OPTICAL DEVICE FOR SEMICONDUCTOR BASED LAMP
This invention discloses an optical device for a semiconductor based lamp, the optical device comprising a base for mounting a semiconductor based light-emitting device thereon, a transparent body encapsulating the semiconductor based light-emitting device, and a reflective surface covering a predetermined region on a top of the transparent body, the reflective surface having an opening exposing the transparent body, wherein light emitted from the semiconductor based light-emitting device transmits through the opening of the reflective surface.
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The present invention relates generally to electrical lighting devices, and, more particularly, to an electrical lighting device utilizing light emitting diodes (LEDs).
A Light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor diode based light source. When a diode is forward biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. When used as a light source, the LED presents many advantages over incandescent light sources. These advantages include lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability.
However, LED as light source has its disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that the light emitted from a LED chip concentrates in a direction normal or perpendicular to the surface of the LED chip, i.e., LED light is strong in the upright direction and drastically diminished in the sideway directions. In order to make a LED light more like a traditional incandescent light source with uniform light emitting intensity in all directions, reflectors has been used to redirect the LED beam from upright to sideways. However, redirecting light merely sacrifices light in the upright direction in favor of sideway directions and may not be an efficient uniform wide-angle light source.
As such, what is desired is a LED light bulb that can uniformly emit light in most directions from the LED chip.
SUMMARYThis invention discloses an optical device for a semiconductor based lamp, the optical device comprising a base for mounting a semiconductor based light-emitting device thereon, a transparent body encapsulating the semiconductor based light-emitting device, and a reflective surface covering a predetermined region on a top of the transparent body, the reflective surface having an opening exposing the transparent body, wherein light emitted from the semiconductor based light-emitting device transmits through the opening of the reflective surface, meanwhile the reflective surface redirects some of the emitted light to lateral downward and in between directions.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objectives and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearer conception of the invention, and of the components and operation of systems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein like reference numbers (if they occur in more than one view) designate the same elements. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the description presented herein.
The present invention discloses an optical device for a semiconductor based lamp. The optical device spreads semiconductor based lamp's directional light to directions of a wide angle, so that the light emitting pattern of the semiconductor based lamp resembles that of a traditional incandescent light bump.
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The above illustration provides many different embodiments or embodiments for implementing different features of the invention. Specific embodiments of components and processes are described to help clarify the invention. These are, of course, merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. An optical device for a semiconductor based lamp, the optical device comprising:
- a base for mounting a semiconductor based light-emitting device thereon;
- a transparent body encapsulating the semiconductor based light-emitting device; and
- a reflective surface covering a predetermined region on a top of the transparent body, the reflective surface having an opening exposing the transparent body,
- wherein light emitted from the semiconductor based light-emitting device transmits through the opening of the reflective surface.
2. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor based light-emitting device comprises at least one light-emitting diode (LED).
3. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the opening is located at approximately a center area of the transparent body.
4. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the transparent body has one or more concave boundaries at the area exposed by the opening.
5. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the transparent body has one or more convex boundaries at the area exposed by the opening.
6. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the transparent body is secured to the base.
7. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the transparent body is made of a material selected from the group consisted of glass and polymer.
8. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the reflective surface further comprises a slanted region that redirects light emitted from the semiconductor based light-emitting device downward.
9. The optical device of claim 1, wherein the reflective surface is formed by plating a reflective material on the surface of the transparent body.
10. The optical device of claim 1 further comprising a frosted semi-transparent cover enclosing the base and the transparent body.
11. An optical device for a semiconductor based lamp, the optical device comprising:
- a base for mounting one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) thereon;
- a transparent body encapsulating the LEDs; and
- a reflective surface covering a predetermined region on a top of the transparent body, the reflective surface having an opening exposing the transparent body,
- wherein light emitted from the LEDs transmits through the opening of the reflective surface.
12. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the opening is located at approximately a center area of the transparent body.
13. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the transparent body has one or more concave boundaries at the area exposed by the opening.
14. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the transparent body has one or more convex boundaries at the area exposed by the opening.
15. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the transparent body is secured to the base.
16. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the transparent body is made of a material selected from the group consisting of glass and polymer.
17. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the reflective surface further comprises a slanted region that redirects light emitted from the LEDs downward.
18. The optical device of claim 11, wherein the reflective surface is formed by plating a reflective material on the surface of the transparent body.
19. The optical device of claim 11 further comprising a frosted semi-transparent cover enclosing the base and the transparent body.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 15, 2010
Publication Date: Jun 16, 2011
Applicant: Pinecone Energies, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA)
Inventor: Keh Shium Liu (Hsinchu)
Application Number: 12/837,365
International Classification: H01L 33/60 (20100101); H01L 33/52 (20100101);