IP Library Granted Patent US 10,203,103
Granted Patent B2
US 10,203,103 · App. 15/018,606 · Granted Feb 12, 2019

LED luminaire having enhanced thermal management

Inventors: Andrew Bendtsen (Racine, WI); Kurt Wilcox (Libertyville, IL); Boris Karpichev (Libertyville, IL); John Durkee (Raleigh, NC); John Roberts (Durham, NC); David Goelz (Milwaukee, WI); Douglas E. Keiter (Apex, NC); Randy Bernard (Cary, NC)
Assignee: Cree, Inc.
F21V29/83F21S8/00F21V17/16F21V23/007F21V29/508F21V29/74H05B33/0803H05B37/0218H05B37/0227F21V5/007F21V5/045F21V7/0083F21V13/04F21V15/01F21V23/0442F21V23/06F21V29/89F21V31/00F21W2131/10F21Y2105/10F21Y2113/00F21Y2115/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,203,103
App. No.
15/018,606
Granted
Feb 12, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

In one aspect, luminaires are described herein enabling independent thermal management of driver and LED assemblies. For example, a luminaire comprises a driver assembly vertically integrated with a LED assembly, the driver assembly comprising a driver heatsink having an interior in which a circuit board assembly is positioned, and the LED assembly comprising an array of LEDs and LED heatsink, wherein a barrier is positioned between the driver heatsink and the LED heatsink, separating convective cooling of the driver assembly from convective cooling of the LED assembly.

Claims (41)

1. A luminaire comprising:

a driver assembly vertically integrated with a light emitting diode (LED) assembly,

the driver assembly comprising a driver heatsink having an interior in which a circuit board assembly is positioned, and

the LED assembly comprising an array of light emitting diodes and LED heatsink,

wherein a barrier is positioned between the driver heat sink and the LED heat sink separating convective cooling of the driver assembly from convective cooling of the LED assembly and the LED assembly is located on an end of the driver assembly, and wherein the LED heat sink encircles at least a portion of the driver heatsink.

2. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver heat sink is thermally isolated from the LED heat sink.

3. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the barrier is a shroud.

4. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the barrier is an air envelope.

5. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver assembly is positioned over a central aperture of the LED assembly.

6. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver heatsink interior includes a recess in which one or more capacitors of the circuit board assembly are positioned.

7. The luminaire of claim 6 , wherein the one or more capacitors are located at the circuit board assembly base.

8. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver heatsink and LED heatsink employ finned elements.

9. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver assembly comprises an endcap assembly including an endplate having one or more components coupling the LED assembly to the driver assembly.

10. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the circuit board assembly comprises a card edge for electrical connection with the LED assembly via a wire harness assembly.

11. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly comprises one or more LED boards.

12. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver assembly further comprises a ground contact fastener coupling the circuit board to the driver heatsink.

13. The luminaire of claim 5 further comprising a sensor assembly positioned in the central aperture of the LED assembly.

14. The luminaire of claim 13 , wherein the sensor assembly is recessed in the aperture, precluding light from the LED assembly from directly striking the sensor assembly.

15. The luminaire of claim 13 , wherein the sensor assembly is connected directly to the driver assembly.

16. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly comprises one or more optical components satisfying spacing criterion of 0.7 to 2.0.

17. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly comprises a monolithic lens array.

18. The luminaire of claim 17 , wherein the monolithic lens array is field interchangeable.

19. The luminaire of claim 1 having a light output of 15,000 to 70,000 lumens at an efficiency of at least 125 lumens per watt.

20. The luminaire of claim 19 having a color rendering index (CRT) of at least 70 and correlated color temperature of 4000K.

21. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the driver assembly has thermal resistance of 0.57° C./W to 1° C./W.

22. The luminaire of claim 1 further comprising a glare shield.

23. The luminaire of claim 22 , wherein the glare shield is formed of two or more segments.

24. The luminaire of claim 23 , wherein the glare shield comprises a reflective shelf at an interface between two segments, the reflective shelf redirecting a portion of light upward.

25. The luminaire of claim 8 , wherein a ratio of driver assembly height to height of finned elements of the LED heatsink is less than 1:5.

26. The luminaire of claim 8 , wherein spacing between finned elements of the LED heatsink is at least 0.180 inches.

27. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the array of light emitting diodes is a two-dimensional array.

28. A luminaire comprising:

a driver assembly vertically integrated with a light emitting diode (LED) assembly,

the driver assembly comprising a driver heatsink having an interior in which a circuit board assembly is positioned, and

the LED assembly is located on an end of the driver assembly, the LED assembly comprising an array of light emitting diodes and LED heatsink,

wherein a shroud is positioned between the driver heat sink and the LED heat sink separating convective cooling of the driver assembly from convective cooling of the LED assembly, and wherein the LED heat sink encircles at least a portion of the driver heatsink.

29. A luminaire comprising:

a driver assembly vertically integrated with a light emitting diode (LED) assembly,

the driver assembly comprising a driver heatsink having an interior in which a circuit board assembly is positioned, and one or more arms laterally extending from an end of the driver assembly, and

the LED assembly comprising an array of light emitting diodes and LED heatsink,

wherein a barrier is positioned between the driver heat sink and the LED heat sink separating convective cooling of the driver assembly from convective cooling of the LED assembly and the LED assembly is connected to the one or more arms laterally extending from the end of the driver assembly, and wherein the LED heat sink encircles at least a portion of the driver heatsink.

Assignments (5)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 22, 2026
From: LUMEN ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC
To: LED-IP MANAGEMENT, LLC
Reel/Frame 075624/0358 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2023
From: IDEAL INDUSTRIES LIGHTING LLC
To: FGI WORLDWIDE LLC
Reel/Frame 064897/0413 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 10, 2019
From: CREE, INC.
To: IDEAL INDUSTRIES LIGHTING LLC
Reel/Frame 049715/0489 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 3, 2017
From: BENDTSEN, ANDREW; WILCOX, KURT; KARPICHEV, BORIS; DURKEE, JOHN; ROBERTS, JOHN; GOELZ, DAVID; KEITER, DOUGLAS E.
To: CREE, INC.
Reel/Frame 041166/0183 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 26, 2017
From: BERNARD, RANDY
To: CREE, INC.
Reel/Frame 041093/0550 →
Continuity (1)
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