Patent Description:
A known technique is described in, for example, Patent Literature <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a light irradiation device, comprising: a light source comprising a plurality of light-emitting elements; a heat-dissipating member thermally connected to the light source; an air blower section capable of blowing air on the heat-dissipating member; a drive section which drives the light source; and a housing which receives therein the light source, the heat-dissipating member, the air blower section, and the drive section, the housing comprising a plurality of ventilating slots serving as inlets and outlets for outside air, a lower face provided with an irradiation opening for external irradiation of light from the light source, a side face which is vertically oriented, and an inclined face which is located on an upper side of the housing and is opposed to the lower face, the inclined face being provided with at least one ventilating slot of the plurality of ventilating slots.

<CIT> discloses an air intake guide for guiding a cooling air to one end part of a cooling fin in an extension direction which is disposed between the cooling fin of a heat sink and a cooling fan, and an exhaust port is formed in a casing to face the other end part of the cooling fin in the extension direction.

<CIT> discloses a light irradiation device comprising: a housing; an air inlet through which cooling wind for cooling is introduced into the housing; an air outlet through which the cooling wind is discharged to outside of the housing; a wind flow path through which the cooling wind taken in through the air inlet into the housing flows toward the air outlet; a light source part configured to be able to emit light toward the outside of the housing via a first surface that is one side surface of the housing, the light source part including a plurality of LED elements arranged along the first surface in a region of the housing located on a first surface side of the housing; and a heat sink provided at a position opposite to the first surface based on the light source part, in the wind flow path, wherein the wind flow path includes a first wind flow region and a second wind flow region located closer to the air outlet than the first wind flow region and having a smaller flow path cross sectional area than the first wind flow region.

<CIT> discloses a light emitting device that includes: a housing; a light source provided near a first surface which is one of the surfaces composing the housing; a heat sink having a fin provided adjacent to the light source; and an inlet port provided at a position spaced apart from the first surface in a first direction orthogonal to the first surface. The fin includes: a plurality of plate-like members provided such that a plate surface is spaced apart in a direction parallel with the first surface, the plate surface having a first region and a second region in which a length in the first direction is shorter than that of the first region; an inflow part provided at a position opposite to the first surface in the first direction and formed of a spaced-apart parts of the first regions; and an outflow part provide at a position different from that of the inflow part in a direction parallel with the first surface and formed of a spaced-apart parts of the plate surfaces. The light emitting device includes an air-guiding member provided so as to cover one of the spaced-apart parts of the first regions that is composed of the surfaces parallel with the first direction.

<CIT> discloses a box unit formed of a bottom plate and four side plates; and an air suction fan and an air discharge fan that are installed above the box unit and partitioned by a partition plate to constitute a U-shape ventilation path. Semiconductor laser diodes are supported on the outer surfaces of the side plates. The bottom plate is made of a heat insulating material. Heat insulating cover materials are provided outside the box unit to cover the laser diodes, and a Peltier element and a heat sink are provided inside the box unit.

The present invention provides a light irradiator according to claim <NUM>. Further embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.

The recent advancement of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as light-emitting elements allows a large number of LEDs to be mountable in a space-saving small area of an LED module, and also allows such LEDs to be brighter. Thus, the area on which such LEDs are mounted tends to generate more heat. In response to the above issue, light irradiators are expected to have more efficient heat discharge to avoid temperature increase in LEDs resulting from heat generation. The LEDs are thermally coupled to a heat sink including multiple fins, through which cooling air as a refrigerant passes, thus increasing heat transfer from the LEDs to the cooling air in the heat sink. A method for increasing heat discharge with the heat sink is the use of larger fins in the heat sink. However, such larger fins alone do not sufficiently cool the LEDs. The light irradiator has a limited space for the heat sink, thus limiting the sizes of the fins. Light irradiators are thus expected to cool LEDs more efficiently without upsizing the heat sink.

