Elastic Conductor Segmented Conductive Path Stretchability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elastic conductors experience an increase in electrical resistance when expanded due to increased path length, as the connection between particulate or fibrous magnetic conductors becomes disconnected, leading to a fear of resistance increase.
Innovation Solution
An elastic conductor with a stretchable base member and conductive members arranged to maintain conductivity, where the conductive members are spaced apart in a specific manner to form a continuous path, and a restraint member is used to suppress expansion and contraction, ensuring a dense and sparse region configuration to maintain conductivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the elastic conductor is expanded in the first direction, then the elastic conductor can be stretched to accommodate deformation, but the connection between particulate or fibrous magnetic conductors becomes disconnected causing electrical resistance to increase
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive structure is divided into two functional components: elongated conductive members (higher modulus of elasticity) that maintain continuous conductive paths during stretching, and particulate or fibrous magnetic conductors (lower modulus of elasticity) that provide additional conductivity. This segmentation allows different parts to perform different functions - the elongated members prevent disconnection while the particulate conductors enhance conduction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the elastic conductor have different conductive member arrangements. In the first direction (stretching direction), conductive members are arranged to maintain continuous paths. In the second direction (perpendicular direction), conductive members are spaced apart to allow expansion. This local differentiation of conductive properties resolves the contradiction between maintaining conductivity and allowing stretchability.
2Reliability
If conductive members are arranged to be continuous in the first direction, then electrical conductivity is maintained during stretching, but the device complexity increases due to specific arrangement requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes differences in physical parameters (modulus of elasticity and specific resistance) between elongated conductive members and particulate conductors to achieve the desired functionality. By selecting materials with appropriate parameter differences, the system automatically self-organizes into the required arrangement without complex manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic conductor employs a composite structure combining two types of conductive elements with different properties: elongated conductive members with high modulus of elasticity for structural integrity and continuous conduction paths, and particulate or fibrous magnetic conductors with lower modulus of elasticity for enhanced conductivity. This composite approach achieves reliable conductivity while simplifying the arrangement requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
An elastic conductor (1) is configured to be changeable between a first state and a second state in which the elastic conductor (1) is expanded in the first direction from the first state. The elastic conductor (1) includes: a stretchable base member (10); and a plurality of conductive members (20a to 20m) each having a longitudinal shape and arranged on a surface of the stretchable base member (10), each of the plurality of conductive members (20a to 20m) being lower in specific resistance and higher in modulus of elasticity than the stretchable base member (10). In the first state, the plurality of conductive members (20a to 20m) are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and to be continuous in a section extending in the first direction as seen in the second direction from one end of the section to the other end of the section, in which a distance between the conductive members (20a to 20m) adjacent to each other in the second direction in the second state is shorter than a distance between the conductive members (20a to 20m) adjacent to each other in the second direction in the first state.