Textile Substrate with Integrated Rigid Electronics Region
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing textile-based heart rate monitoring bands face challenges in providing a reliable, cost-effective, and interference-resistant connection between the textile substrate and electronics, which are typically manufactured using different processes, leading to high production costs and susceptibility to motion and moisture-induced signal interference.
Innovation Solution
A textile substrate with a region irremovably integrated with a more rigid structure for attaching electronics, allowing for watertight signal transfer elements to connect the measuring sensors to the electronics, enabling separate manufacturing processes for textiles and electronics while ensuring a durable and interference-resistant connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If textile and electronics are manufactured separately and bonded together, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but connection reliability deteriorates due to susceptibility to motion and moisture interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the textile substrate and electronics into a single integrated structure where electronic components are directly embedded within the textile material. This integration eliminates the need for separate bonding processes while maintaining manufacturing flexibility, as the electronics and textile are produced together in one manufacturing cycle rather than assembled from separate parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures combining conductive threads, flexible circuits, and textile fibers into a unified material system. This composite approach allows the electronic connections to be inherently part of the textile structure, providing both mechanical strength and electrical conductivity while resisting motion and moisture interference through the integrated material design.
2Strength
If plastic bonding technology is used to attach electronics to textile, then connection strength is improved, but production cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the bonding function with the manufacturing process itself, eliminating the need for separate plastic bonding technology. Electronic components are attached to the textile substrate during the same manufacturing cycle using compatible low-cost methods such as ultrasonic welding, heat sealing, or adhesive bonding that are already part of textile production, thereby maintaining connection strength while dramatically reducing production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs cost-effective bonding methods that are disposable or single-use in nature, such as temporary adhesives or sacrificial bonding layers that are replaced during manufacturing. This approach avoids the high cost of durable plastic bonding technologies while achieving sufficient connection strength for the product's lifecycle.
3Ease of operation
If textile bands are used instead of plastic, then comfort on skin is improved, but manufacturing integration with electronics deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates composite textile-electronic materials where conductive threads and flexible circuit elements are woven or knitted directly into the textile structure during standard textile manufacturing processes. This integration maintains the soft, comfortable properties of textile while enabling electronic functionality, as the electronic components become part of the fabric itself rather than being attached separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the textile substrate to serve multiple functions simultaneously: providing mechanical comfort against the skin, conducting electrical signals, and serving as a structural support for electronic components. This multi-functionality is achieved through integrated design where the same textile structure performs all these roles, eliminating the need for separate manufacturing processes for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
A textile substrate with a measuring sensor for measuring a physiological signal. The textile substrate has integrated irremovably therewith a base structure component for electronics, such as for example a plastic base for a transmitter for attaching the transmitter and other electronics to the substrate irremovably by way of said base structure component. In addition, signal transfer elements from the measuring sensor are adapted to extend in a watertight manner to the electronics through said base structure component integrated irremovably with the textile substrate.