Automotive lighting unit for detecting electrical characteristics of light emitter diode component
11672065 · 2023-06-06
Assignee
Inventors
- Fu-Bang CHEN (Miaoli County, TW)
- Yung-Hsiang CHAO (MIAOLI COUNTY, TW)
- TSUNG-HSIANG CHEN (MIAOLI COUNTY, TW)
- Chang-Ching HUANG (Miaoli County, TW)
- Kuo-Hsin HUANG (Miaoli County, TW)
Cpc classification
H05B45/50
ELECTRICITY
H05B47/135
ELECTRICITY
H05B45/14
ELECTRICITY
H05B47/14
ELECTRICITY
F21S41/141
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05B45/36
ELECTRICITY
International classification
H05B45/50
ELECTRICITY
F21S41/141
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
H05B45/14
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
The invention provides an automotive lighting unit for detecting electrical characteristics of light emitter diode component. At least one light emitter diode light source is selectively disposed on any one of at least one circuit channel of at least one drive power loop. At least one circuit breaker comprises at least one circuit switch corresponding to the at least one drive power loop, and is disposed on the circuit channel with the at least one light emitter diode light source. The at least one circuit channel is controlled by the at least one circuit switch to turn in a state of isolating from a drive power. An ammeter connection line is connected with the two sides one of the at least one light emitter diode light source.
Claims
1. An automotive lighting unit for detecting electrical characteristics of a light emitter diode component, comprising: an automotive lighting housing, comprising an automotive lighting housing interior space; an LED drive module, disposed in the automotive lighting housing interior space and comprising at least one drive power supply, wherein each of the at least one drive power supply comprises a power supply positive terminal and a power supply negative terminal outputting a drive voltage; a power and control cable, penetrating through the automotive lighting housing and electrically connected with the LED drive module; at least one light emitter diode light source; at least one drive power loop, correspondingly connected with the at least one drive power supply, wherein each of the at least one drive power loop is disposed in the automotive lighting housing interior space and comprises a first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal is connected with the power supply positive terminal, the second terminal is connected with the power supply negative terminal, at least one circuit channel is provided between the first terminal and the second terminal, and the at least one light emitter diode light source is selectively disposed on any one of the at least one circuit channel; at least one circuit breaker, correspondingly disposed on the at least one drive power loop, the at least one circuit breaker comprises at least one circuit switch disposed on the at least one circuit channel with the at least one light emitter diode light source, wherein the circuit breaker is in an on-state when the at least one circuit switch is controlled to be connected, and the circuit breaker is in an off-state when the at least one circuit switch is controlled to be disconnected, and when the circuit breaker is in the off-state, the corresponding at least one light emitter diode light source is isolated from a driving power; and an ammeter connection line, comprising at least one positive electrode line and at least one negative electrode line, the at least one positive electrode line and the at least one negative electrode line of the ammeter connection line are provided in pairs and are respectively connected to two sides of one of the at least one light emitter diode light source.
2. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the automotive lighting housing is any one selected from a head light, a fog light, a tail light, a side light and a projection headlight.
3. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein a foremost end and a rearmost end of the at least one circuit channel with the at least one light emitter diode light source are provided with the at least one circuit switches respectively.
4. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein one of a foremost end and a rearmost end of the at least one circuit channel with the at least one light emitter diode light source is provided with the at least one circuit switch.
5. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the automotive lighting unit further comprises an electrical measurement connection box, and the ammeter connection line is disposed in the electrical measurement connection box.
6. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 5, wherein the at least one circuit switch of the at least one circuit breaker is disposed in the electrical measurement connection box, and the at least one circuit switch is an electronically controlled circuit switch, and an electrical control signal transmitted to the at least one circuit switch is provided by an external electrical control signal cable outside the electrical measurement connection box.
7. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 5, wherein the electrical measurement connection box comprises a first connector and a second connector, the second connector is a double-ended connector which comprises a first connection portion and a second connection portion; and wherein the at least one circuit channel with the at least one light emitter diode light source extends into the first connector twice to form two circuit-breaker points in the first connector, and the at least one light emitter diode light source is disposed between the two circuit-breaker points; and wherein the first connection portion comprises two electrical connection portions which turn on the two circuit-breaker points respectively to serve as the circuit breaker, the second connection portion comprises two connection lines which serve as a positive electrode line and a negative electrode line respectively.
8. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 7, wherein a position that the first connection portion relative to the second connection portion is any one selected from a same side, an adjacent side and an opposite side of the double-ended connector.
9. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 7, wherein the first connection portion and the second connection portion of the double-ended connector are formed by combining two separate components.
10. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one circuit switch of the at least one circuit breaker is disposed in the automotive lighting housing, and the at least one circuit switch is an electronically controlled circuit switch, and an electrical control signal transmitted to the at least one circuit switch is provided by an external electrical control signal cable outside an electrical measurement connection box.
11. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one circuit switch of the at least one circuit breaker is an electronically controlled circuit switch, and the at least one circuit switch is any one selected from a relay and a semiconductor transistor.
12. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one positive electrode line and the at least one negative electrode line in pairs are electrically connected to a current source meter, respectively according to an electrical property, and the current source meter is implemented by any one of switching types selected from a jack-type change-over switch, a manual change-over switch, and an electrically controlled change-over switch, and the current source meter is connected to different pairs of the positive electrode line and the negative electrode line.
13. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one drive power loop comprises two circuit channels which are connected in parallel, one of the circuit channels is provided with the at least one light emitter diode light source in series, and the other circuit channel is provided with an antistatic protection component.
14. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 13, wherein the antistatic protection component is any one selected from a Zener diode, a capacitor and a resistor.
15. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 13, wherein the at least one light emitter diode light source and the antistatic protection component are packaged in one package carrier.
16. The automotive lighting unit according to claim 15, wherein the package carrier is selected from any one of a ceramic substrate, a BT (Bismaleimide Triazine) substrate, a copper substrate and a silicon carbide substrate.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(14) In order to make deeper understanding and identification on the features, the objective and the efficacy of the present invention for better understanding, description is taking an example of one preferred embodiment in cooperation with the drawings as follows:
(15) Please refer to
(16) The at least one drive power loop 50 is correspondingly connected with the at least one drive power supply 20A, and each of the at least one drive power loop 50 is disposed in the automotive lighting housing interior space 11. Each of the at least one drive power loop 50 comprises a first terminal 51 and a second terminal 52, the first terminal 51 is connected with the power supply positive terminal 21, and the second terminal 52 is connected with the power supply negative terminal 22. At least one circuit channel 53 is provided between the first terminal 51 and the second terminal 52, and the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 is selectively disposed on any one of the at least one circuit channel 53. In this embodiment, the automotive lighting unit comprises one drive power supply 20A and one drive power loop 50 are provided. In other embodiments, the automotive lighting unit comprises a plurality of drive power supplies 20A and a plurality of drive power loops 50, and the plurality of drive power loops 50 are correspondingly connected to the plurality of drive power supplies 20A in the LED drive module 20 so as to independently control switches and a luminous intensity. Further, in one embodiment, each of the at least one drive power loop 50 comprises one circuit channel 53; and in other embodiment, a plurality of circuit channels 53 connected in parallel are provided instead. The plurality of circuit channels 53 are provided for disposal of one of the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 or other functional components. In one embodiment, the automotive lighting unit comprises one light emitter diode light source 40; and in other embodiment, a plurality of light emitter diode light sources 40 connected in series are provided.
(17) The circuit breaker 60 is composed of a circuit switch 60X at the front end and a circuit switch 60Y at the rear end. It is necessary for each of the at least one drive power loop 50 to be provided with at least one of the circuit switch 60X or the circuit switch 60Y to break the loop. Preferably, the circuit switch 60X and/or the circuit switch 60Y is disposed on the circuit channel 53 with the at least one light emitter diode light source 40. The circuit breaker 60 has an on-state and an off-state by controlling the circuit switch 60X and/or the circuit switch 60Y to be connected or disconnected.
(18) Moreover, when the circuit breaker 60 is in the off-state, the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 corresponded is in a state of isolating from the drive power. At this time, the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 is electrically connected with the ammeter connection line 70, wherein one end of the ammeter connection line 70 penetrates through the automotive lighting housing 10 and is connected to the two sides of the at least one light emitter diode light source 40, and the other end of the ammeter connection line 70 is connected to a current source electric meter 90.
