Fibers having electrically conductive core and color-changing coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fabric products with color-changing capabilities are passively controlled by environmental stimuli, lacking the ability to dynamically and on-demand adjust their visual characteristics.
Innovation Solution
Development of a color-changing fiber with an electrically conductive core coated in a thermochromic pigment layer, allowing for selective activation of color change through electrical current, enabling dynamic and adaptive color adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fabric products use passive thermochromic pigments that respond to environmental stimuli, then the products can change color automatically, but they lack the ability to dynamically and on-demand adjust their visual characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static, passive thermochromic system into a dynamic one by introducing an electrically conductive core that can be selectively activated. The core allows electrical current to flow through it, generating heat that triggers the thermochromic pigment coating to change color on demand, rather than only in response to ambient temperature changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the natural environmental thermal stimulus mechanism with an electrical stimulation mechanism. Instead of relying on ambient temperature changes to activate the thermochromic effect, the system uses electrical current passed through the conductive core to generate localized heat, providing precise on-demand control over color change.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fabric products are made with thermochromic pigments, then they can change color in response to temperature, but they cannot be selectively activated in specific regions or at specific times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the fiber into distinct functional segments: an electrically conductive core and a thermochromic pigment coating. This segmentation allows independent control of each component, where the core can be selectively activated to trigger color change in the coating, enabling regional and temporal selectivity without requiring complex overall fiber structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite fiber structure combining two materials with different properties: an electrically conductive material (such as metal or conductive polymer) and a thermochromic pigment material. This composite structure integrates electrical conductivity and thermal response capabilities into a single fiber, enabling selective activation while maintaining relatively simple fiber construction.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables fabrics and products to change color on-demand, providing adaptive visual characteristics suitable for various applications, including camouflage and environmental adaptations.
Implementation Method 1
Thermochromic pigments change color in response to a thermal stimulus (e.g., as they change temperature, etc.)
Implementation Method 2
electrically conductive core to activate the thermochromic pigment within the coating
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a color-changing fiber includes loading a polymeric material and a thermochromic pigment material into a fiber fabrication machine that comprises an extruder and a spinneret, operating the extruder to provide a molten mixture of the polymeric material and the thermochromic pigment material, providing a volume of the molten mixture to the spinneret, and operating the spinneret to coat an electrically conductive core with the molten mixture to form a coating layer around the electrically conductive core to produce the color-changing fiber. The polymeric material and the thermochromic pigment material are provided as (a) a first raw material comprising the polymeric material and a second raw material comprising the thermochromic pigment material or (b) a thermochromic pigment and polymer mixture.