LED light fixture with fluid flow to and from the heat sink

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9243794-B2
Application number	US-201313764743-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2013
Priority date	Sep 30, 2006
Publication date	Jan 26, 2016
Grant date	Jan 26, 2016

Abstract

An LED light fixture including a housing and an LED assembly secured with respect to the housing. The LED assembly includes a heat sink and an LED illuminator secured with respect to an LED-supporting region of the heat sink with heat-dissipating surfaces extending therefrom. The heat sink having front, rear and lateral sides and being open to ambient-fluid flow to and from the heat-dissipating surfaces along each of the sides.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An LED light fixture comprising:
a housing; and
an LED assembly secured with respect to the housing and comprising (a) a heat sink including an LED-supporting region and heat-dissipating surfaces extending therefrom, the heat sink having front, rear and lateral sides and being open to ambient-fluid flow to and from the heat-dissipating surfaces along each of the sides, and (b) an LED illuminator secured with respect to the LED-supporting region of the heat sink.

2. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the heat sink includes central and peripheral portions, the central portion including the LED-supporting region and having central heat-dissipating surfaces opposite the LED illuminator, the peripheral portion having peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces along the lateral sides of the heat sink.

3. The LED light fixture of claim 2 further comprising at least one central-portion venting aperture facilitating ambient-fluid flow to and from the central heat-dissipating surfaces.

4. The LED light fixture of claim 3 wherein the central-portion venting aperture is partially defined by the housing.

5. The LED light fixture of claim 3 wherein the central portion has a plurality of elongate fins protruding in a direction opposite the LED illuminator and extending from distal fin-ends adjacent to the front side of the heat sink to proximal fin-ends adjacent to the rear side of the heat sink.

6. The LED light fixture of claim 5 wherein at least one of the proximal fin-ends is secured to the housing.

7. The LED light fixture of claim 5 wherein the fins define horizontal between-fin channels open at the distal fin-ends, the proximal fin-ends configured to permit ambient-fluid flow from the between-fin channels to the at least one central-portion aperture, thereby to facilitate liquid drainage therefrom.

8. The LED light fixture of claim 7 wherein, in the mounted position, the central portion has between-fin surfaces which are inclined off-horizontal, thereby to facilitate liquid drainage from the heat sink.

9. The LED light fixture of claim 7 wherein at least one of the proximal fin-ends is secured with respect to the housing.

10. The LED light fixture of claim 9 wherein the housing and the heat sink are formed as one piece.

11. The LED light fixture of claim 2 wherein the peripheral portions of the heat sink each have at least one peripheral-portion venting aperture along the heat sink to facilitate ambient-fluid flow to and from the peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces.

12. The LED light fixture of claim 11 further comprising at least one central-portion venting aperture facilitating ambient-fluid flow to and from the central heat-dissipating surfaces.

13. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein each of the peripheral portions has at least one peripheral fin along the heat sink, the peripheral fins extending from distal fin-ends adjacent to the front side of the heat sink to proximal fin-ends adjacent to the rear side of the heat sink.

14. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein the proximal fin-ends of the peripheral fins are secured to the housing.

15. The LED light fixture of claim 13 wherein the at least one peripheral-portion venting aperture includes at least a pair of venting apertures between the respective peripheral fin and the central portion of the heat sink.

16. The LED light fixture of claim 15 wherein the peripheral-portion venting apertures are elongate in spaced substantially end-to-end relationship with a non-apertured region therebetween.

17. The LED light fixture of claim 16 wherein the combined length of the apertures along each respective peripheral fin constitutes a majority of the length of such fin.

18. The LED light fixture of claim 11 wherein the peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces comprise a plurality of fins extending laterally from the central portion of the heat sink with open spaces between such fins.

19. The LED light fixture of claim 18 wherein the central portion has a plurality of forwardly-extending fins extending from the central portion of the heat sink with open spaces between such fins.

20. The LED light fixture of claim 19 wherein the heat sink is an extrusion which was extruded in a direction orthogonal to both the forward and lateral directions, the extruded dimension of the heat sink being substantially less then the forward-rearward and side-to-side dimensions of the heat sink.

21. The LED light fixture of claim 20 wherein:
the central portion of the extrusion includes walls defining a central opening in the extrusion; and
in addition to the extrusion, the heat sink includes a mounting plate in thermal contact with the extrusion, the LED illuminator being secured to the mounting plate.

22. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the housing and the heat sink are formed as one piece.

23. The LED light fixture of claim 1 wherein the LED illuminator comprises an LED emitter on a mounting board and an LED optical member over the emitter.

24. The LED light fixture of claim 23 wherein the LED emitter comprises an array of LED light sources spaced along the mounting board.

25. The LED light fixture of claim 24 wherein the LED optical member comprises a plurality of lenses each over a corresponding one of the LED light sources.

26. The LED light fixture of claim 25 wherein each LED light source comprises an array of LEDs.

27. An LED light fixture comprising a frame and an LED assembly secured thereto, the LED assembly comprising a heat sink and an LED illuminator on a bottom surface thereof, the heat sink, when the fixture is in its mounted orientation, comprising a top surface which in plan view has a surrounding edge, the top surface sloping downwardly toward the surrounding edge in at least two of the forward, rearward and opposite lateral plan-view directions, thereby facilitating liquid drainage from the heat sink.

28. The LED light fixture of claim 27 wherein through-openings are formed in the fixture for ambient fluid flow to and from the heat sink.

29. The LED light fixture of claim 28 wherein the heat sink defines the through-openings.

30. The LED light fixture of claim 27 wherein the top surface slopes toward the at least three of the forward, rearward and opposite lateral plan-view directions.

31. The LED light fixture of claim 30 wherein the surface slopes toward each of such plan-view directions.

32. The LED light fixture of claim 30 wherein the heat sink includes central and peripheral portions, the peripheral portion having peripheral heat-dissipating surfaces along the lateral sides of the heat sink.

33. The LED light fixture of claim 32 further comprising at least one central-portion venting aperture facilitating ambient-fluid flow to and from the top surface.

34. The LED light fixture of claim 33 further comprising a housing with the LED assembly secured with respect thereto, the central-portion venting aperture being at least partially defined by the housing.

35. The LED light fixture of claim 34 wherein the central portion of the heat sink has a plurality of elongate fins protruding from the top surface in a direction opposite the LED illuminator, the sloping top surface including between-fin surfaces.

Assignees

• Cree Inc

Inventors

• Wilcox Kurt S
• Kinnune Brian
• Snell Nathan

Classifications

• F21W2131/103

  of streets or roads · CPC title

• F21V29/75

  with fins or blades having different shapes, thicknesses or spacing · CPC title

• F21V29/74

  with fins or blades · CPC title

• F21V21/30

  Pivoted housings or frames · CPC title

• Y10S362/80

  Light emitting diode · CPC title