Electric lamp and discharge devices – With luminescent solid or liquid material – Solid-state type
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-15
2001-03-27
Day, Michael H. (Department: 2879)
Electric lamp and discharge devices
With luminescent solid or liquid material
Solid-state type
C362S800000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208073
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a smart LED cluster and system, and more particularly, to an LED cluster and system without a drive circuit board and module controller so as to simplify the whole structure, save the space, increase operation stability, and achieve easy maintenance.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
LED is a light emitting device, which is operated in forward conduction to transform the electric energy into nearly monochromic light with narrow wave length profile in visible light region by recombination of holes and electrons. An LED has lower power consumption than that of a typical lamp or glowing lamp as well as a longer life. At present, there are LEDs with various colors, which have been manufactured and can be used to show color images. Moreover, because of high brightness, stable color tone, and high switch speed faster than that of human eyes, the LEDs can display a color image with progressive change and are widely used as dynamic image display devices or to construct large display panels.
With reference to
FIG. 1
, a conventional LED cluster system includes a CPU
10
, a plurality of module controllers
20
, a plurality of drive circuit boards
30
, and a plurality of LED cluster strings
40
. Each LED cluster string
40
includes a plurality of LED clusters
50
, each comprising various number of LEDs
60
with specific colors and an outer case
70
, as shown in
FIG. 2. A
plurality of LEDs
60
are located on a base
80
. The input signal from the drive circuit boards
30
is sent to the base
80
by conducting wires
90
, and then provided to each LED
60
. The other space within the outer case
70
is filled with suitable filler
92
, such as epoxyresin, to form an effective insulation structure to protect the internal connected wires for long term use outdoors against damage due to sunlight and rain.
The image signal including VGA/SVGA or other format of images from RS232 or other transmission interface is received and then appropriately processed by the CPU
10
. The resultant data are transmitted to module controllers
20
, each controlling the corresponding drive circuit board
30
. The drive circuit boards
30
are connected in series so that the first stage drive circuit board will pass the suitable signal to the next stage, and in such a manner the last stage will receive the desired signal from its previous stage. Each drive circuit board
30
is used to drive the corresponding LED cluster string
40
. The LED clusters
50
in the LED cluster string
40
are generally arranged in a matrix on a plane to form a rectangular display unit, and further several such rectangular display units may construct a large LED display with a specific shape.
The above LED cluster system needs a discrete drive circuit board
30
to switch all the LEDs in the LED cluster string
40
so that the whole structure becomes complicated and occupies larger space. For a large display device, it is inconvenient that more devices are needed and repair frequency is increased to decrease the working hour and the whole system efficiency.
Therefore, an LED cluster system with easy maintenance and fewer devices as well as improved characteristics is highly desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide a smart LED cluster, which includes a control circuit board with small size so as to integrate a conventional module controller and a drive circuit board into the control circuit board. Several LEDs are located in the cluster so that the cluster has a function of switching individual LEDs to save the space, material, and manufacturing cost for the module controller and drive circuit board. Furthermore, the control circuit board is filled with epoxy resin to increase the life and reliability against outdoor environment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a smart LED cluster system, having a plurality of smart LED clusters with the primary function of a conventional module controller and a drive circuit board. The smart LED cluster system includes a plurality of LED cluster strings connected in parallel to the CPU in the system, each cluster string having a plurality of LED clusters connected in series. A first stage LED cluster in the LED cluster string receives the signal and data from the CPU and then transmits to a next stage LED cluster, and the process continues until the last stage LED cluster receives the signal and data. The whole structure of the system is simple, easy to maintain, and has high reliability because only two kinds of devices are needed, including the CPU and a plurality of LED cluster strings.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5036248 (1991-07-01), McEwan et al.
Chen Shun-Chih
Chuang Fang-Shih
Hsiao Chun-Fang
Hung Chien-Chen
Wang Hung-Tung
Day Michael H.
Hopper Todd Reed
Opto Tech Corp.
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