A method for preparing VR gloves and breathable smart VR gloves

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of wearable devices, and specifically discloses a method for preparing VR gloves and a breathable smart VR glove, the method comprising: making a first sheet, including: first flattening and stacking microsphere particles; then adding a filling liquid to fill the gaps between the microsphere particles; then solidifying the filling liquid to obtain a lower packaging layer; preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer; preparing an upper packaging layer above the lower packaging layer, so that the upper packaging layer and the lower packaging layer cover the electronic device layer; and eliminating each of the microsphere particles through an etching process. The present invention provides a method for preparing VR gloves and a breathable smart VR glove, which can effectively improve the air permeability, thereby improving the user experience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of wearable devices, and in particular to a method for preparing VR gloves and a breathable smart VR glove. Background Art

[0002] Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment that combines virtuality and reality to make the generated scenes and objects look real, allowing users to immerse themselves in the surrounding environment. This computer-generated simulated environment, including immersive scenes and the user's perception system, is achieved by users wearing VR equipment, including VR gloves, headphones, and helmets.

[0003] VR gloves are an important part of VR equipment and are the focus of academic and industrial attention. Currently, wearable VR gloves generally have no ventilation holes and have poor air permeability, which not only irritates the skin and causes discomfort to users, but also prevents sweat from evaporating, ultimately affecting the life of internal sensors.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the existing VR gloves to solve the problem of poor breathability. Summary of the invention

[0005] One object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing VR gloves and a breathable smart VR glove, which can effectively improve the breathability and thus enhance the user experience.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, on the one hand, the present invention provides a method for preparing a VR glove and a breathable smart VR glove, comprising:

[0007] Make the first sheet, including:

[0008] First, the microsphere particles are laid flat and stacked; then a filling liquid is added to fill the gaps between the microsphere particles; then the filling liquid is solidified to form a lower encapsulation layer;

[0009] preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer;

[0010] Preparing an upper packaging layer above the lower packaging layer so that the upper packaging layer and the lower packaging layer cover the electronic device layer;

[0011] Each of the microsphere particles is eliminated through an etching process to form a plurality of air holes.

[0012] Optionally, before the step of “first paving and stacking the microsphere particles; then adding a filling liquid to fill the gaps between the microsphere particles; and then solidifying the filling liquid to obtain a lower encapsulation layer”, the step further includes:

[0013] The substrate wafer was cleaned with acetone and alcohol ultrasonically and dried with nitrogen;

[0014] The photoresist solution is spin-coated on the cleaned base wafer as a sacrificial layer, and then the photoresist solution on the base wafer is treated with oxygen plasma.

[0015] Optionally, the microsphere particles are latex microspheres, and the filling liquid is a PDMS solution.

[0016] Optionally, the step of “preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer” includes:

[0017] Add carbon nanotube powder into toluene solution, ultrasonicate and magnetically stir until uniform;

[0018] Add PDMS prepolymer and stir evenly with magnetic stirring;

[0019] Add a curing agent to mix, add a cyclohexane diluent, and stir evenly by ultrasonic and magnetic force to obtain a conductive colloid;

[0020] The conductive colloid is applied to the preset position of the lower packaging layer through a dispensing process, thereby obtaining an electrophysiological sensing electrode, a muscle electrical stimulation electrode and a plurality of conductive wires.

[0021] Optionally, the step of “preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer” includes:

[0022] Disperse silicon nanowires in water or an organic solvent, and stir them evenly by ultrasonication and magnetic stirring;

[0023] Add PDMS prepolymer to the solution and stir evenly with magnetic stirring;

[0024] Add a curing agent to mix, add a cyclohexane diluent, and stir evenly by ultrasonication and magnetic force to obtain a silicon nanowire colloid;

[0025] The silicon nanowire colloid is coated to a preset position of the lower packaging layer through a dispensing process, thereby obtaining a piezoresistive stress-strain sensor.

[0026] Optionally, the step of “preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer” includes:

[0027] Silver vanadate nanowires are prepared by a hydrothermal method, and the silver vanadate nanowires are dispersed in deionized water, and ultrasonically and magnetically stirred until the dispersion is uniform;

[0028] The silver vanadate nanowire solution is dropped on a preset position of the lower packaging layer, and the silver vanadate nanowire is dried to obtain a humidity sensor.

