Lighting device

Abstract

Various embodiments may relate to a lighting device, which includes a lamp tube having two open ends, a light engine arranged in the lamp tube, a carrier supporting the light engine, and two end caps closing the open ends. The lighting device further includes a diffuser. The carrier supporting the light engine is held on the diffuser, and the diffuser is held on the inner wall of the lamp tube.

Claims

1. A lighting device comprising: a lamp tube having two open ends; a light engine arranged in the lamp tube; a carrier arranged in the lamp tube and supporting the light engine; two end caps respectively closing the two open ends of the lamp tube; and a diffuser arranged in the lamp tube, wherein: the carrier supporting the light engine is held on the diffuser; and the diffuser is held on an inner wall of the lamp tube such that the diffuser exerts a force on the inner wall which prevents the diffuser and the carrier from moving relative thereto.

2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser is configured to be elastic and rests on the inner wall of the lamp tube in a predetermined stress.

3. The lighting device according to claim 2, wherein the diffuser is a tubular structure formed by bending an elastic plate-shaped part.

4. The lighting device according to claim 3, wherein the diffuser extends over the whole longitudinal length of the lamp tube.

5. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the carrier is configured to serve as a heat sink for the lighting device.

6. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light engine includes a circuit board and at least one LED chip arranged on the circuit board.

7. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light engine is arranged in a space defined by the carrier and the diffuser, so that light emitted by the light engine emerges through the diffuser.

8. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser includes a plate-shaped base body, which is made of a transparent and elastic material.

9. The lighting device according to claim 8, wherein a microstructure is formed on the surface of the plate-shaped base body, and the microstructure is configured to enable light that emerges through the diffuser to have uniform light distribution performance.

10. The lighting device according to claim 8, wherein a diffusant is added to the material forming the plate-shaped base body, so that emergent light through the diffuser has uniform light distribution performance.

11. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is configured as any of a T5, T8, and T10 retrofit lamp.

12. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser is disposed between the lamp tube and the carrier.

13. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser is configured such that light emitted by the light engine emerges through the diffuser.

14. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser is configured to be in direct contact with the inner wall of the lamp tube.

15. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein only one edge of the diffuser is fixed to the carrier, with an opposing edge of the diffuser being free to move in the lamp tube.

16. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser is permitted to expand outwardly in a radial direction in the lamp tube.

17. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the diffuser is configured as an open tubular structure having: a first edge fixed to a first side of the carrier; and a second edge free to move with respect to a second side of the carrier.

18. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein: a first edge of the diffuser is operatively interfaced with a first portion of the carrier; a second edge of the diffuser is permitted to move freely with respect to a second portion of the carrier; and the first edge and the second edge do not contact one another.

19. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein only one edge of the diffuser is fixed to the carrier such that the diffuser is permitted to expand and contract along the inner wall of the lamp tube.

20. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light engine, the carrier, and the diffuser are fixed in place in the lamp tube using only the diffuser.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the following description, various embodiments described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic diagram of a lighting device according to the present disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the lighting device according to the present disclosure; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the lighting device according to the present disclosure in an assembled state, wherein a section of the lamp tube is respectively cut off from the two end regions, so as to clearly show the internal structure of the lighting device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as inside, outside, left, right, is used in reference to the orientation of the figures being described. Because components of embodiments of the present invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

(6) FIG. 1 shows an exploded schematic diagram of a lighting device 100 according to various embodiments, and it can be seen from the figure that the lighting device 100 includes: a lamp tube 1 having two open ends; a light engine 2 arranged in the lamp tube 1; a carrier supporting the light engine 2; and two insulating end caps 3 closing the open ends. Moreover, it can be seen from the figure that the lighting device 100 further includes a diffuser 4. The lighting device 100 according to various embodiments is configured as an LED retrofit lamp, particularly a T5, T8 or T10 retrofit lamp. The light engine 2 is thereby configured as an LED light engine, and includes a circuit board 21 and at least one LED chip 22 arranged on the circuit board 21. It can further be seen from the figure that a plurality of LED chips 22 is provided on the circuit board 21. In addition, the circuit board 21 extends over the whole longitudinal length of the lamp tube 1. However, only a section of the circuit board 21 is shown in the view of FIG. 1, while in an actual situation, the circuit board 21 shall extend from one end cap 3 to the side of another opposite end cap 3.