A light irradiator with the structure that forms the basis of the structure according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes a housing, a light source adjacent to a first surface as one of surfaces defining the housing, a heat sink including a fin adjacent to the light source, and an inlet at a position away from the first surface in a first direction orthogonal to the first surface. The fin includes multiple plates with the plate surfaces each including a first area and second areas each having a shorter length in the first direction than the first area. The second areas are separated from one another parallel to the first surface. The fin includes an inflow portion opposite to the first surface in the first direction and including a separating portion in which the first areas in the multiple plates are separated from one another, and outflow portions at positions different from the position of the inflow portion in a direction parallel to the first surface and including separating portions in which the plate surfaces are separated from one another. The light irradiator includes an air guide for covering a part of the separating portion, in which the first areas are separated from one another, and including surfaces parallel to the first direction. A light irradiator may have this structure to efficiently cool LEDs without being upsized.

In such a light irradiator, a small fan used for a large-capacity heat sink can generate an unstable airflow and thus fail to sufficiently cool LEDs. In such a light irradiator, a large amount of air may also fail to pass through the heat sink and to be used in heat transfer, and some air flows to low-temperature areas, thus possibly causing the heat sink to be inefficient in transferring heat. One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a light irradiator that can cause a fan to efficiently blow air toward a heat-dissipating member, can generate a stable airflow with the fan that may be small and used for a large-capacity heat sink, and can thus sufficiently cool the components.

A light irradiator according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an example light irradiator <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is a perspective view of the light irradiator <NUM> without showing a top surface <NUM> of a housing <NUM>. <FIG> is a side view of the light irradiator <NUM> without showing a third side wall <NUM>. The light irradiator <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a light source <NUM> including multiple light-emitting elements, a heat sink <NUM> thermally coupled to the light source <NUM>, a blower <NUM> to blow toward the heat sink <NUM>, the housing <NUM> accommodating the light source <NUM>, the blower <NUM>, and the heat sink <NUM> and having an outlet <NUM> adjacent to the heat sink <NUM> and inlets <NUM> adjacent to the blower <NUM>, and a partition <NUM>, included in the housing <NUM>, dividing an internal space <NUM> in the housing <NUM> into an air blowing space <NUM> between the blower <NUM> and the heat sink <NUM> and a remaining space <NUM> excluding the air blowing space <NUM>. The inlets <NUM> adjacent to the blower <NUM> may not be so close to the blower <NUM> as the outlet <NUM> adjacent to the heat sink <NUM> is to the heat sink <NUM>. However, the blower <NUM> is to be close enough to the inlets <NUM> to have the distance between the blower <NUM> and the inlets <NUM> that is substantially shorter than the distance between the blower <NUM> and the heat sink <NUM>.

The housing <NUM> has a bottom surface <NUM> facing in the emission direction of light from the light source <NUM> and including a light emission window (not shown), the top surface <NUM> opposite to the bottom surface <NUM> and adjacent to the blower <NUM>, and having the inlets <NUM>, an inclined surface, and a horizontal surface, a first side wall <NUM> having the outlet <NUM> adjacent to the heat sink <NUM> and connected to the bottom surface <NUM> and the inclined surface of the top surface <NUM>, a second side wall <NUM> extending between a first edge 12a of the bottom surface <NUM> and a second edge 13a of the horizontal surface of the top surface <NUM> opposite to the first edge 12a of the bottom surface <NUM>, the third side wall <NUM> connected to the bottom surface <NUM>, the top surface <NUM>, and the second side wall <NUM>, and a fourth side wall <NUM> opposite to the third side wall <NUM> and connected to the bottom surface <NUM>, the top surface <NUM>, and the second side wall <NUM>.

The housing <NUM> defines the profile of the light irradiator <NUM>. The housing <NUM> is formed from a metal or a plastic. The housing <NUM> in the present embodiment is substantially a rectangular prism. The housing <NUM> with the top surface <NUM> including the inclined surface and the horizontal surface appears to be a pentagon, or a rectangle with its one corner cut away, as viewed laterally. The bottom surface <NUM> serving as an emission surface of the light irradiator <NUM> includes the light emission window facing in the emission direction of light from the light source <NUM>. The light source <NUM> facing the light emission window and the heat sink <NUM> thermally coupled to the light source <NUM> are located on the bottom surface <NUM>. The heat sink <NUM> includes multiple fins 4a formed from a highly thermally conductive metal, such as aluminum or copper. The heat sink <NUM> may be a rectangular metal block formed from aluminum or copper and cut to have many grooves to increase its surface area (remaining portions serve as the fins 4a). The heat sink <NUM> may be a flat metal plate formed from aluminum or copper and receiving many thin plates formed from aluminum or copper attached to the flat metal plate. The thin plates serve as the fins 4a and allow air to flow between the plates. The heat sink <NUM> attached to the bottom surface <NUM> or to the third side wall <NUM> and the fourth side wall <NUM> is accommodated at a predetermined position in the housing <NUM>.