[0029] Optionally, the step of “preparing an upper encapsulation layer above the lower encapsulation layer” is specifically as follows:

[0030] The PDMS solution is coated on the lower packaging layer and the electronic device layer using a dispensing process, and the PDMS solution is heated to solidify, thereby obtaining the upper packaging layer.

[0031] Optionally, before the step of “eliminating each of the microsphere particles by etching process”, the step further includes:

[0032] placing a hand-shaped wafer in the shape of a human hand on the first sheet, and preparing a second sheet on the first sheet and the hand-shaped wafer;

[0033] Applying the PDMS solution between the first sheet and the second sheet by a dispensing process, and heating to solidify the PDMS solution;

[0034] The bonded first sheet and second sheet are cut into a glove shape.

[0035] Optionally, the step of “eliminating each of the microsphere particles through an etching process to form a plurality of air holes” includes:

[0036] The glove is soaked in acetone to remove the sacrificial layer, and then the base wafer and hand-shaped wafer are removed;

[0037] The gloves were soaked in dimethylformamide to completely etch away the latex microspheres to obtain breathable holes.

[0038] On the other hand, a breathable smart VR glove is provided, which is made by any of the VR glove preparation methods described above.

[0039] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: providing a VR glove preparation method and a breathable smart VR glove, wherein the latex microspheres are etched to form a series of air holes, so that the breathable smart VR gloves have a regular hollow structure and good air permeability, thereby effectively improving the air permeability and thus improving the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this embodiment or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0041] Figure 1 is a flowchart of a method for preparing VR gloves provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a process for preparing VR gloves provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 3A top view of the breathable smart VR gloves provided in an embodiment of the present invention (the upper packaging layer and the lower packaging layer overlap).

[0044] In the figure:

[0045] 1. Piezoresistive stress and strain sensor;

[0046] 2. Electrophysiological sensing electrodes;

[0047] 3. Muscle electrical stimulation electrodes;

[0048] 4. Humidity sensor;

[0049] 5. Conductive wire;

[0050] 6. Upper packaging layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the technical scheme in this embodiment will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in this embodiment. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0052] This embodiment provides a VR glove preparation method and a breathable smart VR glove, which are suitable for application scenarios in the field of wearable VR devices, can improve the breathability of existing VR gloves, and thus improve user experience. The VR glove preparation method is performed by a breathable smart VR glove and is implemented by software and / or hardware.

[0053] The breathable smart VR gloves provided in this embodiment include a first sheet and a second sheet that surround a hand-releasing space. Furthermore, the first sheet includes, from bottom to top, a lower packaging layer with air holes, an electronic device layer, and an upper packaging layer.

[0054] The breathable smart VR gloves are made by the VR gloves preparation method, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the VR glove preparation method comprises the following steps:

[0055] S10: Prepare the first sheet; specifically, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 , S10 includes:

[0056] S101: Use a SiO2 wafer or a Si wafer as a base wafer, clean the base wafer with acetone and alcohol ultrasonically, and blow dry with nitrogen;

[0057] It should be noted that the base wafer may not be in the shape of a human hand;

[0058] S102: spin coating an AZ1512 photoresist solution on the cleaned substrate wafer as a sacrificial layer, and then treating the AZ1512 photoresist solution on the substrate wafer with oxygen plasma;

[0059] S103: firstly, the microsphere particles are laid flat and stacked on the sacrificial layer; then, a filling liquid is added to fill the gaps between the microsphere particles; and then, the filling liquid is solidified to form a lower encapsulation layer;

[0060] In this embodiment, the microsphere particles are latex microspheres, and the filling liquid is a PDMS solution. Specifically, S103 can be refined as follows:

[0061] S1031: Dispersing polystyrene (PS) latex microspheres with a diameter of 10 μm in deionized water (2.5 wt%-10 wt%), and then dropping the deionized water on the sacrificial layer treated with oxygen plasma, the latex microspheres in the deionized water will automatically perform a compact horizontal tiling and vertical stacking action, thereby obtaining an array with a multi-layer face-centered cubic structure;

[0062] S1032: The PDMS prepolymer and the curing agent are stirred and evenly mixed (10:1 weight ratio), and then an appropriate amount of cyclohexane diluent is added (the mass of the cyclohexane diluent is three times the sum of the prepolymer and the curing agent) to prepare a diluted PDMS solution;

[0063] S1033: Drop the prepared PDMS solution onto the stacked latex microspheres, and fill the gaps between the latex microspheres with the PDMS solution. Then, place the base wafer, the PDMS solution, and the latex microspheres in an oven and heat them together to solidify the PDMS solution and obtain the lower packaging layer.

