THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTING APPLICATIONS FIELD OF INVENTION:
[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to lamp assembly of vehicles and, in particular, to thermal management in the lamp assembly of 5 vehicles.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] In the automobile/vehicle, lamp assemblies, such as head lamp assembly and tail lamp assembly are provided at front and rear end of the vehicle respectively. The lamp assembly has a light source, such as a halogen lamp, light 10 emitting diode (LED) or high intensity discharge (HID) lamp, and reflector positioned within lamp housing. Front surface of the lamp assembly is covered with a transparent cover, which may be clear or colored. Further, the lamp assembly receives electricity from a power source, such as battery of the vehicle or alternator of the vehicle. 15
[003] The lamp assembly generates heat while lamps are ‘on’. In order to maintain the temperature of the lamp assembly size of the lamp is optimised for different materials or one or more openings are provided in the lamp assembly that permits exchange of hot air inside the lamp assembly and the ambient air. However, the at least one opening leads to entry of foreign contaminants, such as 20 dust and debris, in the lamp housing and thereby rendering unpleasing aesthetic appearance in the lamp housing.
[004] Generally, the opening is covered with some additional parts, such as breather tube, gore patch for heat dissipation. However these additional parts are not so effective in thermal management of the opening. Further, the metal 25 brackets are also used to cover the opening area, however the metal brackets restrict thermal flow of the hot gases. Accordingly, these brackets are ineffective in proper thermal management in small sized lamps.
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[005] Figure 1 discloses an opening 100 provided on the lamp cover or lamp housing. The opening 100 is provided to maintain the temperature inside the lamp cover. Figure 2 discloses lamp housing which is provided with a pair of breather caps 200 to exchange hot air inside the lamp housing with the ambient air. Figure 3 discloses lamp housing with gore patch 300 for hot air exchange with ambient 5 air. Similarly, figure 4 discloses placement of steel metal bracket 400 on the opening to restrict the entry of foreign particles. But this arrangement effects the thermal management in the smaller lamp housing and is not so effective.
[006] In view of the above, it is beneficial to have a lamp assembly that has a system that effectively restrict entry of foreign particles and provide proper 10 thermal management to the lamp housing. Therefore, a simple and inexpensive thermal management system for restricting entry of foreign particles in lamp housing and effective thermal management of the lamp housing is required.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[007] The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a metal 15 bracket over opening present in the lamp housing to restrict entry of foreign particles inside the lamp housing.
[008] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide thermal management to the lamp housing by dissipating hot air from the lamp housing.
[009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket for 20 restricting entry of foreign particles inside lamp housing.
[0010] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket for solving thermal management issues in sleek lamps by increasing the breathing volume of the lamps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: 25
[0011] The present subject matter relates to a lamp assembly for dissipating heat and restricting entry of foreign particles. The lamp assembly comprises a cutout in housing at upper side for dissipation of heat. Further, the lamp assembly has a heat dissipating bracket mounted on the cutout to dissipate the heat generated by
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bulb and to restrict entry of the foreign particles in the lamp housing. Further, the heat dissipating bracket has a plurality of perforations to allow better heat dissipation. Furthermore, the size and number of perforations on the heat dissipating bracket are optimized as per requirement and to restrict entry of foreign particles. Also fins are added to the bracket to increase the heat dissipation 5 area.
[0012] In another embodiment, the present subject matter relates to a heat dissipating bracket for dissipating heat in lamps in vehicle. The heat dissipating bracket comprises a flat base surface and one side of the flat base surface has a plurality of vertical cuts to receive mounting ribs available on lamp housing. The 10 heat dissipating bracket has a plurality of perforations provided on the flat base surface for direct heat dissipation. The size and number of perforations on the heat dissipating bracket are optimized as per requirement and to restrict entry of foreign particles.
