A flexible electroluminescent thread, a method for producing the luminescent thread and a textile

Abstract

This invention discloses a flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, a method for producing the luminescent cotton thread, and a textile fabric. The invention uses Kevlar filament as the flexible core, combined with multiple enameled wires twisted in the same direction to form a smooth, integrated composite core. A luminescent dielectric layer composed of barium titanate and zinc sulfide luminescent powder is filled on the outside of the composite core, and a transparent conductive layer is coated on the outside. Metal conductive wires are spirally wound at a constant interval to form the outer electrode, and the outermost layer is covered with an ultra-thin TPU protective layer. This invention optimizes the composite core structure, the layered precision coating process, the spiral electrode arrangement, and the ultra-thin TPU coating process, significantly improving the shortcomings of traditional luminescent threads, such as poor flexibility, high power consumption, easy breakage when bent, and poor contact. The luminescent cotton thread of this invention consumes only one-fifth the power of traditional luminescent threads, has excellent bending performance, uniform and stable luminescence, and a fine wire diameter, making it suitable for automated processing in embroidery and sewing machines. The resulting textile fabric is waterproof and wear-resistant, suitable for various irregularly shaped wearables and decorative applications.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of textile materials technology, specifically to a flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, a method for producing the luminescent cotton thread, and a textile fabric thereof. Background Technology

[0002] Electroluminescent cotton thread is a functional textile material that combines textile flexibility with electroluminescence properties, and is widely used in smart wearables, uniquely shaped decorative clothing, luminescent embroidery, and cultural and creative textiles. Currently, most traditional luminescent threads on the market use a pure copper core structure, which has many technical defects and restricts the industrial application of luminescent cotton thread.

[0003] Firstly, the material has poor flexibility and low adaptability. Traditional luminous threads use rigid copper wire as the core. Copper wire itself has high hardness, poor bending performance, and weak tensile strength, making it impossible to achieve repeated bending at small arcs and multiple angles. This makes it difficult to meet the flexibility requirements of embroidery and sewing, and it is not suitable for the processing and production of irregularly shaped clothing and close-fitting products.

[0004] Secondly, they have high energy consumption and low energy efficiency. Existing light-emitting lines mostly use tin-plated copper wire as the conductive conductor, which results in high conductivity loss, high overall power consumption, and poor battery life, making them unsuitable for battery-powered portable light-emitting textile products.

[0005] Third, the wire diameter is too large, making mass production difficult. Traditional luminescent threads are made using a process that involves stacking three dielectric layers and two luminescent layers. This makes it difficult to precisely control the wire diameter, resulting in the production of ultra-fine cotton threads. Consequently, they cannot be adapted to automated textile equipment such as embroidery machines and sewing machines, leading to low efficiency in mass production.

[0006] Fourth, the electrode structure has poor stability. Traditional external electrodes for light-emitting lines are laid out in a straight line, resulting in poor adhesion between the electrodes and the transparent conductive layer. When the wire is bent or deformed, the electrodes are very easy to detach from the conductive layer, leading to poor contact, interrupted light emission, and watermark-like phenomena such as localized bright nodules, resulting in insufficient light emission stability.

[0007] In summary, existing luminescent cotton threads suffer from defects such as poor flexibility, high power consumption, large wire diameter, easy electrode detachment, and unstable luminescence. Therefore, developing a highly flexible, low-power, stable luminescent cotton thread that is suitable for automated textile production has become a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention aims to provide a flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, a method for producing the luminescent cotton thread, and a textile, thereby solving the technical pain points of traditional luminescent cotton threads, such as high rigidity, high power consumption, easy electrode detachment, unstable light emission, and difficulty in automated mass production. This invention achieves the technical effects of ultra-fine, highly flexible, low-power, and long-lasting stable light emission.

