Technical Field

This invention refers to a lamp, for example an LED bulb. The lamp contains a space, which is optionally filled with a material, for example mineral salt The invention further relates to lamps, and especially, but not exclusively, to a light bulb or other lamp in which mineral crystals are optionally used to impose a pattern and color on the emitted light

Technological Background

At present, lamp covers in the market are primarily made of plastic or glass rather man natural materials. In the exploiting process of mineral salt, there are large amounts of solid rock salt which can improve lung function. After people absorb anion for 30 minutes, the lung's oxygen uptake will increase by more than 20%, and CCh output will rise by 14.5%. This can help to regulate blood pressure, improve myocardial function and nutrition.

Characterized by sedation and abirritation, rock salt can activate various enzymes in our bodies to promote bone growth. Besides, it can help to increase hemocyte and globulin to shorten coagulation time.

As the light gives out heat after combination of natural crystal mineral salt and light, the mineral salt releases anions that can improve air quality and alleviate the diseases like asthma and nasal allergy. The Himalaya's pink salt is a kind of rock salt in irregular shape, which is pink, semi-transparent and able to relieve pressure and create a comfortable environment Crystal mineral salts of different types can give off the light with different colors.

The salt blocks of current salt lamps are usually or directly exposed to the air. It will easily suffer the problem of deliquescence in humid environment, which will shorten the service life of the salt lamp. In addition, the production of such salt lamps requires a large solid rock salt, which may result in great difficulties and high cost

One exemplary mineral salt, "Himalayan pink salt" is a form of rock salt that has an irregular pattern of translucent color, predominantly pinkish, because of the inclusion of other minerals within the salt Lamps in which a source of light is placed behind a block of Himalayan pink salt or within a hoUowed-out block, are known. Such lamps are popular, because of the pleasing effect produced by the light shining through the translucent pink salt crystals. It is also possible, as noted above, that Himalayan pink salt lamps have practical benefits, because the salt, heated by the light source, emits negative ions (which as indicated above is potentially healthful) into the air, and can adsorb dust and other contaminants from the air.

However, such lamps have practical disadvantages. They are usually large, because the block of Himalayan pink salt must fit over or round an ordinary light bulb. They are expensive and difficult to manufacture, because they require a solid block of rock salt as large as the eventual lamp, with no major flaws. They are not always easy or pleasant to handle, because the external surface of the block consists essentially of salt, which can attract moisture under humid conditions, and can irritate the skin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present application to propose a lamp which overcomes the deficiencies in existing lamps. For example, it is an object to provide a lamp which provides a space in which material may be included. In a particular example, the lamp provides a space which may be filled with Himalayan pink mineral salt, for example in particulate form. The inclusion of Himalayan pink mineral salt results in a pink glow.

It is further an object that the lamp provides at least some of the aesthetic merits of a conventional salt lamp, while mitigating some of the disadvantages.

One aim of mis invention is to provide a lamp, for example an LED bulb, with a space in which material may be placed, which can in part avoid direct contact between the material and moisture, such as to prolong the service life of the lamp. The light source may be enclosed by an inner envelope, which may be translucent and substantially colorless or whitish.

In one aspect, there is provided a lamp comprising a light source, an outer envelope, and pieces of translucent mineral occupying a space between the light source and the outer envelope. The outer envelope can be, for example, the lamp cover. The light source is optionally an LED bulb surrounded by a shield. Another aim is to provide a lamp of mineral salt which can avoid direct contact between mineral salt particles and moisture to prolong service life of the salt lamp.

For this sake, one aspect of the invention is a lamp, for example an LED bulb, including lamp base, lamp head, lamp cover and wick rod. The lamp head is linked to lamp base and the wick rod lies between lamp base and lamp cover. The wick rod is sheathed with a shield, which is installed in the lamp cover. On the surface of the wick rod, there are recesses and bulges. The bulges are equipped with LED modules which can give off light, and the base of the wick rod is furnished with LED circuit board, which is connected with LED modules as well as the power driving circuit board in lamp head.