[0064] Generally, the PDMS solution can be completely cured by heating in an oven at 70°C for 3 h.

[0065] S104: preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer;

[0066] In this embodiment, the electronic device layer includes electrophysiological sensing electrodes 2, muscle electrical stimulation electrodes 3, piezoresistive stress and strain sensors 1, humidity sensors 4 and other sensor devices and a number of conductive wires 5 connecting each of the sensor devices to a data acquisition and processing system (such as a flexible mainboard, etc.).

[0067] Specifically, S104 can be broken down into:

[0068] S1041: Using conductive colloid to make electrophysiological sensing electrodes 2, muscle electrical stimulation electrodes 3 and a number of conductive wires 5:

[0069] S1041a: Add 50 μm long carbon nanotube powder to toluene solution and sonicate

[0070] And stir evenly with magnetic force;

[0071] S1041b: Add PDMS prepolymer and stir evenly with magnetic stirring;

[0072] S1041c: Add curing agent to mix, add cyclohexane diluent, ultrasonic and magnetic

[0073] Stir vigorously to obtain conductive colloid.

[0074] S1041d: Apply the conductive colloid to the preset position of the lower packaging layer through a dispensing process, thereby obtaining an electrophysiological sensing electrode 2, a muscle electrical stimulation electrode 3 and a plurality of conductive wires 5.

[0075] It should be noted that the electrophysiological sensing electrodes 2, the muscle electrical stimulation electrodes 3 and the conductive wires 5 have high requirements for electrical conductivity, and carbon nanotube powder has good electrical conductivity. Therefore, carbon nanotube powder is used to make the electrophysiological sensing electrodes 2, the muscle electrical stimulation electrodes 3 and the conductive wires 5.

[0076] S1042: Fabrication of piezoresistive stress-strain sensor 1 using silicon nanowire colloid;

[0077] S1042a: Disperse silicon nanowires in water or organic solvent, ultrasonically and magnetically stir

[0078] Mix well;

[0079] S1042b: Add PDMS prepolymer to the solution and stir evenly with magnetic stirring;

[0080] S1042c: Add curing agent to mix, add cyclohexane diluent, ultrasonic and magnetic

[0081] Stir vigorously to obtain silicon nanowire colloid;

[0082] S1042d: coating the silicon nanowire colloid to a preset position of the lower packaging layer through a dispensing process, thereby obtaining a piezoresistive stress and strain sensor 1 , wherein a portion of the conductive wires 5 are connected to the piezoresistive stress and strain sensor 1 .

[0083] It is understandable that the silicon nanowire colloid is a piezoresistive sensitive material, so the piezoresistive stress-strain sensor 1 is made using the silicon nanowire colloid.

[0084] S1043: Fabrication of humidity sensor using silver vanadate nanowires 4;

[0085] S1043a: preparing silver vanadate nanowires by hydrothermal method, and separating the silver vanadate nanowires

[0086] Disperse in deionized water, sonicate and magnetically stir until evenly dispersed;

[0087] S1043b: dripping the silver vanadate nanowire solution on a preset position of the lower packaging layer, drying the silver vanadate nanowires, and thereby obtaining a humidity sensor 4.

[0088] It is understandable that silver vanadate nanowires are materials that are sensitive to humidity, so the humidity sensor 4 is made of silver vanadate nanowires.

[0089] S105: preparing an upper packaging layer 6 above the lower packaging layer, so that the upper packaging layer 6 and the lower packaging layer cover the electronic device layer;

[0090] Specifically, the PDMS solution is uniformly coated on the lower packaging layer and the electronic device layer using a dispensing process, and heated to solidify the PDMS solution, thereby obtaining the upper packaging layer 6 .