The light source <NUM> includes multiple light-emitting elements. The light-emitting elements are mounted on a light source board (not shown) including, for example, a ceramic wiring board, and form the light source <NUM>. The heat sink <NUM> may be connected to the light source board in the light source <NUM> with, for example, thermal grease. The grease increases the adhesion between the heat sink <NUM> and the light source board to improve thermal connection. This structure increases heat dissipation from the light source <NUM> with the heat sink <NUM>. The light-emitting elements used for the light source <NUM> are, for example, LEDs that emit ultraviolet light. Such LEDs may be GaN LEDs. In some embodiments, the LEDs may emit infrared light. Such LEDs may be GaAs LEDs. The light-emitting elements in the light source <NUM> may be selectable in accordance with the wavelength to be used.

The partition <NUM> includes a first wall 11a, a second wall 11b perpendicularly connected to the first wall 11a, and a pair of mounting pieces 11c perpendicularly connected to the second wall 11b. The blower <NUM> attached extends between the pair of mounting pieces 11c. The first wall 11a includes, for example, a pair of mounting flanges 11d. Each mounting piece 11c includes, for example, a mounting flange 11e. The mounting flanges 11d and the mounting flanges 11e are fastened with screw members 11f, such as screws, bolts, or rivets, at predetermined positions on the third side wall <NUM> and the fourth side wall <NUM>. The partition <NUM> extends from the blower <NUM> to the heat sink <NUM> and from the third side wall <NUM> to the fourth side wall <NUM>. The blower <NUM> uses most of the space between the third side wall <NUM> and the fourth side wall <NUM>. The blower <NUM> is adjacent to the second side wall <NUM> and away from the first side wall <NUM>. In the embodiment according to the present disclosure, the space between the heat sink <NUM> at the bottom of the housing <NUM> and the blower <NUM> above the heat sink <NUM> is the air blowing space <NUM> in the internal space <NUM>. The space between the air blowing space <NUM> and the first side wall <NUM> is the remaining space <NUM> in the internal space <NUM>. The partition <NUM> in the embodiment according to the present disclosure is located between the blower <NUM> and the heat sink <NUM> and between the third side wall <NUM> and the fourth side wall <NUM> to divide the internal space <NUM> into the air blowing space <NUM> and the remaining space <NUM> in accordance with the arrangement of the blower <NUM> and the heat sink <NUM>.

The light irradiator <NUM> further includes a guide <NUM> on the second side wall <NUM>. The guide <NUM> is in the air blowing space <NUM> in the housing <NUM> and guides the airflow from the blower <NUM> to the air blowing space <NUM> toward the heat sink <NUM>. The guide <NUM> may be located beside the heat sink <NUM> and above the corner between the bottom surface <NUM> and the second side wall <NUM> as shown in, for example, <FIG>. The guide <NUM> can efficiently guide the airflow that tends to stagnate at the corner toward the heat sink <NUM>, thus increasing heat dissipation with the heat sink <NUM>. The guide <NUM> may be designed to have an appropriate width, length, angle, and position, or more guides <NUM> may be used, to contribute to an effective airflow setting in the housing <NUM> based on, for example, the positional relationship between the blower <NUM>, the heat sink <NUM>, and a drive board <NUM>. Although the guide <NUM> shown in <FIG> is a plate bending and diagonally extending from its attachment on the second side wall <NUM> toward the heat sink <NUM>, the present disclosure is not limited to this example. The guide <NUM> may be, for example, a block having an inclined surface diagonally extending from the second side wall <NUM> to the heat sink <NUM> and being triangular or trapezoidal as viewed laterally.

