LED light

Abstract

The invention relates to a LED vehicle headlight. Each light unit has a LED board with a luminous surface and an optical device associated with a reflector and/or a lens. A reflector holder carries the optical devices of the light units and is formed in one piece with the latter. A board holder is fastened detachably to the reflector holder. The board holder has a receptacle for each light unit, and the LED board has contact surfaces that come into contact with corresponding contact surfaces on the reflector holder to position the LED board with respect to the assigned optical device when the board holder is fixed on the reflector holder. Each light unit has elastic pressurizing means that act on the LED board in order to press its contact surfaces against the contact surfaces of the reflector holder when the board holder is fixed on the reflector holder.

Claims

1. A LED light, comprising a light unit having a LED board with a luminous surface and an optical device, the optical device comprising at least one reflector and/or at least one lens; a reflector holder carrying the optical device and formed in one piece with the optical device; a board holder detachably fastened to the reflector holder, the board holder comprising a receptacle in which the LED board is positioned, the LED board has a contact surface that comes into contact with a corresponding contact surface on the reflector holder positioning the LED board in the receptacle in registration with the optical device, the board holder has a board holder body and a carrier arm assigned to the light unit and projects in a straight line from a front side of the board holder body, the receptacle being formed on a free front end section of the carrier arm; elastic pressurizing means provided on the board holder and/or the reflector holder, the elastic pressuring means elastically compresses and pushes the contact surface of the LED board against the contact surface of the reflector holder; and a carrier receptacle in the reflector holder and assigned to the carrier arm, the carrier arm is inserted into the carrier receptacle in a straight line from a rear side of the reflector holder, the carrier receptacle comprises lateral guide grooves in which the lateral edges of the carrier arm engage.

2. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle is open to a front face side of the board holder and the LED board positioned in the receptacle on the open face side projects out of the receptacle, on an end section of the LED board projecting out of the receptacle the contact surface of the LED board is designed for the positioning of the LED board with respect to the optical device.

3. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the LED board can be moved in the receptacle of the carrier arm parallel to a direction of insertion Z of the carrier arm and the elastic pressurizing means (6) is provided in a rear end region of the receptacle to elastically push the LED board out of the receptacle, the LED board has on its front end region a centering projection which engages a corresponding centering recess on the carrier receptacle to center the LED board in a Y direction transverse to the direction of insertion Z, the centering projection and the centering recess have lateral contact surfaces positioned opposite to one another.

4. The LED light according to claim 3, wherein the contact surface of the LED board and the contact surface of the reflector holder position the LED board on the reflector holder in the direction of insertion Z, the contact surface of the LED board is formed on opposite sides of the centering projection.

5. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface is formed on a lower side of the LED board and interacts with the contact surface of the reflector holder which is elevated from a bottom of the assigned carrier receptacle to position the LED board in an X direction transverse to a direction of insertion Z.

6. The LED light according to claim 5, wherein the elastic pressurizing means act on an upper side of the LED board to press the lower side of the LED board against the contact surface of the reflector holder, a leaf spring is provided as the elastic pressurizing means on the board holder and extends from a rear side to a front side of the receptacle.

7. The LED according to claim 1, wherein a board holder body comes to rest against the reflector holder to fix an end position of the board holder with respect to the reflector holder in a direction of insertion Z.

8. The LED light according to claim 1, wherein the board holder is screwed to the reflector holder and/or control electronics for the LED boards are provided on the board holder and/or a total of four light units are provided.

9. The LED light according to claim 3, the contact surface is formed on a lower side of the LED board and interacts with the contact surface of the reflector holder which is elevated from a bottom of the carrier receptacle to position the LED board in an X direction transverse to the direction of insertion Z.

10. The LED light according to claim 4, the contact surface is formed on a lower side of the LED board and interacts with the contact surface of the reflector holder which is elevated from a bottoms of the carrier receptacle to position the LED board in an X direction transverse to the direction of insertion.

11. The LED light a cording to claim 3, wherein the board holder body comes to rest against the reflector holder to fix an end position of the board holder with respect to the reflector holder in a direction of insertion Z.

12. The LED light according to claim 4, wherein the board holder body comes to rest against the reflector holder to fix an end position of the board holder with respect to the reflector holder in a direction of insertion Z.

13. The LED light according to claim 5, wherein the board holder body comes to rest against the reflector holder to fix an end position of the board holder with respect to the reflector holder in a direction of insertion Z.

14. The LED light according to claim 6, wherein the board holder body comes to rest against the reflector holder to fix an end position of the board holder with respect to the reflector holder in a direction of insertion Z.

15. A reflector arrangement for a LED light, comprising: a light unit having a LED board with a luminous surface and an optical device; a reflector holder carrying the optical device and formed in one piece with the optical device; a carrier receptacle in the reflector holder configured for insertion of a carrier arm of a board holder in a straight line from a rear side of the reflector holder, the carrier receptacle comprising lateral guide grooves configured to engage lateral edges of the carrier arm, the carrier arm configured to project in a straight line from a front side of the board holder; and a contact surface formed in a front end region of the carrier receptacle and configured to position a LED board in the carrier receptacle.