[0091] In this embodiment, the upper packaging layer 6 of the first sheet does not have latex microspheres. Of course, in some other embodiments, latex microspheres can also be implanted in the upper packaging layer 6 of the first sheet so that the structure of the upper packaging layer 6 is the same as that of the lower packaging layer.

[0092] S20: cutting out a hand-shaped wafer in the shape of a human hand, placing the hand-shaped wafer on the first sheet, and preparing a second sheet on the first sheet and the hand-shaped wafer.

[0093] It should be noted that the second sheet can have the same structure as the first sheet, that is, after spin coating the sacrificial layer on the hand-shaped wafer, the lower packaging layer, the electronic device layer and the upper packaging layer 6 of the second sheet are sequentially manufactured;

[0094] Alternatively, the second sheet may not include the electronic device layer and the upper packaging layer 6. After spin coating the sacrificial layer on the hand-shaped wafer, only the lower packaging layer of the second sheet may be produced. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0095] S30: applying the PDMS solution between the first sheet and the second sheet by a dispensing process, and heating to solidify the PDMS solution.

[0096] It should be noted that the areas of the first sheet and the second sheet are both larger than the hand-shaped wafer. The middle position of the second sheet is pasted on the sacrificial layer of the hand-shaped wafer, but the edge position of the second sheet is opposite to the edge position of the first sheet. Since the curing time of the upper packaging layer 6 of the first sheet and the lower packaging layer of the second sheet are different, the adhesion between the upper packaging layer 6 of the first sheet and the lower packaging layer of the second sheet is insufficient, so PDMS solution can be used to bond the upper packaging layer 6 of the first sheet and the lower packaging layer of the second sheet.

[0097] S40: Using a laser cutting method, the first sheet and the second sheet that have been bonded are cut into a glove shape.

[0098] Specifically, by cutting along the periphery of the hand-shaped wafer, the first sheet and the second sheet can be cut into a glove shape. It should be noted that laser cutting can control the cutting depth, so it can ensure that the first sheet and the second sheet are just cut off without damaging the base wafer, so the base wafer may not be in the shape of a human hand.

[0099] S50: removing the microsphere particles through an etching process to form a plurality of air holes.

[0100] Specifically, S50 includes:

[0101] S501: Soaking the gloves in acetone to remove the sacrificial layer on the base wafer and the hand-shaped wafer, and then the base wafer and the hand-shaped wafer can be removed;

[0102] It can be understood that after the hand-shaped wafer is removed, a space for a human hand to be inserted can be obtained between the first sheet and the second sheet.

[0103] Optionally, before performing S501, the glove obtained in S40 may be placed in an oven at 70°C and heated for 3 hours to ensure that all the PDMS solution is completely cured.

[0104] It should be noted that the PDMS solution will swell when immersed in acetone, so the area obtained by curing the PDMS solution will not be removed by acetone.

[0105] S502: Soaking the gloves in dimethylformamide to completely etch away the latex microspheres in the first sheet and the second sheet, thereby leaving a series of air permeable holes in the first sheet and the second sheet.

[0106] It should be noted that the latex microspheres are mainly provided to solidify and shape the PDMS solution. Therefore, after etching, air holes are left at the locations of the latex microspheres, making the breathable smart VR gloves have excellent air permeability.

[0107] S60: The gloves are cleaned with alcohol and then blown dry with an argon gun to complete the preparation of the breathable smart VR gloves.

[0108] The VR glove preparation method and breathable smart VR gloves provided in this embodiment have the following advantages:

[0109] ① After the latex microspheres are etched, a series of air holes are formed, which makes the breathable smart VR gloves have a regular hollow structure and good air permeability;

[0110] ② The upper encapsulation layer 6 and the lower encapsulation layer are mainly made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) material, which has good ductility and good softness, which is conducive to improving wearing comfort;

[0111] ③ The conductive wire 5, the electrophysiological sensing electrode 2 and the muscle electrical stimulation electrode 3 are made of a conductive colloid (for example, a CNT / PDMS composite material) with a line width of 500 μm and good conductivity;

[0112] ④ The piezoresistive stress-strain sensor 1 is composed of a silicon nanowire / PDMS composite material and can respond to the movement of the human finger joints with high sensitivity;

[0113] ⑤ The humidity sensor 4 is composed of silver vanadate nanowires, which has high moisture sensitivity and can quickly respond to and sense humidity changes in the scene;

[0114] ⑥ One end of the conductive wire 5 is connected to each sensor device, and the other end is connected to the data acquisition and processing system. The data acquisition and processing system processes and feeds back the signals collected by each sensor device, and can issue instructions to change the VR scene.