There is a space between the lamp cover and the shield, which may optionally be filled with materials. For example, such materials may be particulate or non-particulate. Specific examples include minerals, mineral salts, colored paper, and any other material which may be inserted to give a desired effect upon the transmission of light through the material. In a particular embodiment, the material is a mineral salt, for example, Himalayan pink mineral salt The mineral may be translucent Himalayan pink salt, optionally with particle sizes in a range from 1 mm to 20 mm.

In one embodiment, there is an air vent at the top of the shield; at the top of the lamp cover is a hole that has the same size with the air vent; the rand at the bottom of the lamp cover lies within the locating circle of lamp base.

In one embodiment, the air vent is located at the vertex of the regular hexagon and its internal regular triangle, and the vertex mentioned above is on the midcourt line of the two neighboring vertexes in the regular hexagon.

In one embodiment, the wick rod is matched with the shield in shape and the recess at the bottom of the shield matched with the bulge at corresponding place of wick rod's bottom.

In one embodiment, the wick rod is hollow, and its lamp base is furnished with an opening that can be inserted whh the power driving circuit board.

In one embodiment, the joint between lamp base and lamp head is evenly equipped with heat dissipation holes that are similar to taper in shape. In one embodiment, there are slot and limit circle for heat dissipation holes inside the lamp base; at the bottom of wick rod's base is a buckle between the slot and a locating circle connected to the limit circle that are disjunctively distributed.

In one embodiment, there is a limiting board used to fasten the power driving circuit board at Hie bottom of lamp head.

In one embodiment, the lamp cover is a hemispheroid, and the lamp base looks like a cone; the lamp cover is made of light-transmitting materials, and the mineral salt particles can also transmit light The lamp cover, may, for example, have a size and shape similar to those of a conventional light bulb, and may optionally be made of glass, plastic, or other hard, clear, transparent material.

In one embodiment, the lamp may have a conventional lamp base mat may be inserted into a conventional lamp holder. For example, the lamp may be a light bulb which may be inserted into a standard light bulb socket

In one embodiment, the LED modules are SMT LED illuminants; the wick rod is made of metal; and the mineral sah particles are crystal.

Therefore, this invention adopting LED bulb of mineral salt can improve heat dissipation and prolong service life of salt lamp through the shield's air vent and lamp base's heat dissipation hole when the shield can isolate mineral salt particles from moisture.

In one embodiment the mineral salt particles are Himalayan pink salt

In one embodiment, the mineral salt particles have an average particle size in the range of from 1 mm to 20 mm.

Further descriptions are made on the technical scheme of this invention through figures and examples below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 The schematic diagram for LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention

Figure 2 The vertical view for LED bulb of mineral salt in mis invention

Figure 3 The explosive view for LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention

Figure 4 The structural diagram for the interior part of the LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention

Figure 5 The schematic diagram for heat dissipation holes of the LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention

Figure 6 The schematic diagram for wick rod of the LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention

Figure 7 The sectional view for wick rod's bottom of the LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention

Figure 8 shows an embodiment of the lamp of the described invention, wherein the space is filled with a particulate material.

Figure 9 shows a different view of the embodiment depicted in Figure 8. The following labels are included in the figures:

1 lamp head

2 lamp base

3 lamp cover

4 wick rod

5 shield

6 LED module

7 LED circuit board

8 power driving circuit board 9 air vent

10 rand

11 bulge

12 opening

13 heat dissipation hole

14 slot

15 limit circle

16 buckle

17 locating circle.

18 envelope/space.

19 particulate material, for example mineral salt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice for testing of the present invention, the preferred materials and methods are described herein. In describing and claiming the present invention, the following terminology will be used.

It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

The articles "a" and "an" are used herein to refer to one or to more man one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, "an element" means one element or more than one element Thus, recitation of "a cell", for example, includes a plurality of the cells of the same type. Further explanations will be hereunder made on implementation modes of mis invention in combination with figures. The Figures serve as illustrations of embodiments of the invention described herein, and are not intended to limit the invention.