(7) Moreover, in the example as shown in FIG. 1, the end cap 3, particularly the left end cap 3 in FIG. 1, has a pin 31 for insertion into a socket, wherein the pin 31 is in electrical connection with the circuit board 21 of the light engine 2 through a lead 32. In various embodiments, the end cap 3 functions for closing the open end of the lamp tube 1 and providing electrical connection with the light engine 2. Such an end cap 3 has the same contour as end caps used in traditional fluorescent lamps, so that the lighting device 100 according to various embodiments can be easily inserted into a socket provided in a traditional fluorescent lamp tube. However, there is a slight difference between the right end cap 3 and the left end cap 3 in FIG. 1, viz. only a bolt is formed on said right end cap, and the function of said bolt only lies in fixation of the lamp tube in the socket, while no electrical connection is provided. However, said right end cap 3 can also have the same structure as the left end cap 3, while there is just no need to perform electrical connection with the circuit board 21 of the light engine 2 through a lead.

(8) Furthermore, the circuit board 21 shown in FIG. 1 is supported on the carrier (see FIG. 2). Said carrier is configured as a heat sink 5. In the present example, the heat sink 5 is made of aluminum, which is relatively light in weight. Of course, the heat sink 5 can also be made of other materials such as heat conductive plastics etc.

(9) In addition, the lamp tube 1 is a glass tube. The glass tube 1 is widely applied to different fluorescent lamp tubes, as it requires low cost and can be obtained from the market with low price. Moreover, the glass tube 1 has better flexural behavior compared with plastic lamp tubes, and the heat sink for heat dissipation can therefore be configured to be relatively light, under the precondition that the requirements on heat dissipation are satisfied. Furthermore, a glass tube has finer optical performance.

(10) The key point of the present disclosure lies in the diffuser 4. The diffuser 4 according to various embodiments is a tubular structure formed by bending an elastic plate-shaped part. However, in the example as shown in FIG. 1, said diffuser 4 is not formed as a closed tubular structure, instead of that, there is a certain distance between the two opposite ends. In the present example, said diffuser 4 includes a plate-shaped base in a sheet form that is made of a transparent and elastic material, said material is PC or PET material, and can certainly be other transparent and elastic materials. In a specific example, a microstructure is formed on the surface of the plate-shaped base body, in order to obtain uniform light distribution performance, while in other examples, a diffusant, e.g. white powder etc., can be added to the material forming the plate-shaped base body. In addition, the diffuser 4 extends over the whole longitudinal length of the lamp tube 1. Hereby, the diffuser 4 covers the light emergent surface of the lamp tube 1 in the whole longitudinal length, so as to obtain a large effective lighting region as possible.

(11) FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the lighting device 100 according to various embodiments. It can be seen from the figure that the heat sink 5 is fixed on the diffuser 4. The diffuser 4 according to various embodiments is made of an elastic plate-shaped part. Thus, while fixing the heat sink 5, only one edge of the plate-shaped part has to be fixed with the heat sink 5, and there is no need to fix the other edge with the heat sink 5, so as to ensure that the diffuser 4 bent into a tubular shape can further have an expansion trend after being fixed on the heat sink 5. It can be seen from the figure that the diffuser 4 with the heat sink 5 is inserted into the lamp tube 1, and the diffuser 4 rests on the inner wall of the lamp tube 1 in a predetermined stress. The diffuser 4 per se is configured to be capable of expanding outwardly in a radial direction of the lamp tube 1. After the diffuser 4 is placed inside the lamp tube 1, the expansion trend of the diffuser 4 in the radial direction is limited by the inner wall, thereby forming a predetermined stress between the inner wall of the lamp tube 1 and the diffuser 4; in other words, the diffuser 4 exerts an abutting force on the inner wall of the lamp tube, which force assures that the diffuser 4, then the heat sink 5 held on the diffuser 4 which supports the light engine 2 would not move relative to the inner wall of the lamp tube.

(12) Moreover, it can further be seen from FIG. 2 that the light engine 2 is arranged in a space defined by the heat sink 5 and the diffuser 4, so that light emitted by the LED chip 22 emerges through the diffuser 4.

(13) FIG. 3 shows is a schematic diagram of the lighting device 100 according to various embodiments in an assembled state, wherein a section of the lamp tube is respectively cut off from the two end regions, so as to clearly show the internal structure of the lighting device 100. There is no additional holding structure for the assembly inside the lamp tube 1 in said lighting device 100, while the assembly inside the lamp tube 1 including the diffuser 4 is fixed inside the lamp tube 1 just through the diffuser 4.

(14) While the disclosed embodiments have been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the disclosed embodiments is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.