[0115] In summary, the VR gloves preparation method and breathable smart VR gloves provided by the present invention not only have low process complexity, but also low preparation cost, so they have the potential to be further promoted to large-scale industrial production. The prepared breathable smart VR gloves have the advantages of good air permeability, good ductility, strong functionality, etc., and have great market competitiveness.

[0116] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for preparing VR gloves, characterized in that: include: Make the first sheet, including: The substrate wafer was cleaned with acetone and alcohol ultrasonically and dried with nitrogen; Spin-coating a photoresist solution on the cleaned substrate wafer as a sacrificial layer, and then treating the photoresist solution on the substrate wafer with oxygen plasma; First, the microsphere particles are stacked flat; then a filling liquid is added to fill the gaps between the microsphere particles; then the filling liquid is solidified to form a lower encapsulation layer; wherein the microsphere particles are latex microspheres, and the filling liquid is a PDMS solution; preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer; Preparing an upper packaging layer above the lower packaging layer so that the upper packaging layer and the lower packaging layer cover the electronic device layer; placing a hand-shaped wafer in the shape of a human hand on the first sheet, and preparing a second sheet on the first sheet and the hand-shaped wafer; Applying the PDMS solution between the first sheet and the second sheet by a dispensing process, and heating to solidify the PDMS solution; Cutting the bonded first sheet and second sheet into a glove shape; The microsphere particles are eliminated by an etching process to form a plurality of air vents; specifically, the process includes: soaking the gloves in acetone to remove the sacrificial layer, and then removing the base wafer and the hand-shaped wafer; soaking the gloves in dimethylformamide to completely etch away the latex microspheres to obtain air vents.

2. The method for preparing VR gloves according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of "preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer" includes: Add carbon nanotube powder into toluene solution, ultrasonicate and magnetically stir until uniform; Add PDMS prepolymer and stir evenly with magnetic stirring; Add a curing agent to mix, add a cyclohexane diluent, and stir evenly by ultrasonic and magnetic force to obtain a conductive colloid; The conductive colloid is applied to the preset position of the lower packaging layer through a dispensing process, thereby obtaining an electrophysiological sensing electrode, a muscle electrical stimulation electrode and a plurality of conductive wires.

3. The method for preparing VR gloves according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of "preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer" includes: Disperse silicon nanowires in water or an organic solvent, and stir them evenly by ultrasonication and magnetic stirring; Add PDMS prepolymer to the solution and stir evenly with magnetic stirring; Add a curing agent to mix, add a cyclohexane diluent, and stir evenly by ultrasonication and magnetic force to obtain a silicon nanowire colloid; The silicon nanowire colloid is coated to a preset position of the lower packaging layer through a dispensing process, thereby obtaining a piezoresistive stress-strain sensor.

4. The method for preparing VR gloves according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of "preparing an electronic device layer on the lower packaging layer" includes: Silver vanadate nanowires are prepared by a hydrothermal method, and the silver vanadate nanowires are dispersed in deionized water, and ultrasonically and magnetically stirred until the dispersion is uniform; The silver vanadate nanowire solution is dropped on a preset position of the lower packaging layer, and the silver vanadate nanowire is dried to obtain a humidity sensor.

5. The method for preparing VR gloves according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of "preparing an upper encapsulation layer above the lower encapsulation layer" is specifically as follows: The PDMS solution is coated on the lower packaging layer and the electronic device layer using a dispensing process, and the PDMS solution is heated to solidify, thereby obtaining the upper packaging layer.

6. A breathable smart VR glove, characterized in that: The VR gloves are made by the preparation method of any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images