16. The reflector arrangement according to claim 15, wherein a centering recess and the contact surface are formed in the carrier receptacle in the region of a face side end surface of the carrier receptacle to center the LED board in a Y direction transverse to a direction of insertion Z and/or the contact surface is formed in the region of the bottom of the carrier receptacle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings an exemplary embodiment of an LED light according to the invention is shown. The drawings show as follows:

(2) FIG. 1 an LED light according to the present invention in a perspective illustration,

(3) FIG. 2 a board holder and an LED board of the LED light from FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 the board holder from FIG. 2 with LED boards pre-positioned on the latter,

(5) FIG. 4 the board holder from FIG. 3 with a reflector holder and reflectors provided on the latter,

(6) FIG. 5 a sectional illustration of the engagement region between an LED board and the reflector holder,

(7) FIG. 6 an additional LED light according to the present invention in a perspective illustration,

(8) FIG. 7 a board holder and an LED board of the LED light from FIG. 6,

(9) FIG. 8 the board holder from FIG. 7 with an LED board prepositioned on the latter,

(10) FIG. 9 the board holder from FIG. 8 with a reflector holder and a reflector held on the latter, and

(11) FIG. 10 an additional embodiment of a reflector holder with an optical device held on the latter and which comprises a reflector and a lens.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

(12) In the drawings a LED light according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The LED light comprises two light units which respectively have an illuminant in the form of an LED board 1 and a reflector 2a of an optical device assigned to the LED board 1. The optical device can have an optical lens 2b as an alternative to or in addition to the reflector 2a. The LED board 1 has, in a way known in its own right, a flat substrate 1a which is made to be rigid and is equipped with the required LEDs and optionally additional electronic components. The LEDs form a luminous surface 1b of the LED board 1. Neither the additional electronic components nor the electric connecting surfaces of the LED boards 1 are shown in the drawings.

(13) The LED boards 1 are held on a common board holder 3 which also carries the control electronics for the LED boards 1. As can be seen particularly well from FIG. 2, the board holder 3 has a board holder body 3a which is cuboidal in form here, and two carrier arms 3b which project parallel to one another from the front face side of the board holder body 3a. In the exemplary embodiment shown the carrier arms 3b project from the front face surface of the board holder body 3a. The carrier arms 3b are respectively assigned to a light unit and have on their front, free end section a receptacle 4 into which the LED board 1 of the light unit can be inserted. The receptacles 4 are open to the front face side of the carrier arms 3b so that the LED boards 1 project out of the receptacles 4 on the open face side. Furthermore, the receptacles 4 are open to the upper side of the carrier arms 3b and the bottom of the receptacle 4 is also interrupted by an opening 5 which extends from the rear side to the front side of the receptacle 4.

(14) Respectively provided on the rear end region of the receptacles 4 is a compression spring 6 which acts to push an LED board 1 inserted into the receptacle 4 out of the receptacle 4 in the longitudinal direction 7 of the carrier arm 3b. The compression spring 6 is made in the form of an elastic bracket here which extends transversely to the receptacle 4 and is molded onto its side walls.

(15) Furthermore, there is assigned to each receptacle 4 a compression spring 7 which acts on the upper side of the LED boards 1 in order to push the latter down towards the bottom of the receptacle 4. The compression spring is made in the form of a leaf spring 7 here, the rear end section of which is connected to the carrier arm 3b on the rear side of the receptacle 4 and which extends over the receptacle 4 in the longitudinal direction Z of the carrier arm 3b.

(16) The reflectors 2 are disposed on a common reflector holder 8 and are made integrally with the latter to form a reflector arrangement. Specifically, the reflector holder 8 and the reflectors 2a are produced as one component in a casting process. The reflector holder 8 has two carrier receptacles 9 into which the carrier arms 3b of the board holder 3 can be inserted. The carrier receptacles 9 define lateral guide grooves 9a, 9b here in which the lateral edges of the carrier arms 3b engage. Moreover, the carrier receptacles 9 are open to their upper side.

(17) On the front end section of the LED boards 1 on the one hand and on the front end region of the carrier receptacles 9 on the other hand, contact surfaces assigned to one another are formed in order to position the LED boards 1 in the reflector holder and so with respect to the respectively assigned reflector 2 when the carrier arms 3b are fully inserted into the carrier receptacles 9. This is the case if the front face surface of the board holder body 3a comes to rest against the rear face surface 8a of the reflector holder 8.