(19) The ammeter connection line 70 comprises at least one positive electrode line 71 and at least one negative electrode line 72. In the embodiment that a plurality of light emitter diode light sources 40 is provided, the at least one positive electrode line 71 and the at least one negative electrode line 72 are provided in pairs and are selectively connected with the two sides of any one of the at least one light emitter diode light source 40, the positive electrode line 71 and the negative electrode line 72 in pairs are electrically connected to a positive line 901 and a negative line 902 of the current source electric meter 90, respectively according to an electrical property. In
(20) In an embodiment, the automotive lighting housing 10 is selected from any one of a head light, a fog light, a tail light, a side light and a projection headlight. The circuit switch 60X (60Y) of the at least one circuit breaker 60 is electronically controlled circuit switch selected from any one of a relay and a semiconductor transistor. Also, in one embodiment, the present invention further comprises an electrical measurement connection box 73 (shown in dotted line so as to be distinguished from the electrode lines). The ammeter connection line 70 is disposed in the electrical measurement connection box 73, wherein a positive external measurement point 71a on one end of the positive electrode line 71 and a negative external measurement point 72a on one end of the negative electrode line 72 are disposed on the surface of the electrical measurement connection box 73. The other ends of the positive electrode line 71 and the negative electrode line 72 are penetrate through the automotive lighting housing 10 and are connected to the two sides of the at least one light emitter diode light source 40. The positive line 901 of the current source electric meter 90 is connected to the positive electrode line 71 by electrically contacting with the positive external measurement point 71a; similarly, the negative line 902 of the current source electric meter 90 is connected to the negative electrode line 72 by electrically contacting with the negative external measurement point 72a.
(21) Referring to the first embodiment shown in
(22) As shown in
(23) Referring to
(24) In addition, the positive external measurement point 71a and the negative external measurement point 72a are disconnected with the positive line 901 and the negative line 902 of the current source electric meter 90 (drawn as open circuits), that is, the two sides of the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 are isolated from the current source electric meter 90. The aforementioned circuit may normally provide lighting during driving, as shown in the schematic diagram of a traditional automotive lighting unit in
(25) Referring to
(26) In a measurement state of the second embodiment shown in
(27) In an operation state in the second embodiment as shown in
(28) Referring to
(29) The circuit channel 53 with the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 extends into the first connector 73A twice to form two circuit-breaker points 143X, 143Y in the first connector 73A. The light emitter diode light source 40 is disposed between the two circuit-breaker points 143X, 143Y The first connection portion 141 comprises two electrical connection portions 141X, 141Y which are able to be connected to the circuit-breaker points 143X, 143Y respectively to be served as the circuit breaker 60; and the second connection portion 142 comprises two connection lines 142X, 142Y which are served as the positive electrode line 71 and the negative electrode line 72 respectively. One ends of the positive electrode line 71 and the negative electrode line 72 are connected to the two sides of the light emitter diode light source 40 respectively, and the other ends of the positive electrode line 71 and the negative electrode line 72 are connected to the positive external measurement point 71a and the negative external measurement point 72a respectively.
(30) As shown in
(31) Referring to
(32) The circuit breakers 60A, 60B, 60C are disposed in the electrical measurement connection box 73 and the external electrical control signal cable 61 is used for providing the control signals. In the implementation, each circuit breaker 60A (60B, 60C) comprises a circuit switch 60X (60Y, 60Z) and is located on the circuit channel 53A (53B, 53C) to correspond to the light emitter diode light sources 40A (40B, 40C).
(33) As show in
(34) The current source electric meter 90 is implemented by any one of switching types selected from a jack-type change-over switch, a manual change-over switch, and an electrically controlled change-over switch to allow the positive line 901 and the negative line 902 being connected to the negative electrode line 72 and one of the positive electrode lines 71-1, 71-2, 71-3. In the embodiment shown in
(35) Referring to
(36) The ammeter connection line 70 has the three positive electrode lines 71-1, 71-2, 71-3 and three negative electrode lines 72-1, 72-2, 72-3 which are connected with the two sides of the three light emitter diode light sources 40A, 40B, 40C, respectively, wherein parts of the positive electrode lines 71-1, 71-2, 71-3 and parts of the negative electrode lines 72-1, 72-2, 72-3 are collinear, that is, the positive electrode line 71-2 and the negative electrode line 72-1 are collinear, and the positive electrode line 71-3 and the negative electrode line 72-2 are collinear. For example, as shown in
(37) Further, the current source electric meter 90 is implemented by any one of switching types selected from a jack-type change-over switch, a manual change-over switch, and an electrically controlled change-over switch to allow the positive line 901 and the negative line 902 being connected to different groups of the positive electrode lines 71-1, 71-2, 71-3 and the negative electrode lines 72-1, 72-2, 72-3, so that one of the light emitter diode light sources 40A, 40B, 40C can be selected for measurement.