[0009] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, the luminescent cotton thread comprising: Flexible wire core; Multiple conductive wires are disposed around the flexible core, and the conductive wires are wrapped together with the flexible core to form a composite core; A transparent conductive layer covering the composite wire core; A light-emitting dielectric layer fills the gap between the composite wire core and the transparent conductive layer; An external electrode, which is made of a conductive wire, is spirally wound around the outer wall of a transparent conductive layer at a certain interval; An outer protective layer is applied to the outside of the conductive wire.

[0010] Furthermore, the flexible core is made of Kevlar wire.

[0011] Furthermore, the conductive wire is an enameled wire.

[0012] Furthermore, multiple enameled wires are twisted and wound in the same direction against the outer wall of the flexible core to form a composite core with a smooth, integrated structure.

[0013] Furthermore, the light-emitting medium layer is made of barium titanate dielectric material, and zinc sulfide light-emitting powder is mixed inside it.

[0014] Furthermore, the spacing is 0.1-1mm.

[0015] Furthermore, the spacing is 0.5 mm.

[0016] Furthermore, the outer protective layer is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) layer.

[0017] A method for producing flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, the method being used to prepare the luminescent cotton thread; The production method includes the following steps: S1. Core composite molding: Kevlar wire is selected as the center core, and the enameled wire is twisted and wound in the same direction along the outer wall of Kevlar wire to form a smooth, one-piece composite core. S2, Layered Coating Molding: A dielectric layer of barium titanate and a light-emitting layer doped with zinc sulfide luminescent powder are alternately coated on the outside of the composite wire core and cured to form a light-emitting layer assembly. S3, Conductive layer coating: A transparent conductive paste is uniformly coated on the outside of the light-emitting layer component and cured to form a transparent conductive layer; S4. Spiral electrode arrangement: Using metal conductive wire, spirally wound around the outer wall of the transparent conductive layer at equal intervals of 0.4mm-0.6mm and a winding angle of 30°-60°, and pressed tightly to form the outer electrode; S5. Protective Coating Molding: Ultra-thin TPU material with a thickness of 0.05mm-0.15mm is extruded and coated on the outside of the outer electrode. After curing, the finished flexible electroluminescent cotton thread is obtained.

[0018] A textile fabric prepared by the aforementioned production method.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. This invention has excellent flexibility and wide adaptability: It abandons the traditional rigid copper wire core and uses Kevlar wire as the base wire core. The material is soft and has high tensile strength, which can achieve repeated bending of small arc and multiple angles, meet the requirements of embroidery and sewing processing, and is suitable for various usage scenarios such as irregular clothing and close-fitting wear.

[0020] 2. This invention has extremely low power consumption and long battery life: It uses enameled wire as the conductive wire, which has excellent insulation performance and low conductive loss. The overall power consumption is only one-fifth of that of traditional light-emitting wires, which greatly extends the battery power supply time and is suitable for portable light-emitting products.

[0021] 3. The present invention has stable electrodes and uniform light emission: It changes the traditional linear electrode layout method and adopts a 0.5mm equidistant spiral winding structure. The electrode has a large contact area with the conductive layer and is evenly distributed. It can deform synchronously with the cotton thread, and there is no falling off or poor contact when bending. It eliminates the problems of nodular brightening and light emission interruption, and the light emission stability is greatly improved.

[0022] 4. The present invention has fine wire diameter and strong mass production capability: the optimized layer coating process simplifies the coating structure and can produce ultra-fine luminescent cotton thread, which is compatible with automated textile equipment such as embroidery machines and sewing machines. The processing is smooth and without jamming, the product quality is stable, and it is suitable for large-scale industrial production.

[0023] 5. This invention has excellent protective performance and a long service life: It uses ultra-thin TPU material to replace the traditional PVC outer skin, which is softer and has waterproof, wear-resistant and anti-aging properties. It fixes the outer conductive wire, isolates external moisture and wear, and extends the service life of the cotton thread.

[0024] 6. The present invention has excellent processing performance: after Kevlar wire and enameled wire are composite formed, the core surface is smooth, which solves the problem of beading during the coating process; at the same time, the enameled wire has good voltage resistance, and the welding process is not prone to short circuits, reducing the difficulty of production and processing. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the flexible electroluminescent cotton thread of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the production method of the present invention.

