Flexible wearable fabric micro-grid

Abstract

The invention provides a flexible wearable fabric micro-grid which comprises a wearable fabric body used for transmitting energy and signals. The control processing module is used for receiving and controlling external energy and signals and is arranged on the wearable fabric body. The beneficial effects of the invention are that the conductive fibers and the traditional fibers are combined through the three-dimensional weaving technology, so that the problems of large weight, large size, uncomfortable wearing and the like caused by the use of commercial cables in the traditional wearable equipment are solved, and the wearing comfort and the appearance aesthetic property of the system are improved; through the design of the orthogonal three-way structure, the layout of the conductive network is optimized, so that the conductive network can efficiently transmit energy and signals in the fabric, and meanwhile, good electrical insulation is kept.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of portable devices, and in particular relates to a flexible wearable fabric microgrid. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the level of science and technology and living standards have been continuously improved, and smart devices and terminal products have continued to emerge. Smart wearable devices and electronic products are leading a considerable wave of consumption. As people's lifestyles continue to move towards a comprehensive intelligent life system, the complexity and high weight of the power supply network when carrying various electronic devices are hindering people's convenient travel. Therefore, smart fabrics integrated with conductive networks have become a new product direction.

[0003] The current wearable power supply network has the following problems: poor wearing comfort. Currently, there are a variety of flexible energy units and sensor units for flexible wear, such as fiber energy storage units, fiber power generation units, flexible photovoltaic units and flexible piezoresistive sensors, etc., while the existing flexible body detection system lacks a highly comfortable body interconnection network. The power generation unit, energy storage unit and power-consuming equipment are connected by bulky commercial cables, which weakens the light and close-fitting characteristics brought by other flexible devices. The large-diameter power supply lines required by some electronic devices will greatly cause a foreign body sensation when worn; the data transmission network between devices also has a significant difference in the softness of the fabric, affecting the wearing experience, which is particularly obvious for light and thin clothing in summer; the weight is large and the shape is bulky, and the cable is independent of the clothing. As the number of connected devices increases, the cable interconnection will be very complicated and occupy a large external space, greatly increasing the weight and shape redundancy of the wearable system, causing a wearing burden and destroying the integrity and aesthetics of the clothing.

[0004] After integrating the cables into clothing, there is a conflict between wearing comfort and current resistance, because the larger the current required to pass, the larger the area of ​​the fabric containing conductive fibers. Due to the physical properties of conductive fibers, if there are too many conductive fibers, wearing comfort will inevitably be affected. Solving the balance between wearing comfort and current resistance is another major difficulty. In summary, there is an urgent need for an integrated conductive network and fabric to improve the comfort of the wearable system while ensuring that its performance is comparable to that of commercial cables, the clothing has good integrity, and there is no additional morphological redundancy, so as to achieve a balance between wearing comfort and current resistance. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a flexible wearable textile microgrid, which is particularly suitable for transmitting energy and signals with the outside world in a wearable manner.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is: in the first aspect, a flexible wearable textile microgrid is provided, comprising:

[0007] Wearable fabric body, used for energy and signal transmission;

[0008] The control processing module is used to receive and control external energy and signals and is arranged on the wearable fabric body.

[0009] Further, the wearable fabric body comprises:

[0010] Conductive fibers, used as carriers for energy and signal transfer;

[0011] Insulating fibers are used to insulate conductive fibers.

[0012] Furthermore, the traditional conductive wires are split and laid flat into multiple conductive fibers on the fabric.

[0013] Furthermore, the conductive fibers and the insulating fibers are woven together through a three-dimensional weaving technique to form a conductive region.

[0014] Furthermore, the insulating area formed by weaving insulating fibers divides the conductive area to form a conductive network.

[0015] Furthermore, the three-dimensional weaving technology includes an orthogonal three-way structure weaving technology, in which the conductive fibers are used as weft yarns, and the insulating fibers are used as warp yarns and binding yarns, and the weaving is performed according to an orthogonal three-way structure.

[0016] Furthermore, the control processing module includes:

[0017] A processing unit, used for processing the received signal and providing feedback;

[0018] A sensor unit, used for receiving signals from the external environment and sending them to the processing unit;

[0019] Photovoltaic unit, used to convert light energy into electrical energy to power the control processing module;

[0020] The external unit is used to receive energy and signals from external devices.

[0021] Furthermore, the control processing module also includes: a flexible battery unit, which is used to store energy and supply power to the control processing module.

[0022] Furthermore, the processing unit, the sensor unit, the photovoltaic unit, the external unit and the flexible battery unit are connected via a conductive network.

[0023] Furthermore, the external unit includes an optical fiber interface, and the optical fiber interface uses plastic optical fiber and insulating fiber to form a data transmission path.

