Intelligent luminous zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating

Abstract

The invention provides an intelligent light-emitting zipper based on flexible solar power supply and an electroluminescent coating, and relates to the field of clothes and accessories, the intelligent light-emitting zipper comprises a flexible braid, the flexible braid is made of nylon or polyester fiber materials, and the whole surface of the flexible braid is coated with the electroluminescent coating; the zipper teeth and the zipper head are arranged on the two sides of the flexible braid; the electroluminescent coating comprises a transparent conductive layer, an electroluminescent layer and a protective layer which are sequentially stacked on the surface of the flexible braid, and the electroluminescent layer emits light when high-frequency alternating current is applied. The electroluminescent coating is directly coated on the surface of the flexible braid, the thickness of the coating can be controlled within the range of 50-500 microns, the whole flexible braid is of a thin and flexible structure, when high-frequency alternating current is applied, uniform planar luminescence can be achieved, flatness and flexibility of the zipper braid are guaranteed, the problem that the appearance of clothes is affected by protrusions of a traditional LED point light source is solved, and the service life of the zipper braid is prolonged. Meanwhile, the luminous brightness is controllable, and the limitation that a fluorescent coating needs to be excited by an external light source is overcome.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of clothing and accessories, in particular to a smart light-emitting zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating, which realizes daytime charging through ambient light detection and night light emission through electroluminescent coating. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the increasing demand for night travel safety, outdoor sports equipment and personalized clothing, light-emitting zippers that can provide lighting or decorative effects in low-light environments have gradually attracted attention. There are mainly two types of existing light-emitting zippers: one is to embed LED light sources in the zipper tape, and the other is to coat a fluorescent coating on the surface of the tape. Traditional light-emitting zippers mostly use LED light sources or fluorescent coatings to achieve light-emitting effects, but have the following shortcomings: First, LED light sources are usually point-like devices that will form protrusions when installed on the zipper tape, affecting the overall appearance of the clothing and reducing the flexibility of the zipper tape. Although fluorescent coatings can form a surface light-emitting effect, they require external light sources to excite them, and the brightness is limited and the light emission is uncontrollable. Second, most common light-emitting zippers rely on external batteries or independent power sources, lack efficient energy harvesting and management mechanisms, consume unnecessary power during the day, and are prone to insufficient power at night, resulting in poor user experience. Third, the opening and closing operations of the zipper in traditional technology are mostly simple linkage with the light-emitting function, and cannot achieve intelligent environmental response.

[0003] Therefore, a smart light-emitting zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating is proposed. SUMMARY

[0004] Therefore, the present application provides a smart light-emitting zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating to solve or alleviate the technical problems in the prior art, at least providing a beneficial choice.

[0005] The technical solution of the present application is as follows: a smart light-emitting zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating, comprising the following structure: Flexible tape: made of textile materials such as nylon or polyester fiber, the surface of which is coated with an electroluminescent coating, allowing the zipper to maintain normal opening and closing flexibility while having light-emitting function.

[0006] Electroluminescent coating: Composed of a transparent conductive layer, an electroluminescent layer, and a protective layer stacked sequentially, with a thickness controlled within the range of 50–500 μm, it produces uniform light emission when a high-frequency alternating current is applied. The transparent conductive layer can be made of ITO film or conductive polymer; the electroluminescent layer is composed of electroluminescent powders such as ZnS:Cu and a polymer binder; the protective layer uses a transparent, wear-resistant resin material to improve durability and environmental adaptability.

[0007] Energy harvesting and storage unit: includes a flexible solar panel and a lithium battery. The flexible solar panel is embedded in the back of the webbing or in a non-critical area and is integrally encapsulated with the webbing. The output end of the flexible solar panel is connected to the lithium battery through a charging management circuit. The charging management circuit includes a charging management IC and a protection module, which work together to control the charging of the lithium battery and provide overcharge and over-discharge protection, ensuring the safety and stability of the power supply.

[0008] Ambient light detection and control unit: including ambient light sensor and microcontroller (MCU); An ambient light sensor is used to detect the intensity of external light in real time. It can be a photodiode or a photoresistor. The MCU samples the output voltage of the sensor and compares it with a preset threshold to determine whether the current environment is in daytime or nighttime mode.

