Abstract:
A system and method for illuminating is disclosed. The disclosed invention is fittable and usable in many conventional street lighting structures. The system includes a circuit board which includes a plurality of LEDs. Each end of the circuit board is insertable into a receiving structural member on each side. Each of the structural members are installable on an existing lens in the predisposed structure. Also included with the system is an Edison connector which electrically communicates with the circuit board so that the LEDs can be illuminated.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/746,031 filed Apr. 29, 2006 under the name of the same inventor, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates generally to systems for illumination. More specifically, the invention relates to the field of illuminating designated areas, for example pathways, streets, and any other area. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    The use of lamps dates back centuries. Today, however, many conventional lighting arrangements involve the use of incandescent lighting. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The disclosed systems and methods can be defined by numerous embodiments. 
         [0007]    One embodiment of the present invention is an illumination device comprising a plurality of LEDs which are disposed on a non-planar support. In another embodiment the non-planar member is able to be retrofit into an existing conventional hood design. In yet another embodiment, the LED non-planar member is receivable into retrofit structures such that the member is able to be replaced if one or more of the LEDs included on it are malfunctioning. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein and wherein: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a prospective view of a conventional street light design; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a prospective view of the street light design of the disclosed embodiment; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a view of the internal LED components of the disclosed embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    One example of a conventional street light arrangement is shown in  FIG. 1 . Referring to the figure, one can see that the street light  10  is suspended above the ground on a pole (not shown). The system comprises a hood/housing portion  12  which is directly connected to a horizontal portion  14  of the pole. A lid  16  is used to contain the lamp from beneath. Lid  16  includes a transparent lens  18 , which in many embodiments, is substantially flat as shown in  FIG. 1 . Also part of the lid  16  arrangement, is a latch  20  and a hinge  21  system which enables the lid to be opened, flipped up, and secured. These types of arrangements also normally include a reflector  22  which is used to ideally direct light admitted from a incandescent bulb  24 . Bulb  24  can be any number of incandescent lights, but in many situations it is a mercury vapor discharge lamp or some other sort of high-intensity discharge lamp. Lamp bulb  24  is screwed into a socket  26  which is secured within the lamp hood/housing  12 . Also within lamp/hood housing  12  is a transformer  28 . These arrangements also include a starter  30  and an igniter/capacitor  32  as is known to those skilled in the art. 
         [0013]    Many streetlamps—including  FIG. 1  kinds of arrangements—exist on today&#39;s streets and in other areas in which illumination is desired. As can be observed in any urban center, the number of lights used to illuminate a municipal or other area is very large. Because of this, any slight change in energy consumption by each individual street light will have a multiple effect making it very significant in terms of overall usage. On a lamp by lamp basis, the total power consumed can be very great. The average lamp has a power consumption of 150 Watts. Considering that the average lamp is active for about 4000 hours per year, the cost of operating just one lamp per year—assuming a cost per kW-hr of around 7 cents—would be about $600 dollars per year. Considering further that a city having a population of 500,000 would typically have about 90,000 streetlights, the overall energy-consumption budget for streetlights alone would be around $54 million. Thus, any small reduction in energy consumption by proportion—even slight—would result in tremendous cost savings for the municipality. 
         [0014]    A disclosed embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Referring first to  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that the retrofit application disclosed is usable within the conventional, already existing arrangement illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The retrofit application works with the existing hood  12 , pole  14 , and lid  16  arrangement. The reflector  22  can also be left in place, even though with this application it will not be necessary for light direction purposes. 
         [0015]    Where  FIG. 2  shows a retrofit arrangement  110  incorporated within the existing lamp structures,  FIG. 3  discloses the added components in more detail. The retrofit arrangement includes an LED array assembly  124 . In the disclosed embodiment, the LED array is disposed on a nonplanar printed circuit board  132 . In one embodiment, board  132  is adapted to have an arcuate cross section. Although the disclosed embodiment board is arcuate, it is also possible that other shapes could be employed to create different lighting patterns. Each end of board  132  in the disclosed embodiment is made to be slidable into one of two reciprocating slots defined within end-receiving units  130  and  131 , which in the disclosed embodiment are block-shaped. They could instead be of some other shape or configuration however still including the board receiving slots. For example, for lenses which are not planar, one can easily understand that the end units  130  and  131  would have to have lower surfaces which were able to be adhered to the irregular surface, rather than having substantially flat bottom surfaces. It is also possible that other alternative arrangements could be used to releasably secure the board other than the slotted end units. For example, some sort of clamping, or fastening arrangement could be used instead that is able to enable removably receiving the board. 
         [0016]    In the disclosed embodiment where each of the receiving slots are curved upward to match up with the arcuate ends of non-planar member  132 , member  132  is able to be removably slid in and out of the blocks. This removability enables the user to easily replace the board when one of the LEDs in the array malfunctions and the light source must be replaced. This will occur much less often than with the conventional designs because LEDs have been shown to last up to ten times as long. But when it does occur, the only thing that needs to be replaced is the board. 