[0024] The advantages and positive effects of the present invention are as follows: by adopting the above technical scheme, conductive fibers are combined with traditional fibers through three-dimensional weaving technology, thereby solving the problems of heavy weight, large volume, and uncomfortable wearing caused by the use of commercial cables in traditional wearable devices, and improving the wearing comfort and appearance of the system; through the design of an orthogonal three-way structure, the layout of the conductive network is optimized, so that the conductive network can efficiently transmit energy and signals inside the fabric while maintaining good electrical insulation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the weaving method of the flexible wearable textile microgrid according to an embodiment of the present invention

[0026] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of a flexible wearable textile microgrid according to an embodiment of the present invention

[0027] Figure 3 is a structural diagram of a control processing module according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present disclosure is described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0029] The present invention provides a flexible wearable fabric microgrid, comprising:

[0030] Wearable fabric body, used for energy and signal transmission;

[0031] The control processing module is used to receive and control external energy and signals and is arranged on the wearable fabric body.

[0032] A multi-layer flexible conductive network based on a fabric carrier is constructed. By utilizing the designability of three-dimensional fabrics, metal wires are arranged inside a thin layer of fabric and woven as a whole to form a fabric microgrid. Each power supply unit and power consumption unit can be interconnected through the metal wires inside the fabric.

[0033] In one embodiment, the wearable fabric body comprises:

[0034] Conductive fiber 101, used as a carrier for energy and signal transmission;

[0035] The conductive fiber 101 is preferably made of copper wire, silver nanowire and silver-plated nylon.

[0036] The insulating fibers 102 are used to insulate the conductive fibers 101 .

[0037] The insulating fiber 102 is preferably made of cotton yarn, spandex, polyester fiber and Meraklon fiber.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, in one embodiment, the conductive fibers 101 and the insulating fibers 102 are woven together by three-dimensional weaving technology to form the conductive region 103 .

[0039] The lossless three-dimensional weaving technology is used to perform three-dimensional weaving to achieve the purpose of designing the yarn path. The orthogonal three-way structure is used for weaving. The three groups of yarns are interwoven perpendicularly to each other to form a multi-layer structure, which is convenient for forming a network within the layer and insulating between layers. It can also ensure its breathability and feel. The weaving machine uses a multi-shuttle multi-arm loom. Because the conductive fiber 101 has strong bending rigidity and high brittleness, it uses active feeding to ensure a small line tension, while reducing the contact point between the yarn and the machine parts to reduce friction. The conductive fiber is combined with the traditional fiber through three-dimensional weaving technology, which solves the problems of heavy weight, large volume, and uncomfortable wearing caused by the use of commercial cables in traditional wearable devices, and improves the wearing comfort and appearance of the system.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment, the insulating region 104 formed by weaving the insulating fibers 102 divides the conductive region 103 to form a conductive network 105 .

[0041] After weaving, a structure similar to a traditional circuit board is formed, with the area woven by the insulating fibers 102 as the insulating area 104. The current carrying capacity is determined by the number of conductive fibers 101, that is, the width of the conductive area 103. Different conductive areas 103 are isolated and divided by the insulating area 104 to form a conductive network 105. The shape of the conductive area 103 containing the conductive fibers 101 should be determined according to both the connection requirements and the current carrying requirements. The larger the required current, the larger the required area.

[0042] In one embodiment, conventional conductive wires are split and laid flat into a plurality of conductive fibers on a fabric.

[0043] When conductive fibers are woven into fabrics, the fibers are no longer concentrated in a fixed cross section, but are distributed throughout the entire volume of the fabric. The current carrying capacity of the fabric will be affected by factors such as loose contact between fibers and contact resistance between fibers, resulting in lower conductivity and current carrying capacity compared to finished wires. Its current carrying capacity can be calculated as follows:

[0044] The effective conductivity is used to describe the overall conductive properties of the fabric. The conductivity of the fabric can be approximated by the fiber conductivity. Considering factors such as the contact impedance and contact area between fibers, the empirical formula is as follows:

[0045] σ 织物 = k·σ f ·N f

[0046] σ 织物 is the effective conductivity of the fabric, in S / m; σ f is the fiber conductivity, in S / m; N f It is the ratio of the volume of conductive fibers per unit area to the overall volume of the fabric, that is, the conductive fiber density; k is a constant related to other characteristics such as weaving method and fabric thickness, determined through experiments and usually between 0 and 1.

[0047] The weaving method affects the arrangement direction and contact area of ​​the fibers, thus affecting the overall conductivity. The higher the interweaving density, the more contact points, and the higher the conductivity. The specific effect of the weaving method on the conductivity needs to be obtained through experimental data or simulation analysis. The conductivity performance of the fabric can be optimized through actual measurement or numerical simulation to determine the constant k.