[0013] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of 15 the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only 20 typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same 25 numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
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[0015] Fig. 1 illustrates opening present in the lamp assembly as known in the art;
[0016] Fig. 2 illustrates concept of breather tubes in the lamp assembly as known in the art;
[0017] Fig. 3 illustrates concept of gore patch on the opening to restrict entry of foreign particles as known in the art; 5
[0018] Fig. 4 illustrates mounting of metal bracket sheet on the opening to restrict entry of foreign particles as known in the art;
[0019] Fig. 5 illustrates opening in the lamp housing for exchange of air, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0020] Fig. 6 illustrates mounting of metal bracket on the opening present in the 10 lamp housing for exchange of air and restricting entry foreign particles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0021] Fig. 7 illustrates structure of metal bracket, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0022] Fig. 8 illustrates view of mounted metal bracket on the lamp housing, in 15 accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0023] Fig. 9 illustrates cross section view of mounting of metal bracket on the opening present in the lamp housing along AA as shown in figure 8, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0024] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the 20 purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: 25
[0025] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to thermal management in lamp assemblies in vehicles. The present subject matter specifically relates to thermal management in sleek lamps which has design considerations. In the lamp
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assemblies, temperature of the lamp chamber is very high due to glowing bulb inside the chamber. Accordingly, temperature inside the lamp chamber is increased. In order to maintain the temperature inside the lamp chamber, a cut out is provided over the bulb in lamp housing for exchange of hot and ambient air to maintain the temperature of the lamp chamber. The cutout is vulnerable to entry 5 of foreign particles inside the lamp chamber, interchangeably may be referred as housing, which reduces the aesthetic appeal and performance of the lamp. In the present subject matter, a perforated metal heat dissipating bracket is mounted on the cutout to restrict entry of foreign particles and allow exchange of hot and ambient air inside the lamp chamber through available cutout. The perforated 10 metal heat dissipating bracket has fins at two sides for better heat dissipation. The perforated heat dissipating metal bracket is mounted on the cutout in the lamp housing using screws at two positions. The size and number of perforation on the heat dissipating metal bracket are optimized as per requirement and to restrict entry of foreign particles. The heat generated from the bulb inside the lamp 15 chamber is dissipated directly through the plurality of perforations provided in the metal bracket and indirectly through the aluminum sheet body of the metal sheet.
[0026] Conventionally, lamp assembly has at least one opening in the lamp assembly that permits exchange of hot air inside the lamp assembly and the ambient air. However, the at least one opening leads to entry of foreign 20 contaminants, such as dust and debris, in the lamp chamber and thereby rendering unpleasing aesthetic appearance of the lamp. The at least one opening is covered with some additional parts, such as breather tube, gore patch for heat dissipation. However these additional parts are not so effective in thermal management for small sized lamps. 25
[0027] Accordingly to solve above problem, the present subject matter provides a heat dissipating aluminum metal sheet bracket which is mounted over cutout to restrict the entry of foreign particles. Further, the heat dissipating metal bracket has a plurality of perforations and fins to allow better heat dissipation. The size and number of perforations on the heat dissipating metal bracket are optimized as 30
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per requirement and to restrict entry of foreign particles. The heat generated from the bulb inside the lamp chamber is dissipated directly through the perforations provided in the metal bracket and indirectly through the aluminum sheet body of the metal sheet.
[0028] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the 5 principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by devising various arrangements that, although not 10 explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be 15 construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying 20 figures.
[0029] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise 25 various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0030] Fig. 5 illustrates back view of the lamp assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The lamp assembly has two lamp housings, i.e., upper lamp housing and lower lamp housing. The lower lamp 30
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housing has cutout 501 at upper wall of the lower lamp housing. The cutout 501 is provided just above the bulb in the lamp chamber where generation of heat is more as compared to other parts of the bulb. Further, hot air has low density due to which the hot air moves in upward direction. Therefore, the cutout 501 is provided just above the bulb where hot air has high tendency to move in upwards 5 direction.
[0031] Fig. 6 illustrates mounting of heat dissipating metal bracket on the cutout present in the lamp housing for exchange of hot and ambient air, and restricting entry of foreign particles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The lamp assembly 600 has two lamp housings, i.e., upper lamp 10 housing 612 and lower lamp housing 602, a cutout (not shown in this figure) at upper side of the lower lamp housing, and a bracket (individually shown in figure 7 as 700). The bracket is mounted on the lower lamp housing from back side along the direction of the lamp. In the present subject matter, the bracket is mounted on the cutout to restrict entry of foreign particles, and allow exchange of 15 hot and ambient air inside the lamp chamber through available cutout. The bracket has a plurality of perforations 604 to allow passage of hot and ambient air. Further, the bracket has fins at two sides for better heat dissipation.
[0032] Further, one side of the bracket is bent in perpendicular direction to the surface which has the plurality of perforations. The bent side of the bracket has 20 two screw mounting holes 606 and one guiding hole 610 to receive mounting rib. The bracket is mounted on the lower lamp housing 602 using two screws at two positions. During mounting, the guiding hole 610 receives the guiding rib present on the lower lamp housing and guides the bracket over the cutout on the lower lamp housing 602. The bracket has three cuts at the front side to receive three 25 mounting ribs 608 available in the lamp housing to guide and position the bracket on the lower lamp housing 602.
[0033] Fig. 7 illustrates structure of heat dissipating metal bracket, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The heat dissipating bracket 700 has a plurality of perforations 710 on flat base surface 714, two fins 706, a 30
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bent side 712, and three cuts 702. The heat dissipating bracket 700 has the plurality of perforations 710 on the flat base surface 714 of the heat dissipating bracket 700 to allow exchange of hot and ambient air. One side 712 of the heat dissipating bracket 700 is bent in perpendicular direction with the surface 714. The bent side 712 has two screw mounting holes 708 and one guiding hole 704. 5 While mounting the heat dissipating bracket on the lower lamp housing, the guiding hole 704 receives the guiding rib and locate pin or match the screw mounting holes present on the heat dissipating bracket 700 and the lower lamp housing. Other side 716 which is opposite to the bent side 712 has at least three cuts 702 to receive mounting ribs present on the lamp housing. The three cuts 702 10 receive the mounting ribs and provide stable position to the heat dissipating bracket over the lower lamp housing. Further, the engagement of the three cuts 702 and mounting ribs restricts movement of the heat dissipating bracket 700 in vertical and transverse direction.
