Patent Publication Number: US-2010117552-A1

Title: Illumination Apparatus

Description:
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0111895 (filed on Nov. 11, 2008) and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/113,527 (filed on Nov. 11, 2008) which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Embodiments of the invention relate to an illumination apparatus. 
     At the present time, a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp has been widely used as an illumination apparatus. In particular, the fluorescent lamp has low power consumption and high brightness so that it has been widely used at office or at home. 
     Meanwhile, an illumination apparatus that replaces the fluorescent lamp or the incandescent lamp has been recently developed and, representatively, an illumination apparatus using a light emitting diode (LED) has been introduced. 
     However, in the case of the illumination apparatus using the LED, it is driven with different voltage from the fluorescent lamp or the incandescent lamp, causing a problem that all of power supply apparatus including conventionally installed sockets should be replaced when using the illumination apparatus using the LED. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The embodiments provide an illumination apparatus with a new structure using an LED or an organic LED (OLED). 
     The embodiments provide an illumination apparatus using an LED or OLED that can be used without replacing a conventional power supply apparatus installed for a fluorescent or incandescent lamp. 
     The embodiments provide an illumination apparatus that can compatibly use various light emitting device illumination parts by detachably installing an adapter and a light emitting device illumination part. 
     The embodiments provide an illumination apparatus that can be used by firmly coupling an adapter to a light emitting device illumination part. 
     The embodiments provide an illumination apparatus in which an adapter can be firmly coupled to a socket. 
     An illumination apparatus according to various embodiments includes: an adapter that is configured to be inserted into an incandescent lamp socket that has a coupling groove including an injection groove and a rotation groove, the adapter being configured to convert alternating power to driving power; and a light emitting device illumination part that configured to be detachably and electrically coupled to the adapter and to emit light according to the driving power from the adapter. 
     An illumination apparatus according to various embodiments includes: an adapter configured to be detachably and electrically connected to an incandescent lamp socket and to convert alternating power to driving power; and a light emitting device illumination part that has a coupling projection part that is attachable and detachable to the adapter and that is configured to emit light according to the driving power from the adapter. 
     An illumination apparatus according to various embodiments includes: a connection terminal configured to be connected detachably and electrically to an incandescent lamp socket; an AC-DC converter that converts an AC voltage from the connection terminal into a DC voltage; a regulator that receives the DC voltage from the AC-DC converter and outputs a constant DC voltage; a light emitting device driver that generates one or more driving pulses from the constant DC voltage from the regulator; a power terminal groove or socket that provides the driving pulse(s) from the light emitting device driver; a power terminal that has a coupling projection part configured to be coupled detachably to the power terminal groove of the adapter; a housing coupled or attached to the power terminal; a substrate in the housing, provided with a power supply circuit; and a light emitting device illumination part comprising a plurality of light emitting devices on the substrate. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram explaining an illumination apparatus according to an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are cross-sectional views of an adapter in the illumination apparatus according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram explaining the adapter in the illumination apparatus according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram showing the AC-DC converter and the regulator of the adapter in the illumination apparatus according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram explaining an illumination apparatus according to another embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram explaining an illumination apparatus according to still another embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     In the drawings, the thickness or size of each layer is exaggerated, omitted or schematically illustrated for the convenience and clarity of explanation. Also, the size of each constituent does not completely reflect its actual size. 
     Hereinafter, an illumination apparatus according to various embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram explaining an illumination apparatus according to an embodiment, and  FIGS. 2 and 3  are cross-sectional views of an adapter in the illumination apparatus according to the embodiment. 
     First, referring to  FIG. 1 , the illumination apparatus according to the embodiments includes an adapter  130  that can be coupled to a socket  111  at which an incandescent lamp can be installed and a light emitting device illumination part  120  that is coupled detachably to the adapter  30 . 
     The adapter  130  has a connection terminal  131  formed in a shape that can be coupled to the socket  111 , having a spiral projection, and connected electrically to the socket  111 , and a power terminal groove  132  to which the light emitting device illumination part  120  is coupled to be electrically connected. 
     The light emitting device illumination part  120  includes a power terminal  122  inserted into the power terminal groove  132  to be electrically connected, a housing  124  at which the power terminal  122  is installed, a substrate  123  coupled to the housing  124 , and a plurality of light emitting devices  121  installed on the substrate  123 . The light emitting device illumination part  120  may further include a cover  140  coupled to the housing  124  in order to protect the plurality of light emitting devices  121 . 
     At this time, the light emitting device illumination part  120  has a coupling projection part  122   a,  making it possible to be firmly coupled to the adapter  130 . 
     For example,  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines I-I′ of  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along lines II-II′ of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the initial time point of coupling when the light emitting device illumination part  120  is inserted into the adapter  130 .  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the time point when the light emitting device illumination part  120  is half-turned at about 90° after being inserted into the adapter  130 . 
     As shown in the embodiment, the adapter  130  includes a coupling groove  132   b  coupled to the coupling projection part  122   a  of the light emitting device illumination part  120 , making it possible to provide an illumination apparatus that can be installed by firmly coupling the adapter  130  to the light emitting device illumination part  120 . 
     The substrate  123  may be a printed circuit board (PCB) on which a circuit pattern for providing power to the light emitting devices  121  is formed. Also, the substrate  123  may be a substrate that a wiring for providing power to the light emitting devices  121  is installed on a plastic instrument. The substrate  123  is connected electrically to the power terminal  122 . 
     Moreover, a reflective coating layer (not shown) may be formed on the surface of the substrate  123 , making it possible to increase efficiency of light emitted from the light emitting devices  121  by coating it with silver (Ag) or aluminum (Al). 