Figure 1 and Figure 3 are schematic diagram and explosive view for the LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention. As shown by the figures, the LED bulb of mineral salt consists of lamp base 2, lamp head 1, lamp cover 3 and wick rod 4. The lamp cover 3 is a hemispheroid made of light-transmitting materials. The light which goes through the light-transmitting lamp cover 3 can be reflected. The lamp base 2 looks nice because of its similarity to cone in shape. The wedding between lamp head 1 and lamp base 2 can improve light stability and intensity. The rand 10 at the bottom of the lamp cover 3 is situated within limit circle 15 of lamp base 2, which can guarantee solid connection between lamp cover 3 and land base 2. There are optionally mineral salt particles between lamp cover 3 and shield 5. These particles are crystal and able to transmit light. Between lamp base 2 and lamp cover 3 is wick rod 4, which is sheathed with shield S in lamp cover 3. The wick rod is matched with shield 5 in shape and the recess at the bottom of shield 5 matched with bulge 11 at corresponding place of wick rod's bottom. The recess and bulge 11 can assure a tight connection between shield 5 and the bottom of wick rod 4.

The base 2 is optionally an E26 Edison screw base, which is conventional and common in the United States of America (USA), and the lamp cover 3 is generally the shape and size of a conventional light bulb such as would be mounted on the E26 base. However, it will be understood that other types and sizes of base 2, and other shapes and sizes of lamp cover 3, may be used instead.

As shown in the drawing, the lamp cover 3 is made of glass or hard plastic, and is clear and transparent The lamp cover 3 may instead be translucent an mildly diffusing.

Figure 6 is schematic diagram for wick rod of the LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention. As revealed by the figure, there are recesses and bulges on the surface of the wick rod 4. The bulges are equipped with LED modules 6 which are SMT LED illuminants. Wick rod 4 made of metal can guarantee stable heat dissipation of the lamp. The bulges and recesses of wick rod 4 are able to transmit heat from LED modules 6 to wick rod 4 rapidly, and the channels at the recesses can will facilitate heat dissipation by dint of airflow. In the embodiment being described, the LEDs are preferably chosen to produce white or yellowish light. Such LEDs, often actually comprising a blue LED and a phosphor coating mat converts some of the blue light to longer wavelengths, are commercially available. An LED light engine consuming about 5 to 10 watts of electrical power is believed to be satisfactory for many purposes, but a more powerful light engine, up to 500 W or more, may also be used.

The base of wick rod 4 is equipped with LED circuit board 7, which is connected with LED module 6 at the bulge of wick rod 4 to provide energy for LED module 6. Lamp head 1 is internally equipped with power driving circuit board 8, which is linked to LED circuit board 7 to provide electric energy for it. There is an opening mat can be inserted with power driving circuit board at the base of wick rod 4, and also it can be linked with LED circuit board 7 of wick rod 4. In this way, the space can be fully exploited to provide electric energy for LED module 6. The bottom of lamp head 1 is furnished with limiting board that can be used to fasten power driving circuit board 8.

Figure 2 is vertical view for LED bulb of mineral salt in this invention. As shown by the figure, there are air vents 9 at the top of shield 5; at the top of lamp cover S is the hole that has the same size with air vents 9. Lamp cover 3 is tightly connected with the top of shield S to isolate mineral salt particles from air and avoid humidity. The air vents 9 are located at the vertex of the regular hexagon and its internal regular triangle, and the vertex mentioned above is on the midcourt line of the two neighboring vertexes in the regular hexagon. The design of air vents 9 can dissipate the heat of wick rod 4 rapidly to prolong its service life.

Figure 5 is schematic diagram for heat dissipation holes of the LED bulb of mineral salt in mis invention. As shown by the figure, the joint between lamp base 2 and lamp head 1 is evenly equipped with heat dissipation holes 13 that are similar to taper in shape. After entering heat dissipation holes 13, the air goes in from big holes and out from small holes, which can avoid air impurities. Air vents 9, heat dissipation holes 13 and wick rod 4 can provide a channel for airflow. The combination of air vents 9 in the shield and heat dissipation holes 13 at the bottom of lamp base 2 can offer an interconnected structure from top to bottom, which can improve air convection and heat dissipation. Figures 4 and 7 are structural diagram for the interior part of the LED bulb of mineral salt and sectional view for wick rod's bottom of the LED bulb of mineral salt in mis invention. As shown by the figures, there are slots 14 and limit circles 15 inside lamb base 2, with limit circles 15 outside slots 14. Slots 14 correspond to heat dissipation holes 13 outside lamp base 2. Thanks to the hollow structure of wick rod 4, the air from heat dissipation holes 13 can be led into it with the help of slots 14. There are buckles 16 and locating circles 17 at the bottom of wick rod's base, which can assure tighter connection between mem. The disjunctive distribution of locating circles 17 can reduce overall weight of the whole lamp. Buckles 16 are linked to the clearance between slots 14, which can ensure the fixed connection between wick rod 4 and lamp base 2. Locating circles 17 linked to limit circle 15 lie between limit circles 15 and slots 14.