[0034] The other side 716 which is wider than the bent side 712 covers complete 15 upper surface area and cutout of the lower lamp housing. Other two sides have fins 706 to increase the effective area of heat dissipation. The heat dissipating bracket 700 is made of a material which has good thermal conductivity, such as copper, gold, brass, aluminum. The present subject matter uses the aluminum metal as thermal conductivity material for the present heat dissipating bracket. But 20 it may be made of any material which has good thermal conductivity. Hereinafter, heat dissipating bracket may be referred as heat dissipating metal bracket to show the thermal conductive properties. The size and number of plurality of perforations 710 on the heat dissipating bracket 700 are optimized as per requirement and to restrict entry of foreign particles. The heat generated from the 25 bulb inside the lamp chamber is dissipated directly through the plurality of perforations 710 provided in the heat dissipating bracket and indirectly through the aluminum sheet body of the metal heat dissipating bracket.
[0035] Fig. 8 illustrates back view of the mounted heat dissipating metal bracket on the lower lamp housing, in accordance with an embodiment of the present 30
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subject matter. Fig. 8 shows a cross section line AA. Fig. 9 illustrates cross section view of the mounted heat dissipating metal bracket on the lower lamp housing along the cross section line AA as shown in figure 8, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The cross section view shows mounting of the heat dissipating metal bracket on the lower lamp housing. A bulb 5 908 is present in the lamp chamber which generates hot air during “ON” condition. The generated hot air directly dissipates from a plurality of perforations 904 available on the heat dissipating metal bracket 902 and indirectly from the solid surface of the heat dissipating metal bracket 902. The heat dissipating metal bracket 902 is mounted on the lower lamp housing at two places with two screws 10 910. Further, other end of the heat dissipating metal bracket 902 is engaged with mounting ribs at three places to restrict movement of the heat dissipating metal bracket 902 in vertical and transverse direction.
[0036] The heat dissipating metal bracket dissipates the heat generated by the bulb inside the lamp chamber directly through the plurality of perforations 15 provided in the heat dissipating bracket and indirectly through the aluminum sheet body of the metal heat dissipating bracket. Further, the heat dissipating metal bracket has small size perforations to restrict the entry of foreign particles. Further, the size and number of perforation on the heat dissipating metal bracket are optimized as per requirement and to restrict entry of foreign particles. 20
[0037] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/device of 25 the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.

We claim:
1. A lamp assembly (600) for dissipating heat and restricting entry of foreign particles in lamp housing, the lamp assembly (600) comprising:
a cutout (501) provided in lamp housing at upper side of the lamp housing; 5 a heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) mounted on the cutout (501) provided in the lamp housing to dissipate heat generated by bulb (908) and to restrict entry of foreign particles in the lamp housing.
2. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating 10 bracket (700, 902) mounted on the lamp housing at least two places.
3. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) has a plurality of perforations (710, 904) to directly dissipate the heat received from the bulb (908). 15
4. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) has at least two fins (706) along length of the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) for better heat dissipation.
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5. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) has at least three vertical cuts (702) at one end to receive ribs of the lamp housing.
6. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating 25 bracket (700, 902) has two screw mounting holes (708) and one rib guiding hole (704) to mount the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) on the lamp housing.
7. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 3, wherein size of the plurality 30 of perforations (710) is optimized to restrict entry of foreign particles and better heat dissipation.
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8. The lamp assembly (600) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) is made of thermal conductive material/metals.
9. A heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) for dissipating heat in lamps in 5 vehicle, the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) comprising:
a flat base surface (714); one side (716) of the flat base surface (714) has a plurality of vertical cuts (702) to receive mounting ribs available on lamp housing; and a plurality of perforations (710, 902) provided on the flat base surface 10 (714) for direct heat dissipation.
10. The heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) as claimed in claim 9, wherein other side (712) of the flat base surface (714) of the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) has at least two screw mounting holes. 15
11. The heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the other side (712) of the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) has a guiding hole (704) to guide the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902).
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12. The heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) is made of thermal conductive material/metals.
13. The heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the 25 heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) has at least two fins (706) along length for better heat dissipation.
14. The heat dissipating bracket (700, 902) as claimed in claim 9, wherein size of the plurality of perforations (710) is optimized to restrict entry of foreign 30 particles and better heat dissipation.