Active self-transformable textiles

Abstract

An active self-transformable material comprising a flexible base material with an active material disposed on or within the flexible base material in a specific pattern. More particularly, the active material and the flexible base material differ in properties such that the active material is reactive to an external stimulus trigger that to cause an automatic transformation of the active self-transformable material into a predetermined 3-dimensional transformed shape.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION(S)[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 165,425, filed on May 22, 2015. The entire teaching of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to active self-transformable materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for creating self-transformable materials by printing, laminating, or otherwise disposing one or more active materials onto and / or within a flexible base material to promote precise shape transformations upon exposure of the active self-transformable material to an external stimulus.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Many industries require precisely shaped materials to meet aesthetic and / or functional needs. While current manual and automated methods and technologies may possibly meet these needs to some extent, these methods and technologies are often complex, require significant energy, precision and skill, and re...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a novel material that can change its shape when exposed to external triggers, such as temperature, light, solvents, and energy. This material is made up of a flexible base material and an active material that is reactive to the external trigger. The flexible base material can be a textile, elastomeric material, plastic, rubber, leather, animal skin material, or sheet foam. The active material can be selected from hydrogels, plastics, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinylidene fluoride, and other materials. The material can be used in various applications, such as in the form of a combined structure with a natural shape that can be transformed into a predetermined shape upon exposure to external triggers.

Problems solved by technology

While current manual and automated methods and technologies may possibly meet these needs to some extent, these methods and technologies are often complex, require significant energy, precision and skill, and require expensive tools and machinery to produce the desired intricate shapes.

In particular, current methods and technologies typically involve the formation of parts and other components having a fixed shape, and those individual components are then assembled into more complex structures also having a fixed shape.

The physical mold imposes constraints on the possible number and complexity of the end product given that a new mold is needed for each unique product.

These molds tend to be expensive, static and simple due to their manufacture, which typically uses CNC-machining.

Manufacture of these goods often requires manual or automated skilled and precise control for production, which increases the time and energy needed to produce each item.

This further drives up the price of these products, relegating highly detailed products to high-end markets or hand-craft couture spaces.

However, these capabilities have often required expensive, error-prone and complex electromechanical devices (e.g., motors, sensors, electronics), bulky components, power consumption (e.g., batteries or electricity) and difficult assembly processes.

These constraints have made it challenging to efficiently produce dynamic systems, higher-performing machines and more adaptive products.

These types of smart materials are extremely expensive and are generally only found in niche markets due to their cost.

Further, using these smart materials to provide a specific type of product having a particular shape requires significant skill and time.

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