(38) Referring to
(39) Referring to
(40) Referring to
(41) After the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 is in the state of isolating from the drive power, the at least one light emitter diode light source 40 is measured by the current source electric meter 90. The following table is a measurement data table of the three light emitter diode light sources 40A, 40B, 40C (marked as LED-A, LED-B, LED-C in the table) in the eighth embodiment.
(42) TABLE-US-00001 (1 mm * 1 mm gallium nitride blue LED chips Failure Warning are measured) determination determination Result Ir V.sub.f1 (μA) (V) LED-A 0.6 μA 3.01 Normal V LED-B 2.8 3.06 Ir > 2.0 μA Warning μA V (Ir) LED-C 0.1 5.62 V.sub.f1 ≥ 5 V Failure μA V (V.sub.f1)
(43) LED-A, LED-B, and LED-C are 1 mm.sup.2 gallium nitride (InGaN) blue LED chips, and the reverse leakage currents thereof are measured under the condition that the value of the reverse bias is −5V. The reverse leakage currents of LED-A, LED-B, and LED-C are 0.6 μA, 2.8 μA, and 0.1 μA, respectively. With respect to the characteristics of the traditional semiconductor, the LED is determined “Failure” if the leakage current exceeds 5 μA; the LED is determined “Warning” if the leakage current is between 2 μA and 5 μA; and the LED is determined “Normal” if the leakage current is lower than 2 μA. As shown in the table, the leakage current of LED-B is 2.8 μA so that LED-B is determined as “Warning”, and the reason of which may be enlargement of a leakage current passage caused by defects of the semiconductor. Then, the forward voltages V.sub.f1 of LED-A, LED-B, and LED-C are measured under the operation condition that the value of the current is 350 mA. The forward voltages of LED-A, LED-B, and LED-C are 3.01V, 3.06V, and 5.62V, respectively. With respect to the characteristics of the traditional semiconductor, the LED is determined “Failure” if the forward voltage exceeds 5V; the LED is determined “Warning” if the forward voltage is between 3.5V and 5V; and the LED is determined “Normal” if the forward voltage is lower than 3.5V. As shown in the table, the forward voltage of LED-C is 5.62V so that LED-C is determined as “Failure”, and the reason of which may be that an interface or a wire in the chips and chip bonds deteriorate due to heating after being powered on. In practical implantation, if LED is determined as “Failure”, the LED is necessarily repaired or changed immediately; whereas, if LED is determined as “Warning”, the LED is required to be continuously noticed whether become worse or not.
(44) As mentioned above, the present invention at least has the following characteristics:
(45) 1. The disadvantage that the LED chips in the traditional LED automotive lighting unit cannot be measured in quality is overcome, the LED automotive lighting unit is relatively expensive and complex, and the LED light source may be tested in diode characteristic curve for service life evaluation compared with a traditional light source. In the present invention, the at least one light emitter diode light source, on the same circuit channel with the drive power, may be in the state of isolating from the drive power by enabling the circuit breaker to be in the off-state, so that the at least one light emitter diode light source cannot be affected by external factors, such as a parallel loop. Therefore, LED chip detection may be conducted on the at least one light emitter diode light source by virtue of the ammeter connection line in sequence, the residual life of the LED chips of the at least one light emitter diode light source may be estimated through numerical values of measurement data to discover whether the light emitter diode light source is to be damaged or not, so that sudden failure of the at least one light emitter diode light source during driving is avoided so as to maintain the driving safety.
(46) 2. The present invention achieves the benefit with simple design and has modes of electrical control and manual control. The circuit breaker may meet various operation demands by using the external electrical control signal cable in the electrical control mode; whereas, in the manual control mode, application is simpler and is relatively low in cost. The circuit breaker provides different functions through the design of the first connection portion and the second connection portion of the double-ended connector for manual plugging respectively.
(47) 3. The present invention may better improve the safety of a self-driven automobile in unmanned driving; the electrical control mode of the present invention may be matched with the current source electric meter, and self detection of an automotive lighting of the self-driven automobile; and the self-driven automobile may detect the automotive lighting to prevent automotive lighting failure and then avoid an accident of crashing a passerby by mistake.
(48) 4. An integrated package body design is provided, so that the plurality of light emitter diode light sources and the parallel antistatic protection component are packaged in the same package carrier, and better light emitting characteristic and system integrality are achieved.