[0027] The following labels are used in the attached diagram: 1. Flexible core; 2. Conductive wire; 3. Light-emitting dielectric layer; 4. Transparent conductive layer; 5. Conductive filament; 6. Outer protective layer. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that the advantages and features of the present invention can be more easily understood by those skilled in the art, thereby making a clearer and more definite definition of the scope of protection of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described in this invention are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Furthermore, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0030] Example 1: The specific structure of the present invention is as follows: Please refer to the appendix. Figure 1 This embodiment provides a flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, including a flexible core 1, a conductive wire 2, a light-emitting dielectric layer 3, a transparent conductive layer 4, a conductive filament 5, and an outer protective layer 6.

[0031] The flexible core 1 is made of Kevlar wire, which has the characteristics of high tensile strength, bending resistance and soft texture; the conductive wire 2 consists of multiple enameled wires, all of which are twisted and wound in the same direction along the outer wall of the Kevlar wire, tightly fitting together to form a smooth integrated composite core, avoiding beading defects in the subsequent coating process, and reducing conductive power consumption.

[0032] The light-emitting dielectric layer 3 is filled between the composite wire core and the transparent conductive layer 4. The dielectric substrate is barium titanate, which is doped with zinc sulfide light-emitting powder. The high dielectric properties of barium titanate can increase the capacitance value, enhance the electric field excitation effect, and ensure that the light-emitting powder emits light uniformly.

[0033] A transparent conductive layer 4 is uniformly coated on the outside of the light-emitting dielectric layer 3, forming a ring capacitor structure with the inner enameled wire, providing a stable electric field for the light-emitting reaction.

[0034] The outer side of the transparent conductive layer 4 is spirally wound with a metal conductive wire 5 as the outer electrode. The winding spacing is preferably 0.5 mm and the winding angle is controlled at 45°. Under these parameters, the electrode fit and deformation adaptability are optimal, which can effectively avoid poor contact problems.

[0035] The outer protective layer 6 is an ultra-thin TPU layer with a thickness of 0.1mm, which is extruded and wrapped around the outside of the conductive wire 5. It can fix the conductive wire and achieve the protective effects of waterproof, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant.

[0036] Example 2:

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment uses the structural parameters of Example 1 to prepare luminescent cotton thread. The specific production steps are as follows: S1. Core Composite Molding: High-strength Kevlar wire with a diameter of 0.15mm-0.25mm is selected as the core wire. The surface of the Kevlar wire is smoothed and impurity is removed to remove surface lint, dust and impurities. 4-6 ultra-fine enameled copper wires with a diameter of 0.03mm-0.05mm are selected as conductive conductors. The enameled wire is twisted and wound in the same direction along the outer wall of the Kevlar wire, with the twist controlled at 80-120 twists / m. A constant winding tension is maintained throughout the process, with a tension error not exceeding ±0.05N, to avoid the enameled wire shifting or wrinkling. After twisting, an integrated composite wire core with a smooth surface, compact structure, and coaxiality error ≤0.02mm is obtained. At the same time, the composite wire core is pre-treated by dust removal and drying. The drying temperature is 40℃ and the drying time is 5 minutes to remove surface moisture and prepare for subsequent coating processes. This process can completely solve the problems of beading and uneven coating in the later coating process.

[0038] S2, Layered Coating Molding: The composite wire core is coated in layers using a precision micro-spraying process, with the spraying equipment having a constant output rate of 0.2mL / s; First, a layer of barium titanate dielectric coating is sprayed onto the outer surface of the composite wire core. The coating viscosity is controlled at 1800-2200 mPa·s, and the thickness of a single spray is 0.015 mm. After spraying, the coating is cured at room temperature for 15 minutes. After the medium layer has completely cured, a luminescent coating containing zinc sulfide luminescent powder is sprayed on. The zinc sulfide luminescent powder accounts for 25%-30% of the mass of the coating. The particle size of the luminescent coating is ≤5μm to ensure that the powder is evenly dispersed and free from agglomeration. The thickness of the luminescent layer in a single spray is 0.02mm. It is also cured at room temperature for 15min. After alternatingly spraying and curing the dielectric layer and the light-emitting layer, the entire assembly is left to stand for 30 minutes to cure, forming a light-emitting layer component with tight interlayer bonding and a smooth surface. The high dielectric constant barium titanate combined with zinc sulfide luminescent powder ensures the subsequent electric field excitation light emission effect.