         [0017]    As is known in the art, individual LEDs such as those included in plurality of LEDs  140  distribute light in a conical fashion. Thus, unlike the conventional incandescent bulbs (e.g., bulb  24  in  FIG. 1 ) which have a point light sources that are then reflected to direct the light into the desired pattern, LEDs will have a plurality of conical light distributions. Because the non-planar member  132 , in the disclosed embodiment, is made arcuate, the light pattern of these cones are adequately laterally dispersed along the roadway, or in any other desired manner. The curved/arched nature of the board  132  helps give the light the lateral spread that is necessary and similar to that provided by the conventional reflected light patterns emitted by prior art designs. 
         [0018]    It should be noted, that member  132 , although shown as one integral piece in the  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  illustrations, could alternatively be provided in separate longitudinal sections, each having ends which could be received in the channels provided in the end blocks. For example, were member  132  to be broken into for equally sized pieces, each having the same length as member  132 , each being one fourth the width, and each having the same curvature, the separate pieces could be individually replaced. Thus, other embodiments are possible which would include four, or any other number of removable LED boards which could each be individually installed or replaced. Further, the boards could all have the same width, or have different widths. 
         [0019]    In terms of electrical support for the LEDs  140 , first end member  130  is electrically connected via a two part positive/negative conduit  134 . Conduit  134  is electrically connected into the existing socket  26  using an Edison attachment  125 . This enables the device to be simply screwed into the existing structures. 
         [0020]    Work must also be done inside the hood, however, in order to electrically support the LEDs used. This is done by installing a power supply device  128  to replace the conventional devices  28 ,  30 , and  32  (see  FIG. 1 ). One example of a power supply useable as power supply box  128  is Model No. HWS15-5/A manufactured by Lambda Company located in San Diego, Calif. Other acceptable devices, however, could be used as well. Block  128  can be adhered or fixed by known means to the inside of the hood  12 . An input port of power supply  128  is electrically connected with the AC power source cord  138 . AC power source cord  138  is already included in the conventional structures. Once power source cord  138  is live, box  128  will be used to convert AC source power into DC power which is useable by LEDs. Once converted, the DC power output port from box  128  is then electrically connected into Edison receptacle  26  using a conduit  136 . Conduit  136  will be already existing in most conventional streetlight structures, and thus, is simply detached from the conventional equipment  28 ,  30 , and  32 , and then reconnected to the DC output side of box  128  such that receptacle  26  will be receive a source of DC power when the AC source is available. 
         [0021]    Either before or after the electrical connections have been made inside the hood/housing  12  such that socket  26  is able to deliver power, the nonplanar panel  132  must be electrically connected so that the plurality of LEDs  140  will receive power. Although not shown in the figures, one skilled in the art will know that it is possible to electrically connect the edges of board  132  inside end units  130  and  131  such that the necessary electrical potential can be delivered across board  132 . Cord  134  is a standard two-part electrical cord. One part of the wire (positive or negative) is electrically connected to one side of board  132  through end unit  130 . The other part of the wire carrying the opposite charge is electrically connected to the other side of the board either through end unit  131 , or by other means. In one embodiment, a plurality of individual LED strings are connected in series along the length of the board, and then each sting is connected in parallel to the one beside it. In other embodiments, however, other electrical board connections are possible. For example, in the embodiment disclosed in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , each of the series connected LED strings are connected in parallel through signal tracing or soldering such that when board  132  is inserted into the slots in end units  130  and  131 , all of the LEDs  140  will illuminate once power is administered. This can be done by providing a common electrical conduit on each end of LED member/board  132  which electrically connects all of the LED strips on member/board  132  in parallel. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are numerous different ways to make the electrical connections necessary, and it should be understood that the arrangement described above are only embodiments. Through different board trace arrangements a vast variety of parallel and series arrangements are possible. 
         [0022]    In terms of installing the end units  130  and  131  on top of the lens  18  (oftentimes constructed of LEXAN™) of the conventional assembly, the user will first flip down lid  16  to expose the bulb. Next, the user will remove bulb  24  leaving socket  26  exposed. After that, the user will adhere or otherwise attach end units  130  and  131  in the desired locations onto the inside surface of transparent lens  18  as shown in  FIG. 2 . In terms of proper orientation, it is meant that the end members  130  and  131  should be configured substantially cross wise to the hood. Further, they should be positioned such that when LED board  132  is installed in them the light projected by LEDs  140 , because they are disposed on an arched printed circuit board, will create a desired spread pattern for that particular light. The pattern produced will resemble the pattern created by reflector  22  when a conventional bulb is used, but will have more uniform intensity. 
         [0023]    Once end units  130  and  131  have been adhered to the upper (inside) surface of the lens, the board is ready to be electrically connected to the DC power source by screwing Edison member  125  into socket  26 . This will complete the electrical connection. 
         [0024]    Now a user is able to simply slide in the curved LED board  132  and the electrical connection is complete. Once powered up, lamp  110  will require about one tenth of the amount of power normally required of mercury vapor lamps and other conventional arrangements. 
         [0025]    And whenever an LED loses functionality, member  132  can be replaced by sliding out the old, and sliding in the new fully functional board. Or, with the embodiment where member  132  is broken into sections, and thus, includes multiple electrically connected boards, the single defective board can be removed, and a substitute section inserted in its place. This preserves the other remaining boards for further use. 
         [0026]    Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0027]    It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described.