Light-transmitting mineral salt particles are crystal. The light may show some colors when going through the crystal salt particles. Under the protection of transparent light cover, crystal salt particles can give off warm and comfortable light. In this way, the direct contact between salt particles and moisture can be avoided, and the service life will not be influenced despite deliquesce.

Figures 8 and 9 depict an embodiment of the claimed invention wherein the space between shield and lamp cover is filled with particulate material 19, for example Himalayan pink mineral salt The particulate material may also be any other translucent, unevenly colored, material. The pieces typically have a minimum size of 1 mm and a maximum size of 20 mm.

In use, the lamp may be screwed into a conventional light fitting, and the power is turned on. It is recommended mat the lamp shown in the drawing be mounted with the base downwards. If it is desired to use the bulb in a horizontal orientation, then a different arrangement of air holes may be preferred, which might be more obtrusive visually.

The light from the LEDs, shining through the particulate material 19, forms a pleasing pattern of red and yellow light, similar to that from a conventional Himalayan salt lamp. Because the lamp cover 3 is optionally plain glass or plastic, the lamp is safe and easy to handle, without the inconvenience mat may result from an exposed salt surface. As an example of suitable sizes, a lamp 10 with a SW LED light engine may be about 50 mm in diameter and 95 mm long; a lamp 10 with an 11 W LED light engine may be about 70 mm in diameter and 125 mm long.

Although an E26 (USA medium Edison screw) base has been described, similar bases for other geographical areas may of course be used instead. Larger or smaller bases may also be used, optionally with appropriate changes to other dimensions.

As mentioned above, the lamp cover 3 may be completely transparent or mildly translucent Because some of the pieces of particulate material 19 (for example mineral salt) are actually in contact with the inside of the lamp cover 3, a significant amount of diffusion is possible without wholly obscuring the pattern of the salt crystals. The individual may choose this to suit his or her aesthetics, although lamp cover 3 that is nearly completely transparent is presently preferred. On the other hand, a shield 2 that is highly diffusive is preferred, to obscure the LEDs, and to ensure that the crystals are evenly illuminated. A light engine with a few widely spaced LEDs or other sources will typically require more diffusion than a light engine with many small, closely spaced LEDs. A light engine with a single extended light source, instead of an array of distinct sources, may require little or no diffusion, and the shield 2 may then be necessary only if h is necessary to prevent direct contact between the light engine and the salt

Although an embodiment using Himalayan salt crystals and a white or yellowish LED light engine has been described, other sorts of crystal, both natural and artificial, can be used instead. Transparent or translucent crystals with uneven color are suggested because of the aesthetically pleasing light pattern produced. A different colored light source may be preferred, depending on the color or colors of the crystals, including without limitation light sources, such as some LED light engines, that produce a mixture of light of different colors from distinct emitters. A different type of light source, including types of light source hereafter to be developed, may be chosen for either practical or aesthetic reasons. For example, a conventional incandescent filament bulb may be chosen because of its very smooth broad spectrum emission, or an LED or phosphor source may be chosen because h emits narrow-band light of one or more specific colors that is or are desired. Therefore, the invention adopting LED bulb of mineral salt can get rid of direct contact between mineral salt particles and moisture to prolong me service life of salt lamp.

It is worth noticing that the examples above are only intended to explain the technical scheme of this invention rather than to set restrictions on it; though some satisfying examples are used to make further explanations on this invention, the ordinary technicians in this field are supposed to understand mat they are allowed to modify the technical scheme or replace it with identical scheme, and such modifications or replacements shall not go against the tenet or scope of the aforementioned technical scheme.