(18) In FIGS. 6 to 9 another embodiment of an LED light according to the present invention is shown. This corresponds to the previously described embodiment with the proviso that the LED light only has a single light unit with an illuminant in the form of an LED board 1 and a reflector 2a of an optical device assigned to the LED board 1. Accordingly, the board holder 3 also has just one carrier arm 2b which projects in a straight line from the front face side of the board holder body 3a. In the way that has already been described, the carrier arm 3b has on its front, free end section a receptacle 4 into which the LED board 1 of the light unit can be inserted. There is provided on the rear end region of the receptacle 4 a compression spring 6 which acts to push an LED board 1 inserted into the receptacle 4 out of the receptacle 4 in the longitudinal direction 7 of the carrier arm 3b so that the LED board 1 projects out of the receptacle 4 on the open face side. Furthermore, there is assigned to the receptacle 4 a compression spring 7 which acts on the upper side of the LED board 1 in order to push the latter down towards the bottom of the receptacle 4. As in the first embodiment, the compression spring is made in the form of a leaf spring 7 the rear end section of which is connected to the carrier arm 3b on the rear side of the receptacle 4 and which extends over the receptacle 4 in the longitudinal direction Z of the carrier arm 3b.

(19) The reflector 2a is disposed on a reflector holder 8 which has a carrier receptacle 9 into which the carrier arm 3b of the board holder 3 can be inserted. The carrier receptacle 9 defines lateral guide grooves 9a, 9b here in which the lateral edges of the carrier arm 3b engage. Moreover, the carrier receptacle 9 is open to its upper side.

(20) There are formed on the front end section of the LED board 1 on the one hand and on the front end region of the carrier receptacle 9 on the other hand contact surfaces that are assigned to one another in order to position the LED board 1 in the reflector holder 8 and so with respect to the reflector 2a when the carrier arm 3b is fully inserted into the carrier receptacle 9.

(21) Specifically, the LED board 1 has on its front end region a centering projection 10 which engages in a corresponding centering recess 11 of the associated carrier receptacle 9 in order to center the LED board 1 in a Y direction running transversely to the direction of insertion Z. For this purpose, the centering projection 10 has on its opposing sides corresponding lateral contact surfaces 10a, 10b which come into contact with corresponding contact surfaces 11a, 11b of the centering recess 11. Furthermore, the LED board 1 and the reflector holder 8 have contact surfaces in order to position the LED board 1 on the reflector holder 8 in the direction of insertion Z. These Z contact surfaces 12a, 12b; 13a, 13b of the LED board 1 are formed here on the sides of the shoulder of the centering projection 10 of the board body 3a that lie opposite one another in the Y direction and on the shoulder surfaces of the carrier receptacle 9 provided on the centering recess 11.

(22) In order to position the LED board 1 in an X direction which runs perpendicularly to the YZ plane, the lower side of the LED board 1 respectively forms a contact surface. A corresponding contact surface 14 is formed on the bottom of the carrier receptacle 9 and is elevated with respect to the surrounding bottom regions, i.e. the contact surface 14 projects upwards over the bottom of the carrier receptacle 9. The front end section of the contact surface 14 is in the form of a ramp incline 14a here that interacts with the associated LED board 1 in order to raise the latter when the carrier arm 3b is inserted.

(23) In order to fit the LED light 1, the LED board 1 is first of all inserted into the two receptacles 4 of the carrier arms 3b of the board holder 3 from its open face side. Next the board holder 3 is connected to the reflector holder 8 by the carrier arms 3b of the board holder 3 being inserted into the associated carrier receptacle 9 of the reflector holder 8 until the board holder body 3a comes into contact with the reflector holder 8. In this final position the board holder 3 and the reflector holder 8 are connected, specifically screwed, detachably to one another.

(24) When the carrier arm 3b is inserted into the carrier receptacle 9 the centering projection 10 on the front end region of the substrate 1a of the LED board 1 engages with the associated centering recess 11 of the carrier receptacle 9, by means of which the LED board 1 is centered in the Y direction. Moreover, the Z contact surfaces 12a, 12b in the region of the shoulders of the LED board 1 on the opposite sides of the centering projection 10 engage with the corresponding contact surfaces 13a, 13b of the reflector holder 8 in order to position the LED board 1 in the direction of insertion Z. After the positioning of the LED board 1 in the Z direction further insertion of the carrier arms 3a leads to the compression springs 6 being compressed in the rear end region of the receptacles 4 and so being tensioned so that it is ensured by the reset force of the compression springs 6 that the LED boards 1 are held against the Z contact surfaces 13a, 13b of the reflector holder 8.

(25) Upon inserting the carrier arm 3a the LED board 1 is furthermore slightly raised by the interaction with the ramp incline 14b on the bottom of the carrier receptacle 9 against the reset force of the leaf spring 7 which overlaps the receptacle 4 so that the LED board 1 is pressed by the leaf spring 7 against the contact surface 14 on the bottom of the carrier receptacle 9 in order to position the LED board 1 in the X direction.

(26) Finally, FIG. 10 shows a reflector holder 8 that carries an optical device 2 that comprises a reflector 2a and a lens 2b positioned on the latter. The carrier receptacle 9 is formed here as in the two embodiments described above. The lateral edges of the carrier receptacle 9 are formed like dove tails here in order to guide the correspondingly formed edges of an LED board and to fix them on the reflector holder so that they do not become detached towards the top.

(27) It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in construction or configuration of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover all modifications and variations of the invention, provided they come within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.