[0009] In daytime mode, the MCU sends a disable signal to shut down the DC-DC boost module and the EL drive circuit, allowing only the flexible solar panel to charge the lithium battery through the charging management circuit, thus preventing ineffective light emission and light pollution during the day. In night mode, after confirming that the battery voltage is not lower than the undervoltage threshold, the MCU sequentially soft-starts the DC-DC boost module and the EL drive circuit to boost the battery DC power to the target voltage (50–300V). Then, the EL drive circuit outputs high-frequency AC (200Hz–2kHz) to the electroluminescent coating to achieve uniform light emission.

[0010] User interaction unit: includes a zipper motion detection switch, which is electrically connected to the MCU and installed at the zipper head or slider position to detect the opening and closing operation of the zipper.

[0011] In night mode, the MCU receives and executes the trigger of the zipper movement detection switch to switch the illumination mode between constant light and flashing, providing an intuitive human-computer interaction; In daytime mode, the MCU ignores the switching signal to avoid triggering the light, thus ensuring charging efficiency and low power consumption.

[0012] Circuit Drive and Parameter Design: The DC-DC boost module is used to boost the low-voltage DC power output from the lithium battery to a high-voltage DC power of 50V~300V, providing input power to the EL drive circuit. The EL drive circuit then modulates the high-voltage DC power into an AC signal with a frequency range of 200Hz~2kHz and outputs it to the electroluminescent coating. Through this frequency and voltage matching, the electroluminescent coating can achieve a uniform and soft luminous effect under low power consumption conditions, meeting the needs of nighttime lighting and warning functions while avoiding problems such as uneven local brightness or excessive energy consumption. At the same time, the adjustability of the drive parameters allows the system to adapt to the characteristics of different electroluminescent materials, ensuring its long-term stable operation and extending its overall service life.

[0013] Low power management: The MCU is preferably a low-power microcontroller with timed sampling and sleep functions. In daylight, the MCU is mainly in charging mode, so it can reduce power consumption by reducing the sampling frequency or entering sleep mode. At night, when in standby mode or when no motion operation is detected, the MCU can also enter sleep mode, retaining only the timer and zipper motion detection switch as wake-up sources. When the timer is interrupted or the motion detection signal is triggered, the MCU can wake up in time and resume normal operation.

[0014] Structural Integration and Protection: The flexible solar panel and webbing are integrated into a single package. All electronic modules are electrically connected and fixed via flexible printed circuit boards (FPCs), allowing them to adapt to the deformation during the bending and unfolding of the zipper without damage. In addition, to improve reliability in actual use environments, the circuit section is covered with a waterproof and dustproof coating. This packaging method can effectively resist the environmental impact of rain, dust, and washing, ensuring that the invention maintains a stable and reliable working state during outdoor use or daily cleaning.

[0015] The embodiments of the present invention have the following advantages due to the adoption of the above technical solutions: I. This invention uses an electroluminescent coating to be directly applied to the surface of a flexible webbing. The coating thickness can be controlled within the range of 50 to 500 μm, resulting in a thin and flexible structure. When a high-frequency alternating current is applied, the coating can achieve uniform planar light emission, which not only ensures the flatness and flexibility of the zipper webbing, but also avoids the problem of the protrusion of traditional LED point light sources affecting the appearance of clothing. At the same time, its light emission brightness is controllable, overcoming the limitation that fluorescent coatings require external light source excitation.

[0016] II. This invention integrates a flexible solar panel and a lithium battery into a zipper structure, and realizes energy harvesting, storage and overcharge and over-discharge protection through a charging management circuit. It can automatically charge during the day using ambient light without triggering light emission, and automatically switch to lithium battery power supply at night or under low light conditions, thereby realizing day and night adaptive energy utilization, improving power management efficiency, avoiding unnecessary power consumption during the day, and ensuring the stability and reliability of power supply at night.

[0017] Third, this invention features an intelligent control unit consisting of an ambient light sensor and a microcontroller (MCU), supplemented by a zipper motion detection switch. It can automatically switch between daytime charging mode and nighttime light-emitting mode based on the ambient light intensity. In nighttime mode, users can switch between constant light and flashing light modes by opening and closing the zipper. In daytime mode, the switch signal is automatically blocked, realizing intelligent control that combines environmental perception and user interaction, thus improving the product's practicality and user experience.

