Light emitting diode cooling systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11333342-B2
Application number	US-201916731619-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 31, 2019
Priority date	May 29, 2019
Publication date	May 17, 2022
Grant date	May 17, 2022

Abstract

A cooling system for a light emitting diode assembly includes a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat from a fluid to ambient air, an enclosure configured to house the LED assembly, and a pump configured to circulate the fluid through the enclosure, through the LED assembly, or both, and through the heat exchanger. The fluid is configured to absorb heat at the LED assembly and generated by the LED assembly, and the heat exchanger is configured to cool the fluid and remove the heat absorbed by the fluid at the LED assembly.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A light emitting diode (LED) device, comprising:
an LED assembly comprising:
a tower;
a base coupled to the tower, wherein the base comprises an inlet configured to receive a fluid into the LED device and an outlet configured to expel the fluid from the LED device; and
a printed circuit board (PCB) coupled to the base, and wherein the PCB comprises:
a wet side configured to contact the fluid;
a dry side configured to not contact the fluid; and
a plurality of electrical connections configured to couple to additional PCBs communicatively coupled to a plurality of LEDs; and

an enclosure configured to house the LED assembly, wherein an inner annular passage is formed within the LED assembly, wherein an outer annular passage is formed between the LED assembly and the enclosure, wherein the inner annular passage and the outer annular passage are configured to enable circulation of the fluid along the LED assembly to absorb heat from the LED assembly, wherein the LED assembly is configured to be immersively disposed within the fluid, wherein the LED assembly is configured to emit light through the fluid and through the enclosure, wherein the inlet is fluidly coupled to a first passage of the inner annular passage or the outer annular passage, wherein the outlet is fluidly coupled to a second passage of the inner annular passage or the outer annular passage, and wherein the first passage is different from the second passage.

2. The LED device of claim 1 , comprising:
the inner annular passage formed within the LED assembly;
an end passage formed between the LED assembly and the enclosure, wherein the end passage is fluidly coupled to the inner annular passage; and
the outer annular passage formed between the LED assembly and the enclosure, wherein the LED assembly is configured to be immersively disposed within the fluid at the inner annular passage, the end passage, and the outer annular passage, wherein the outer annular passage is fluidly coupled to the inner annular passage, and wherein the fluid is configured to circulate along the inner annular passage generally toward the end passage, through the end passage, into the outer annular passage, and along the outer annular passage generally away from the end passage.

3. The LED device of claim 1 , comprising the fluid, wherein the fluid comprises a coolant, a mineral oil, water, a hydrocarbon fluid, a silicon fluid, or a combination thereof.

4. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure comprises a plastic material, a glass material, an acrylic material, or a combination thereof.

5. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein a first refractive index corresponding to the fluid and a second refractive index corresponding to the enclosure are matched.

6. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly comprises a plurality of LED arrays coupled to the plurality of LEDs.

7. The LED device of claim 6 , wherein each LED array of the plurality of LED arrays comprises a PCB comprising:
a first side coupled to one or more LEDs of the plurality of LEDs, wherein the one or more LEDs are configured to contact the fluid; and
a second side configured to be disposed apart from the fluid.

8. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of LEDs are configured to operate above a predetermined power density of between 50 watts per square inch and 250 watts per square inch.

9. The LED device of claim 8 , wherein the LED assembly has a surface area equal to or less than 4 square inches.

10. The LED device of claim 8 , wherein the LED assembly is configured to operate at or above the predetermined power density for more than 1 minute.

11. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly is configured to operate above a total power of between 400 watts and 5000 watts.

12. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly is configured to transmit light through the enclosure in a front emission configuration or a side emission configuration.

13. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is optically clear to enable the light generated by the LED assembly to pass through the enclosure.

14. The LED device of claim 1 , wherein the base is configured to couple to the enclosure.

Assignees

• Nbcuniversal Media Llc

Inventors

• Edwards Charles

Classifications

• F21V29/59 Primary

  with forced flow of the coolant · CPC title

• F21V29/61

  characterised by control arrangements · CPC title

• F21Y2105/18

  annular; polygonal other than square or rectangular, e.g. for spotlights or for generating an axially symmetrical light beam · CPC title

• F21V29/58 Primary

  characterised by the coolants · CPC title

• F21Y2115/10

  Light-emitting diodes [LED] · CPC title