a seamless light field having four rows of light beams.

[0048] FIG. 11 illustrates another embodiment of an illumination device according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Possible embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. The drawings and the embodiments described hereafter only serve for better understanding of the invention, without limiting the scope of the invention to the exact details of the described embodiments. The scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an LED light source device 1. The LED light source device 1 includes an LED chip 2 connected to a first lead frame 3 with an anode side of the LED chip 2. A cathode side of the LED chip 2 is connected to a second lead frame 4. In other forms, the lead frames 3 and 4 may be omitted, and solder contacts may be directly provided on a surface of the LED chip.

[0051] The LED chip 2 is embedded in a phosphor body 6. The phosphor body 6 serves to convert narrow-band-width light emitted by the LED chip 2 into illumination light of a desired color temperature. The phosphor body 6 can also serve to mechanically connect first and second lead frames 3 and 4.

[0052] In some forms, the phosphor body 6 can include a transparent resin with immersed phosphor particles (not shown). The immersed phosphor particles can include one or more different types of phosphor, and are selected to provide a desired color temperature of the illumination light.

[0053] The lateral sides of the phosphor body 6 are surrounded by a light blocking layer, also referred to as reflector layer 7, as shown in FIG. 1. The reflector layer 7 is provided so that excitation light and/or illumination light do not exit the LED light source device 1 at the lateral sides thereof and enter into neighboring LED light source devices. Such cross-illumination may reduce available contrast of an illumination device using the LED light source devices, which is undesirable.

[0054] The reflector layer 7 may include silicon with embedded TiO.sub.2 particles. It is sometimes also referred to as side coating.

[0055] Due to the above-described structure of LED light source devices, the LED light source devices include a light emitting surface portion surrounded by a surface which does not emit light. Only by way of example, the light emitting surface portion has a size of about 1 mm.sup.2 or less, for example between 0.5 mm.sup.2 and 1 mm.sup.2. The reflector layer 7 may have a thickness of about 0.01 mm or less.

[0056] FIG. 2 depicts an illumination device 10 including a plurality of LED light source devices 1 arranged on a circuit board 11 in a linear array 12. A lens 15 is provided for collimating the light emitted by the individual LED light source devices 1. Therefore, the light emitting surface portions of the LED light source devices 1 are approximately placed in focal plane of the lens 15. While the lens 15 is depicted as a single lens, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and a plurality of lenses may form an optical system. Such an optical system may e.g., provide for color correction of the illumination light, length and/or weight reduction of the optical system, or both. The optical system may include reflective elements instead of or in addition to lenses.

[0057] FIG. 3 depicts an array 12 of LED light source devices 1 in a plan view. The individual LED light source devices 1 are positioned to leave gaps 20 between neighboring LED light source devices 1. The gaps 20 are arranged for several reasons.

[0058] One reason is that it is difficult to place the LED light sources 1 without gaps 20 in an automated process, as each automated process may be configured to provide for positional tolerances. Another reason is that the gaps 20 provide for dissipation of heat created in the individual LED light source devices 1. A further reason may be that lead frames of neighboring LED light source devices are configured to have a minimum distance to avoid short-circuits.

[0059] As a consequence, the light emitting surface portions of neighboring LED light source devices 1 in the array 12 are separated by a distance “d”, which is equal to the width of a gap 20 plus double width of a reflector layer 7. The double width of the reflector layer 7 includes a width of the reflector layer 7 of one LED light source device 1 and a width of the reflector layer 7 of a neighboring LED light source device thereof.

[0060] A possible light field emitted by the illumination device of FIG. 2 is depicted in FIG. 4. The light field is defined by the projection of the light emitted by individual LED light source devices 1 through the lens 15 onto a reference plane 35 having X-axis and Y-axis. For automotive applications, the reference plane may be 25 meters away from the illumination device.

[0061] It can be seen that the light field includes several light beams 30 separated by dark spaces 31. The dark spaces 31 can be seen as projections of the gaps 20 and the reflector layers 7, which separate the light emitting surface portions of the LED light source devices 1.

[0062] In some forms, the lens 15 may be modified so that the dark spaces 31 are reduced. Such modifications may come with increased cost of the lens 15, although available contrast of the illumination device 10 may be maintained.

[0063] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate one embodiment of an illumination device 100 according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5A illustrates that the illumination device 100 includes a first group of LED light source devices 101 arranged in a first array 102. FIG. 5B illustrates that the illumination device 100 includes a second group of LED light source devices 111 arranged in a second array 112.

[0064] As shown in FIGS. 5A-5B, the first group of LED light source devices 101 is arranged in the first array 102, and individual LED light source devices 101 are separated from neighboring LED light source devices 101 by gaps 103. A first lens 105 is positioned near the first array 102 of LED light source devices, so that an optical axis 106 of the first lens 105 is approximately orthogonal to the first array 102, and the light emitting surfaces of the first group of LED light source devices 101 are positioned approximately on a focal plane of the first lens 105.