     In the embodiment, the substrate  123  is formed in a plate shape to be inserted into the inside of the housing  124 . Therefore, when the cover  140  is coupled to the housing  124 , the substrate  123  and the light emitting devices  121  installed on the substrate  123  are surrounded by the housing  124  and the cover  140 . 
     The plurality of light emitting devices  121  may include LED or OLED that emit red, blue, and green light, and may also include LED or OLED that emit white light. 
     The cover may be formed of transparent plastic material, and may also be formed of plastic with various colors such as red, green, blue, etc., according to designs. Also, the cover may be formed of translucent material and in this case, it may also provide an illumination with a soft atmosphere. 
     As the light emitting device illumination part  120  is coupled to the adapter  130 , the illumination apparatus according to the embodiments can be installed at the socket  111  at which the conventional incandescent lamp is installed. 
     Moreover, as the adapter  130  converts AC power applied to the conventional incandescent lamp into DC power, the illumination apparatus according to the embodiments allows the light emitting devices  121  to be driven. 
     Therefore, although a power supply apparatus including the socket  111  where the conventional incandescent lamp is installed is not replaced, an illumination apparatus using LED or OLED can be used. 
     In particular, since the light emitting device illumination part  120  and the adapter  130  are detachably installed, when defects are generated on the light emitting device illumination part  120  or the adapter  130 , only the light emitting device illumination part  120  or the adapter  130  where the defects are generated can be replaced, having low maintenance costs. 
     Moreover, since the light emitting device illumination part  120  and the adapter  130  are detachably installed, illuminations with various atmospheres can be provided by replacing only the light emitting device illumination part  120 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the adapter  130  includes an AC-DC converter  133 , a regulator  134 , and a light emitting device driver  135 . the light emitting device driver  135  may be a driver that drives the light emitting devices  121  formed of LED or OLED. 
     The AC-DC converter  133  converts AC power supplied through the socket  111  into DC power, the regulator  134  allows the DC power output from the AC-DC converter  133  to be output as constant DC voltage, and the light emitting device driver  135  outputs the DC voltage supplied from the regulator  134  as driving pulse proper in driving the plurality of light emitting devices  121 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the adapter  130  includes a bridge rectifier  133   a  and a smoothing circuit  134   a  to allow constant DC voltage to be output. 
     Therefore, the light emitting device illumination part  120  can also be used in the power supply apparatus for the conventional incandescent lamp to which AC power is supplied, by the adapter  130  including the AC-DC convert  133 , the regulator  134 , and the light emitting device driver  135 . 
     In other words, the illumination apparatus according to the embodiments installs the adapter  30 , making it possible to use the light emitting device illumination part  20 , while using the conventional power supply apparatus as it is. 
     Moreover, since the adapter  30  and the light emitting device illumination part  20  are detachable, the illumination apparatus can be used to be connected to only the light emitting device illumination part  20  by separating the adapter  30  from the light emitting device illumination part  20  where the power supply apparatus for the light emitting device illumination part  20  is installed. 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram explaining an illumination apparatus according to another embodiment. 
     When explaining the illumination apparatus of  FIG. 6 , the explanation overlapped with the contents explained in  FIG. 2  will be omitted. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a light emitting device illumination part  120  includes a substrate  123  formed in a spherical shape and a plurality of light emitting devices formed at the spherical surface of the substrate  123 , wherein a power terminal  122  is installed at one side of the substrate  123 . Also, a cover  140  that surrounds the substrate  123  and is spaced from the light emitting devices  121  at a predetermined interval may further be included. 
     The light emitting device illumination part  120  installs the plurality of light emitting devices  121  at the surface of the substrate  123  formed in a spherical shape, making it possible to provide illumination to positions having a wide angle. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram explaining an illumination apparatus according to still another embodiment. 
     When explaining the illumination apparatus of  FIG.7 , the explanation overlapped with the contents explained before will be omitted. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an incandescent lamp socket  111  may have a coupling groove  112 . At this time, the coupling groove  112  may include an injection groove  112   a  and a rotation groove  112   b.    
     The injection groove  112   a  is vertically extended and the rotation groove  112   b  is horizontally extended along an outer circumferential surface of the incandescent lamp socket  111 . In other words, the injection groove  112   a  and the rotation groove  112   b  are extended to be vertical to each other. 
     The adapter  130  is formed to be coupleable to the incandescent lamp socket  111  that has the coupling groove  112 . For example, the adapter  130  may further include a projection part  133  that is detachable to the coupling groove  112  of the socket  111 . 
     For example, the projection part  133  of the adapter is inserted into the coupling groove  112  and then the adapter  130  is rotated, thereby making it possible to be firmly coupled. In other words, after the projection part  133  of the adapter is inserted into the injection groove  112   a  of the socket, the adapter  130  is half-turned at 90° through the rotation groove  112   b,  having an advantage in that the adapter  130  can be firmly coupled to the socket  11 . 
     Moreover, the adapter  130  includes the coupling groove  132   b  coupled to the coupling projection part  122   a  of the light emitting device illumination part  120 , thereby providing the illumination apparatus that can be used by firmly coupling the adapter  130  to the light emitting device illumination part  120 . However, various modifications can be made in the coupling method between the adapter  130  and the light emitting device illumination part  12 . 
     The embodiments can provide the illumination apparatus with a new structure using LED or OLED. 
     The embodiments can provide the illumination apparatus using LED or OLED that can be used without replacing the conventional power supply apparatus installed for the fluorescent lamp. 
     The embodiments can provide the illumination apparatus that can compatibly use various light emitting device illumination parts by detachably installing the adapter and the light emitting device illumination part. 
     The embodiments can provide the illumination apparatus that can be used by firmly coupling the adapter to the light emitting device illumination part. 
     The embodiments provides the illumination apparatus in which the adapter can be firmly coupled to the socket. 
     Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments. 
     Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.