The light irradiator <NUM> further includes the drive board <NUM> located along the second side wall <NUM> to drive the light source <NUM> and the blower <NUM>. The drive board <NUM> includes a drive circuit for powering the light-emitting elements in the light source <NUM> and controlling their light emission. The drive board <NUM> may also drive the blower <NUM> and control the amount of air from the blower <NUM> in accordance with heat generation from the light source <NUM>. The drive board <NUM> further includes multiple heat generating components <NUM>, or electronic components, such as power transistors, that typically tend to reach high temperatures. The heat generating components <NUM> are placed in the air blowing space <NUM> for heat dissipation. This allows the drive board <NUM> on which the heat generating components <NUM> are mounted to efficiently dissipate heat together with the heat sink <NUM>. The housing <NUM> may include grooves, fins, air deflectors, or other components on its inner surface to allow air to effectively flow to parts of the drive board <NUM> that tend to reach high temperatures.

The blower <NUM> may be an axial fan including blades rotatable about a central axis C1 extending toward the heat sink <NUM>. The blower <NUM> accommodated in the housing <NUM> generates the flow of outside air (air) from the multiple inlets <NUM> to the outlet <NUM>. The blower <NUM> may be an axial fan with a small size that generates a large airflow. The blower <NUM> may be any other type of blower such as a centrifugal fan. Such a blower <NUM> with small dimensions, or for example, with a length of <NUM>, a width of <NUM>, and a height of <NUM>, can thus generate a large cooling airflow of, for example, about <NUM><NUM>/min. With a duct structure including the partition <NUM> together with the third side wall <NUM>, the fourth side wall <NUM>, and the second side wall <NUM>, the blower <NUM> supplies the airflow to the heat sink <NUM> without allowing the airflow to escape outside the air blowing space <NUM> and blows a stable amount of air into spaces between the multiple fins 4a. This sufficiently cools the light source <NUM>. In the simple structure additionally including the partition <NUM> including plates, the housing <NUM> can have the efficient air blowing space <NUM>. The blower <NUM> blows air into the air blowing space <NUM> to cause the air blowing space <NUM> to become under positive pressure (positive pressure) higher than atmospheric air pressure to generate a laminar airflow without turbulence. The blower <NUM> then causes the airflow to efficiently and uniformly pass through the spaces between the multiple fins 4a. The blower <NUM> can maximize heat removal through heat exchange between the fins 4a and the airflow by increasing the amount of air passing through between the fins 4a. The blower <NUM> maintains blow of the increased amount of air and can stably and sufficiently cool the light-emitting elements. This allows the multiple driving light-emitting elements used for the light source <NUM> to have a constant temperature and stable and constant brightness distribution of light emitted from the light-emitting elements.

The heat sink <NUM> in the light irradiator <NUM> according to the present embodiment including such a blower <NUM> may have, for example, a depth W1 of <NUM>, a length L1 of <NUM>, and a height H1 of <NUM> in <FIG>.

Each inlet <NUM> includes a filter <NUM>. The filter <NUM> may include, for example, a sponge or a nonwoven fabric. The filter <NUM> prevents foreign matter such as dust and dirt in outside air from entering the housing <NUM>, and thus prevents the decrease in heat dissipation from the light source <NUM> or the drive board <NUM> and malfunctions caused by a short circuit in the wiring in the heat sink <NUM> or in the drive board <NUM> due to dust and dirt accumulating on the heat sink <NUM> or the drive board <NUM>. This improves the reliability of the light irradiator <NUM>. The attached filter <NUM> can regulate airflows and thus can decelerate the flow of outside air around the inlet <NUM>. In addition, the filter <NUM> absorbs operational sounds of the axial fan in the blower <NUM> accommodated in the housing <NUM>, possibly decreasing noise generated by the axial fan in the light irradiator <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view of the partition <NUM>. <FIG> is a perspective view of the light irradiator <NUM> without showing the first side wall <NUM>. <FIG> is a side view of the light irradiator <NUM> without showing the first side wall <NUM>. <FIG> is a plan view of the light irradiator <NUM> without showing the top surface <NUM>. A housing <NUM> in a light irradiator with the structure that forms the basis of the structure according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, including the same components as in the light irradiator <NUM> excluding the partition <NUM>, has the outer dimensions of, for example, the depth of <NUM>, the length of <NUM>, and the height of <NUM>. In contrast, the light irradiator <NUM> including the partition <NUM> that increases heat dissipation with the heat sink <NUM> can downsize the housing <NUM> to have the outer dimensions of the length of <NUM> and the height of <NUM>. In the light irradiator <NUM>, the outlet <NUM> may have, for example, the internal dimensions of the depth of <NUM>, the height of <NUM>, a gap G1 of <NUM> between the heat sink <NUM> and blower <NUM>, and a gap G2 of <NUM> between the blower <NUM> and the first side wall <NUM>.