[0039] S3. Conductive layer coating: ITO transparent conductive paste is selected, and the solid content of the paste is controlled at 12%-15%. Before coating, the light-emitting layer component is subjected to electrostatic dust removal treatment. The luminescent layer component is uniformly passed through a transparent conductive slurry tank at a speed of 15 mm / s using an immersion coating method to ensure uniform slurry adhesion. The total coating thickness is strictly controlled between 0.02 and 0.05 mm. After coating, the component is placed in a constant temperature curing oven and cured using a gradient temperature curing mode. The initial temperature is 50°C for 5 minutes, then the temperature is increased to 80°C for 20 minutes for curing. Finally, the component is allowed to cool naturally. After curing, a dense, uniform, and strongly adherent transparent conductive layer is formed, with the surface resistivity stably controlled at 8-12 Ω / □ to ensure uniform conductivity.

[0040] S4. Spiral electrode arrangement: Silver-plated conductive wire with a diameter of 0.04mm-0.06mm is selected as the external electrode to reduce contact resistance and improve conductivity. A precision winding machine is used for spiral winding, with an equal winding spacing of 0.5mm, a winding angle of 45°, and a winding speed of 20mm / s. During the winding process, an elastic pressure roller is used to gently press the conductive wire, with the pressing pressure controlled at 0.1-0.15N, so that the conductive wire fits tightly against the outer wall of the transparent conductive layer without looseness, gaps, or deviation. After winding, manual sampling is performed to remove defective products with electrode spacing deviation greater than ±0.03mm, ensuring uniform electrode distribution and improving the wire's adaptability to bending deformation.

[0041] S5. Protective Coating Molding: A 0.1mm thick ultra-thin transparent TPU film is selected, with a tensile strength ≥40MPa. It possesses high transparency, high flexibility, and waterproof and wear-resistant properties. A horizontal extrusion coating process is adopted, with the extrusion pressure controlled at 0.3MPa and the coating rate at 30mm / s, ensuring the TPU film completely wraps the outer conductive fibers. After coating, there are no bubbles or wrinkles. After coating, the film is placed in a constant temperature curing device, with the curing temperature strictly controlled at 60℃. The curing is maintained at this temperature for 15 minutes, and then allowed to cool naturally to room temperature for 20 minutes. Finally, the product is wound up, cut, and inspected for appearance. Damaged or unevenly coated products are removed to obtain the finished flexible electroluminescent cotton thread.

[0042] Example 3:

[0043] The flexible electroluminescent cotton thread prepared in Example 2 was embroidered using an automated embroidery machine and combined with conventional textile cotton thread to weave luminescent embroidered fabric. During the processing, the cotton thread was smoothly bent without breakage or jamming. The finished fabric emitted light evenly after bending, without localized light outages or watermark-like brightening. It is waterproof and wear-resistant and can be used in clothing decoration, stage props, cultural and creative textiles, and other fields.

[0044] In summary, this invention has excellent flexibility and wide adaptability: it abandons the traditional rigid copper wire core and uses Kevlar wire as the base wire core. The material is soft and has high tensile strength, which can achieve repeated bending at small arcs and multiple angles, meet the requirements of embroidery and sewing processing, and is suitable for various usage scenarios such as irregularly shaped clothing and close-fitting wear.

[0045] This invention features extremely low power consumption and long battery life: it uses enameled wire as the conductive conductor, which has excellent insulation performance and low conductive loss. The overall power consumption is only one-fifth of that of traditional light-emitting wires, which greatly extends the battery power supply time and is suitable for portable light-emitting products.