[0048] The fabric resistance R is estimated by the following formula:

[0049]

[0050] σ 织物 is the effective conductivity of the fabric, in S / m; L is the length of the fabric through which the current passes, in m; A is the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductive path, in m 2 .

[0051] The final flow resistance is estimated by the following empirical formula:

[0052]

[0053] I max It is the maximum flow resistance of the fabric, unit is A; A f is the cross-sectional area of ​​a single fiber, in m 2 , R is the fabric resistance, α is an empirical constant, usually between 0.5 and 2, and its specific value depends on the fabric material, fiber arrangement and weaving density.

[0054] The current resistance of the fabric also needs to take into account the Joule heat generated when the current passes through. The heat generated can be calculated by Joule's law:

[0055] P=I 2 ·R

[0056] P is the amount of heat generated per second, in W; I is the current passing through the material, in A; R is the resistance of the material, in Ω. As the current increases, the amount of heat generated increases. If the heat is too high, the fabric may be damaged due to overheating. Therefore, the upper limit of the current resistance should take into account the conductivity and heat dissipation capabilities of the fabric.

[0057] In one embodiment, the three-dimensional weaving technology includes an orthogonal three-way structure weaving technology, in which the conductive fibers 101 are used as weft yarns, and the insulating fibers 102 are used as warp yarns and binding yarns, and the weaving is performed according to an orthogonal three-way structure.

[0058] Through the design of an orthogonal three-way structure, the layout of the conductive network is optimized, allowing the conductive network to efficiently transmit energy and signals inside the fabric while maintaining good electrical insulation.

[0059] like Figure 3 As shown, in one embodiment, the control processing module includes:

[0060] The processing unit 201 is used to process the received signal and provide feedback;

[0061] The sensor unit 202 is used to receive signals from the external environment and send them to the processing unit 201;

[0062] The photovoltaic unit 203 is used to convert light energy into electrical energy to supply power to the control processing module;

[0063] The external connection unit 204 is used to receive energy and signals from external devices.

[0064] The external unit 204 includes, but is not limited to, a USB interface, a Type-C interface, a Bluetooth unit, and a wireless charging unit. The conductive network 105 increases or decreases the number of conductive fibers 101 according to the different power and current requirements of each interface. Taking 100um metal silver wire as an example, the number of threads increases by no less than 128 threads for every 1A increase in current. Each independent conductive loop is isolated from each other by increasing the number of insulating fibers 102 threads. The conductive network 105 forms a conductive fiber bundle at the connection with the external unit 204, which is connected by soldering or coating with conductive silver glue.

[0065] In one embodiment, the control processing module further includes a flexible battery unit 205 for storing energy and supplying power to the control processing module.

[0066] In one embodiment, the processing unit 201 , the sensor unit 202 , the photovoltaic unit 203 , the external unit 204 and the flexible battery unit 205 are connected 105 via a conductive network.

[0067] In one embodiment, the external unit 201 includes an optical fiber interface, and the optical fiber interface uses a plastic optical fiber and an insulating fiber 102 to form a data transmission path.

[0068] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above, but the contents described are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and cannot be considered to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. All equivalent changes and improvements made within the scope of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the patent coverage of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible wearable fabric microgrid, characterized in that: include: Wearable fabric body, used for energy and signal transmission; The control processing module is used to receive and control external energy and signals and is arranged on the wearable fabric body.

2. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wearable fabric body includes: Conductive fibers, used as carriers for energy and signal transfer; Insulating fibers are used to insulate conductive fibers.

3. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 2, characterized in that: The traditional wires are split and laid flat into multiple conductive fibers on the fabric.

4. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 2, characterized in that: Conductive fibers and insulating fibers are woven together through three-dimensional weaving technology to form a conductive area.

5. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 4, characterized in that: The insulating area formed by weaving insulating fibers divides the conductive area to form a conductive network.

6. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 4, characterized in that: Three-dimensional weaving technology includes orthogonal three-way structural weaving technology, which uses conductive fibers as weft yarns, insulating fibers as warp yarns and binding yarns, and weaves them according to an orthogonal three-way structure.

7. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control processing module includes: A processing unit, used for processing the received signal and providing feedback; A sensor unit, used for receiving signals from the external environment and sending them to the processing unit; Photovoltaic unit, used to convert light energy into electrical energy to power the control processing module; The external unit is used to receive energy and signals from external devices.

8. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 7, characterized in that: The control processing module also includes: a flexible battery unit, which is used for storing energy and supplying power to the control processing module.

9. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 8, characterized in that: The processing unit, the sensor unit, the photovoltaic unit, the external unit and the flexible battery unit are connected through a conductive network.

10. The flexible wearable textile microgrid according to claim 7, characterized in that: The external unit comprises an optical fiber interface, and the optical fiber interface adopts plastic optical fiber and insulating fiber to form a data transmission path.

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