To determine the cooling performance of the light irradiator <NUM> described above, the inventor of the present disclosure fastened a thermistor to the heat sink <NUM> at a site immediately adjacent to an LED module, which corresponds to an LED module mounting surface in the light source <NUM>, with screws, and measured any temperature increases of the driving light source <NUM> and the non-driving light source <NUM> from room temperature. In a light irradiator with the same arrangement of the components in a housing <NUM> as in the housing <NUM> in the light irradiator <NUM> excluding the partition <NUM>, the temperature of the driving light source <NUM> was saturated at about <NUM> after five-minute driving. In contrast, in the above light irradiator <NUM> including the partition <NUM>, the temperature of the driving light source <NUM> was saturated at about <NUM> after five-minute driving. The light-emitting elements have <NUM> higher temperatures than the temperatures at the measurement site during driving. The results show that the light irradiator <NUM> according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure including the partition <NUM> in the housing <NUM> downsizes the housing <NUM> compared with a housing in a light irradiator with the structure that forms the basis of the structure according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, lowers the temperatures of the driving light-emitting elements in the light source <NUM>, and shows sufficient cooling performance.

The present disclosure may be implemented in the following forms.

A light irradiator according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes a light source including a plurality of light-emitting elements, a heat sink thermally coupled to the light source, a blower blowable toward the heat sink, a housing accommodating the light source, the blower, and the heat sink and having an outlet adjacent to the heat sink and an inlet adjacent to the blower, and a partition in the housing. The partition divides an internal space of the housing into an air blowing space between the blower and the heat sink and a remaining space excluding the air blowing space.

The light irradiator according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure includes the partition that divides the air blowing space between the blower and the heat sink from the remaining space in the internal space of the housing. Although a small blower blows air to cool a large-capacity heat sink as with the known technique, such a partition can efficiently increase the amount of air passing through the heat sink and involved in heat transfer, thus improving heat transfer. The heat sink can thus stably receive a low-temperature airflow immediately before being in contact with the heat sink and having temperature increase, thus improving heat transfer. This heat sink can effectively cool the light source.

Claim 1:
A light irradiator (<NUM>), comprising:
a light source (<NUM>) including a plurality of light-emitting elements;
a heat sink (<NUM>) thermally coupled to the light source (<NUM>);
a blower (<NUM>) blowable toward the heat sink (<NUM>);
a housing (<NUM>) accommodating the light source (<NUM>), the blower (<NUM>), and the heat sink (<NUM>), the housing (<NUM>) having an outlet (<NUM>) adjacent to the heat sink (<NUM>) and an inlet (<NUM>) adjacent to the blower (<NUM>); and
a partition (<NUM>) in the housing (<NUM>), the partition (<NUM>) dividing an internal space (<NUM>) of the housing (<NUM>) into an air blowing space (<NUM>) between the blower (<NUM>) and the heat sink (<NUM>) and a remaining space (<NUM>) excluding the air blowing space (<NUM>), wherein the partition (<NUM>) includes a first wall (11a), characterized in that the partition (<NUM>) further includes
a second wall (11b) perpendicularly connected to the first wall (11a), and a pair of mounting pieces (11c) perpendicularly connected to the second wall (11b), wherein the blower (<NUM>) attached to the partition (<NUM>) extends between the pair of mounting pieces (11c).