Integrally formed single piece light emitting diode light wire
A flexible, integrally formed single piece light emitting diode (LED) light wire that provides a smooth, uniform lighting effect from all directions of the LED light wire. The integrally formed single piece LED light wire contains a conductive base comprising first and second bus elements formed from a conductive material. The bus elements distribute power from a power source to LEDs that are mounted on the first and second bus elements so that it draws power from and adds mechanical stability to the first and second bus elements. The flexible, integrally formed single piece LED light wire is assembled so that the first and second bus elements are connected to each other prior to the LED being mounted and such integrally formed single piece LED light wire is formed without a substrate.
1. An integrally-formed light wire, comprising:
a first bus element formed from a conductive material adapted to distribute power from a power source;
a second bus element formed from a conductive material adapted to distribute power from the power source;
a third bus element formed from a conductive material adapted to distribute a control signal;
a plurality of light emitting diode (LED) modules, each of said plurality of LED modules comprising a microcontroller and at least one LED, each LED module having first, second, and third electrical contacts mounted on and electrically coupled to the first, second, and third bus elements, respectively, to draw power from the first and second bus elements and to receive a control signal from the third bus element; and
a continuous unitary encapsulant completely and continuously encapsulating said first, second, and third bus elements, and said plurality of LED modules, including said respective microcontrollers, wherein said unitary encapsulant has a constant cross-sectional area throughout its length.
2. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 1 , wherein the encapsulant further comprises light scattering particles.
3. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 1 , wherein a connection between each of the plurality of LED modules and one of the first and second bus elements is selected from the group consisting of solder, weld, and conductive epoxy.
4. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 3 , wherein a connection between each of the plurality of LED modules and another of the first and second bus elements is selected from the group consisting of solder, weld, wire bonding, and conductive epoxy.
5. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of LED modules further comprises a plurality of LEDs, wherein the plurality of LEDs are selected from the group consisting of red, blue, green, and white LEDs.
6. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of LED modules further comprises a fourth contact for outputting the received control signal.
7. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 1 , wherein each LED module has a unique address used to control the LED module.
8. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 7 , wherein the address is static.
9. The integrally-formed light wire of claim 7 , wherein the address is dynamic.