[0018] The above overview is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Fig. 1 This is a schematic diagram of the zipper and circuit diagram of the present invention; Fig. 2 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of the zipper of the present invention; Fig. 3 This is a system overview diagram of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] In the following description, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the drawings and description are considered to be exemplary in nature and not restrictive.

[0022] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] like Figs. 1-3As shown, this embodiment of the invention provides a smart luminous zipper based on flexible solar power supply and an electroluminescent coating, comprising: The flexible webbing is made of textile materials such as nylon or polyester fiber. The entire surface of the flexible webbing is coated with an electroluminescent coating, which enables the zipper to have a light-emitting function while maintaining normal opening and closing flexibility.

[0024] The electroluminescent coating is composed of a transparent conductive layer, an electroluminescent layer and a protective layer stacked sequentially. The thickness of the electroluminescent coating is controlled within the range of 50 to 500 μm. It produces uniform light emission when a high-frequency alternating current is applied. The transparent conductive layer can be made of ITO film or conductive polymer. The electroluminescent layer is composed of electroluminescent powder such as ZnS:Cu and a polymer binder. The protective layer uses a transparent wear-resistant resin material to improve durability.

[0025] The energy harvesting and storage unit includes a flexible solar panel and a lithium battery. The flexible solar panel is embedded in the back of the webbing or in a non-critical area and is integrated with the webbing. The electrical energy output by the flexible solar panel is used to charge the lithium battery through a charging management circuit. The charging management circuit includes a charging management IC and a protection module, which work together to control the charging of the lithium battery and protect it from overcharge and over-discharge, ensuring the safety and stability of the power supply.

[0026] The ambient light detection and control unit includes an ambient light sensor and a microcontroller (MCU). The ambient light sensor is used to detect the external light intensity in real time and can be either a photodiode or a photoresistor. The MCU periodically samples its output voltage and compares it with a preset threshold to determine whether the environment is in daytime or nighttime mode. In daytime mode, the MCU control system only performs charging and turns off the electroluminescent coating drive; In night mode, the MCU activates the DC-DC boost module and EL drive circuit to boost the DC power from the battery and convert it into high-frequency AC power, which is then input to the electroluminescent coating to make it emit light. To avoid frequent switching of critical light intensity, the MCU can adopt upper and lower dual threshold hysteresis control.

[0027] The zipper motion detection switch is electrically connected to the MCU. This switch is installed at the zipper head or slider and is used to detect the zipper opening and closing operation. When an opening and closing signal is detected: In night mode, the MCU controls the light emission mode to switch between constant brightness and flashing based on the signal. In daytime charging mode, the MCU ignores the switching signal to avoid triggering the light and ensure energy saving.

[0028] The DC-DC boost module outputs a voltage range of 50V to 300V. The EL drive circuit modulates the boosted voltage to 200Hz to 2kHz to match the driving characteristics of the electroluminescent coating. Within this parameter range, the coating emits light evenly and softly, while maintaining low power consumption and a long service life. The microcontroller (MCU) is preferably a low-power single-chip microcontroller with timed sampling and sleep functions. In high light during the day or in standby mode at night, the MCU can enter sleep mode, retaining only the timer or motion detection switch as the wake-up source, so as to reduce power consumption and extend battery life.

[0029] Flexible solar panels are embedded in the back of the zipper webbing or in non-critical areas and are integrated with the flexible webbing to maintain the overall appearance and flexibility of the zipper; the electronic module is encapsulated by a flexible printed circuit board and sealed with a waterproof and dustproof coating to ensure the reliability and safety of the zipper in outdoor environments or during cleaning.

[0030] When the present invention is in operation: the working process of the intelligent light-emitting zipper can be divided into two states: daytime mode and nighttime mode, and the automatic switching is achieved through the cooperation of ambient light sensor and microcontroller (MCU); In bright daylight, the flexible solar panel integrated into the zipper structure converts external light energy into electrical energy, which is then used to charge the lithium battery via a charging management circuit. The charging management circuit includes a charging management IC and a protection module, which work together to achieve constant voltage and constant current charging, while providing overcharge and over-discharge protection for the lithium battery to ensure the safety and stability of the charging process. When the ambient light sensor detects that the external light intensity is higher than the preset threshold, its output signal is transmitted to the MCU. The MCU determines that it is currently in daytime mode and sends a command to the control circuit to turn off the driving circuit of the electroluminescent coating. This allows the entire zipper to only perform the charging function during the day without emitting light, thereby avoiding energy waste and light pollution, while ensuring that the battery is fully charged during the day.