[0046] The present invention features stable electrodes and uniform light emission: it changes the traditional linear electrode layout and adopts a 0.5mm equidistant spiral winding structure, which has a large and uniform contact area between the electrode and the conductive layer. It can deform synchronously with the cotton thread, and there is no detachment or poor contact when bending. It eliminates the problems of nodular brightening and light emission interruption, and the light emission stability is greatly improved.

[0047] This invention features fine thread diameter and strong mass production capability: the optimized layer coating process simplifies the coating structure, enabling the preparation of ultrafine luminescent cotton thread, which is compatible with automated textile equipment such as embroidery machines and sewing machines. The process is smooth and uninterrupted, the product quality is stable, and it is suitable for large-scale industrial production.

[0048] This invention offers excellent protective performance and a long service life: it uses ultra-thin TPU material to replace the traditional PVC outer sheath, making it softer and providing waterproof, wear-resistant, and anti-aging properties. It also secures the outer conductive wires, isolates them from external moisture and abrasion, and extends the lifespan of the cotton thread.

[0049] This invention has excellent processing performance: after Kevlar wire and enameled wire are composite molded, the core surface is smooth, which solves the problem of beading during the coating process; at the same time, the enameled wire has good voltage resistance, and the welding process is not prone to short circuits, reducing the difficulty of production and processing.

[0050] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the content of the present invention specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, characterized in that, The luminescent cotton thread includes: Flexible wire core (1); Multiple conductive wires (2) are arranged around the flexible wire core (1), and the conductive wires (2) and the flexible wire core (1) are wrapped together to form a composite wire core; A transparent conductive layer (4) covering the composite wire core; A light-emitting dielectric layer (3) fills the gap between the composite wire core and the transparent conductive layer (4); The external electrode is made of conductive wire (5), which is spirally wound around the outer wall of the transparent conductive layer at a certain interval; An outer protective layer (6) is wrapped around the outside of the conductive wire (5).

2. The flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible core (1) is made of Kevlar wire.

3. The flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conductive wire (2) is an enameled wire.

4. The flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 3, characterized in that, Multiple enameled wires are twisted and wound in the same direction against the outer wall of the flexible core (1) to form a composite core with a smooth, integrated structure.

5. A flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 1, characterized in that, The light-emitting medium layer (3) is a light-emitting medium made of barium titanate medium material, which contains zinc sulfide light-emitting powder.

6. The flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spacing is 0.1-1mm.

7. A flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 6, characterized in that, The spacing is 0.5 mm.

8. A flexible electroluminescent cotton thread according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer protective layer (6) is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) layer.

9. A method for producing a flexible electroluminescent cotton thread, the method being used to prepare the luminescent cotton thread according to any one of claims 1-8; The production method includes the following steps: S1. Core composite molding: Kevlar wire is selected as the center core, and the enameled wire is twisted and wound in the same direction along the outer wall of Kevlar wire to form a smooth, one-piece composite core. S2, Layered Coating Molding: A dielectric layer of barium titanate and a light-emitting layer doped with zinc sulfide luminescent powder are alternately coated on the outside of the composite wire core and cured to form a light-emitting layer assembly. S3, Conductive layer coating: A transparent conductive paste is uniformly coated on the outside of the light-emitting layer component and cured to form a transparent conductive layer; S4. Spiral electrode arrangement: Using metal conductive wire, spirally wound around the outer wall of the transparent conductive layer at equal intervals of 0.4mm-0.6mm and a winding angle of 30°-60°, and pressed tightly to form the outer electrode; S5. Protective Coating Molding: Ultra-thin TPU material with a thickness of 0.05mm-0.15mm is extruded and coated on the outside of the outer electrode. After curing, the finished flexible electroluminescent cotton thread is obtained.

10. A textile fabric, characterized in that, Prepared by the production method described in claim 9.

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