[0065] The first lens 105 can be a single lens or an optical system including more than one optical elements, as described above with reference to FIG. 2.

[0066] The second group of LED light source devices 111 is arranged in the second array 112 located adjacent to the first array 102. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the first array 102 and the second array 112 are positioned side by side on two separate circuit boards, or on the same circuit board.

[0067] In the second array 112, individual LED light source devices 111 are separated by gaps 113. A second lens 115 is positioned so that an optical axis 116 of the second lens 115 is approximately orthogonal to the second array 112, and the light emitting surfaces of the LED light source devices 111 are positioned approximately on a focal plane of the second lens 115.

[0068] The light field emitted by the first array 102 of LED light source devices 101 is depicted in FIG. 6A. The light field emitted by the second array 112 of LED light source devices 111 is depicted in FIG. 6B. FIGS. 6A to 6C show projection plane, having X-axis and Y-axis, on which light beams emitted by the individual LED light source devices.

[0069] It can be seen that, similar to the light field depicted in FIG. 4, the light fields depicted in FIGS. 6A and 6B include light beams 120 and 121, corresponding to the light emitting surface portions of LED light source devices 101 and 111, separated by dark spaces 122 and 123. The dark spaces 122 and 123 correspond to the gaps 103 and 113 of the first and second arrays 102 and 112 and the non-light-emitting surface portions of the LED light source devices 101 and 111.

[0070] The gaps 103 of the first array 102 are dimensioned so that the light beams 120 of the light field emitted by the first array 102 fit in the dark spaces 122 of the light field emitted by the first array 102. The gaps 113 of the second array 112 are dimensioned so that the light beams 121 of the light field emitted by the second array 112 fit in the dark spaces 123 of the light field emitted by the second array 112. Therefore, the gaps 103 and 113 of the first and second arrays 102 and 112 are dimensioned so that the distance d between the light emitting surface portions of neighboring LED light source 101 and 111 devices equals to the width of the lights emitting surface portions of the LED light source devices 101 and 111. At the same time, the positions of the LED light source devices 101 in the first array 101 with respect to the first optical axis 106 are offset by about half the width of the light emitting surface portions, in light of the positions of the LED light source devices 111 with respect to the second optical axis 116.

[0071] The first and second arrays 102 and 112 and the first and second lenses 105 and 115 are positioned so that in an area of interest, the light fields emitted by the first and second arrays 102 and 112 overlap to form a continuous and seamless light field, which is depicted in FIG. 6C. The area of interest may include the predetermined distance and extend beyond the predetermined distance. In automotive application, where the predetermined distance may be 25 m according to photometric regulations, the area of interest may e.g., extend up to 100 m, up to 150 m, or even beyond that.

[0072] If the area of interest is very far away from the first and second lenses 105 and 115, the optical axes 106 and 116 can be approximately in parallel to each other. In other embodiments, the first and second optical axes 106 and 116 may form a sharp angle.

[0073] In the example depicted in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the illumination device 100 includes two arrays 102 and 112 of LED light source devices 101 and 111. Alternatively, the illumination device 100 may include more than two arrays of LED light source devices, and the gaps between neighboring LED light source devices may be dimensioned so that the distance between the light emitting surface portions of neighboring LED light source devices is equal to an integer multiple of the width of the light emitting surface portions.

[0074] The at least two arrays of LED light source devices may be placed on separate circuit boards, as depicted in FIG. 7A. The first array 102 of LED light source devices 101 is placed on a first circuit board 150 and can be connected by first connection wires 151. The second array 112 of LED light source devices 111 is placed on a second circuit board 160 and can be connected by second connection wires 161.

[0075] Placing the at least two arrays of LED light source devices on separate circuit boards facilitates easy adjustment of the relative positions of respective arrays.

[0076] The at least two arrays of LED light source devices may instead be placed on a common single circuit board, as depicted in FIG. 7B. Here, the first array 102 of LED light source devices 101 and the second array 112 of LED light source devices 111 are placed side by side on a single circuit board 170, connectable by connection wires 171.

[0077] Placing the at least two arrays of LED light source devices on a common circuit board facilitates easy handling of the respective arrays during manufacturing of the illumination device.

[0078] In the FIGS. 7A and 7B, the first and second arrays 102 and 112 are arranged along a base line (not shown) which is parallel to the first and second arrays 102 and 112.