[0031] In nighttime or low-light environments, the ambient light sensor outputs a low-voltage signal, which is transmitted to the MCU for threshold comparison. The MCU then determines that it has entered night mode. At this time, the MCU sequentially activates the DC-DC boost module and the EL drive circuit. First, the DC-DC boost module boosts the low-voltage DC power output from the lithium battery to a high-voltage DC power of 50V to 300V. Then, the EL drive circuit converts it into a high-frequency AC power of 200Hz to 2kHz, which is input to the electroluminescent coating on the surface of the webbing, making it emit light evenly and forming a soft lighting effect, improving visibility and safety when used at night.

[0032] In addition, a motion detection switch is also installed in the zipper structure; When a user zips up or down the zipper at night, the switch is triggered and outputs a signal to the MCU. After receiving the motion detection signal, the MCU switches the light emission mode of the electroluminescent coating according to the current control logic, switching it between a constant light mode and a flashing mode, so that the user can adjust the lighting mode with a simple zipper operation. In daytime mode, even if the user operates the zipper, the MCU will block the motion detection signal and not trigger the light-emitting function to ensure that the system maintains low power consumption and high efficiency when charging.

[0033] This process enables intelligent mode switching based on ambient light intensity: efficient energy harvesting during the day and uniform light emission at night. Combined with the user's zipper operation, it realizes human-computer interaction control of the light emission mode, ultimately forming a system that harvests energy during the day, emits light at night, links operations, and provides intelligent control, ensuring the system's energy efficiency, reliability, and practicality.

[0034] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various variations or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and these should all be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A smart luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating, characterized in that: include A flexible webbing made of nylon or polyester fiber material, the entire surface of which is coated with an electroluminescent coating. Zipper teeth and zipper heads are provided on both sides of the flexible webbing; An electroluminescent coating, comprising a transparent conductive layer, an electroluminescent layer, and a protective layer, is sequentially stacked on the surface of the flexible webbing; the electroluminescent layer emits light when a high-frequency alternating current is applied. An energy harvesting and storage unit includes a flexible solar panel and a lithium battery integrated within a zipper structure, wherein the output end of the flexible solar panel is electrically connected to the lithium battery via a charging management circuit. The control unit includes an ambient light sensor, a microcontroller, a DC-DC boost module, and an EL drive circuit. The microcontroller is used to control the working mode of the smart light-emitting zipper according to the ambient light intensity signal collected by the ambient light sensor. When the light intensity is high, the flexible solar panel charges the lithium battery only. When the light intensity is low, the DC-DC boost module and the EL drive circuit convert the DC power output by the lithium battery into high-frequency AC power and input it to the electroluminescent coating to drive it to emit light.

2. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the electroluminescent coating is controlled between 50 μm and 500 μm.

3. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The charging management circuit includes a charging management IC and a protection module, which are used to control the charging of the lithium battery and protect it from overcharge and over-discharge.

4. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ambient light sensor is a photodiode or a photoresistor, and the microcontroller determines the ambient light intensity based on the comparison between the voltage value output by the ambient light sensor and a preset threshold.

5. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a zipper motion detection switch, which is electrically connected to the microcontroller and is used to detect the opening and closing of the zipper and trigger the switching of the light emission mode of the electroluminescent coating.

6. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 5, characterized in that: The light emission mode includes a constant light mode and a flashing mode, and the microcontroller switches between constant light and flashing modes according to the signal from the zipper movement detection switch.

7. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output voltage range of the DC-DC boost module is 50V to 300V, and the output AC frequency range of the EL drive circuit is 200Hz to 2kHz, in order to match the driving characteristics of the electroluminescent coating.

8. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible solar panel is embedded in the back of the zipper webbing or in a non-critical area and is integrally packaged with the flexible webbing.

9. The intelligent luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The microcontroller is a low-power single-chip microcomputer with timed sampling and sleep functions to reduce system power consumption.

10. A smart luminescent zipper based on flexible solar power supply and electroluminescent coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electronic module of the smart luminous zipper is encapsulated by a flexible printed circuit board and sealed with a waterproof and dustproof coating.

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