[0079] FIG. 7C depicts another arrangement of LED light source devices on a circuit board 180. Here, the first array 102 of LED light source devices 101 and the second array 112 of LED light source devices 111 are arranged along a base line (not shown) which is orthogonal to the respective arrays 102 and 112. In this case, the optical axes 106 and 116 of the lenses 105 and 115 (not shown) can be moved very close to each other. To avoid mechanical interference of the lenses, overlapping portions of the lenses may be cut away without significantly affecting optical performance. As an alternative to cutting lenses, a plurality of micro lenses may be used, each micro-lens collimating light emitted by a single LED light source device, or by a small group of LED light source devices.

[0080] In the above-described embodiments, the placement of individual LED light source devices in arrays with significant gaps leaves sufficient space for placing conductive connection structures for contacting the individual LED light source devices, and/or for placing heat management features like heat sinks, heat pipes or the like. Therefore, the overall performance and lifetime of illumination devices can greatly improve. While the previous examples disclose one-dimensional arrays of LED light source devices, two-dimensional arrays of LED light source devices can be employed to provide enhanced space resolution of an illumination device. Some examples of two-dimensional arrays are depicted in FIGS. 8A and 8B through FIGS. 10A and 10B. Embodiments of illumination devices shown in FIGS. 8A through 10B provide substantially gap-free illumination fields by arranging two or more arrays having a partial illumination field with gaps in various patterns and/or manners. Based on various arrangements, the partial illumination fields are superimposed so that the light beams of one partial illumination field meet the gaps of the other partial illumination field, and vice versa. The resulting illumination field can be substantially gap-free. The two or more arrays are associated and arranged with respective optical systems so that, in a predetermined distance from the illumination device, light emitted by a first group of light emitting devices, collimated by a first optical system, and light emitted by a second group of light emitting devices, collimated by a second optical system, are superimposed to form a gap-free illumination field.

[0081] FIG. 8A depicts a combination of two arrays 201 and 202, where each array includes two rows of LED light emitting devices 203 in a first arrangement. FIG. 8B illustrates that the light of the respective LED light source devices 203 merges into a seamless light field having two rows of light beams.

[0082] FIG. 9A depicts a combination of two arrays 211 and 212, where each includes three rows of LED light emitting devices 213 in a second arrangement. FIG. 9B illustrates that the light of the respective LED light source devices 213 merges into a seamless light field having three rows of light beams.

[0083] FIG. 10A depicts a combination of two arrays 221 and 222, where each includes four rows of LED light emitting devices 223 in a third arrangement. FIG. 10B illustrates that the light of the respective LED light source devices 223 merges into a seamless light field having four rows of light beams.

[0084] Instead of using a complicated optical system for reducing the gaps in the illumination field, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 8A, 9A and 10A use two optical systems, where each array or row of LED light emitting devices provides a partial illumination field with gaps. The partial illumination fields are superimposed so that the light beams of one partial illumination field meet the gaps of the other partial illumination field, and vice versa. The resulting illumination field can be substantially gap-free in a distance from the illumination device.

[0085] FIG. 11 depicts a further example of an illumination device including a first group of LED light source devices 101 arranged in a first array 102, at least one second group of LED light source devices 111 arranged in at least one second array 112, and a control device 300, configured for selectively activating, controlling, and/or deactivating individual LED light source devices 101 and 111.

[0086] Individual control of LED light source devices may be facilitated by individually providing a supply voltage to each LED light source device, while all LED light source devices are connected to a common ground conductor. Alternatively, all LED light source devices may be connected to a common supply voltage, and the driving current of each LED light source device may individually be controlled.

[0087] The illumination device shown in FIG. 11 enables selective control of brightness in individual sections of a light field corresponding to individual LED light source devices, which can be beneficial for several purposes.

[0088] In some embodiments, an illumination device according to this disclosure may be used as a vehicle headlight. In such application to the vehicle headlight, brightness control of individual sections of the light field may be used to avoid blinding of upcoming traffic or pedestrians, while providing optimal illumination of the driver's field of view. Instead of a driver's field of view, the headlights can be used to illuminate the field of view of machine vision systems in autonomous or machine-assisted driving vehicles.

[0089] Illumination devices according to this disclosure can be applied for an adaptive driving beam of a vehicle. Additionally, illumination devices according to the present disclosure may equally be applied for high-beam or low-beam illumination.

[0090] In a further possible application, an illumination device according to this disclosure may be used as a road light. In such application, brightness control of individual sectors of the light field may be used to provide adaptive brightness for different parts of the road like driveway and sidewalk parts.

[0091] In a different application, an illumination device according to this disclosure may be used as a room light. Brightness control may be used to provide customized illumination according to the preferences of a user.

[0092] The examples of the present disclosure have been described above as specific embodiments, but these are only examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and should be construed as having the widest scope according to the technical spirit disclosed in the present specification. A person skilled in the art may combine/substitute the disclosed embodiments to implement a pattern of a shape that is not disclosed, but it also does not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art can easily change or modify the disclosed embodiments based on the present specification, and it is clear that such changes or modifications also belong to the scope of the present disclosure.