EP3196347A1

EP3196347A1 - Enveloped electrical component, textile structures comprising said component and methods of making same

Info

Publication number: EP3196347A1
Application number: EP16152249.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jo Vanhauwermeiren; Ilse Muysewinkel
Original assignee: Vamutex bvba
Current assignee: Vamutex bvba
Priority date: 2016-01-21
Filing date: 2016-01-21
Publication date: 2017-07-26
Also published as: BE1024427B1; BE1024427B9; BE1024427A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an enveloped electrical component (5) comprising an electrical component (1) and an envelopment (2, 3, 4) surrounding the electrical component (1) and to a method to manufacture such enveloped electrical component (5).

The invention further relates to a textile structure (6) comprising at least one enveloped electrical component (5) and to a method to connect such textile structure (6) to a substrate.

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an enveloped electrical component in particular an electrical component provided with lighting components such as LEDs enveloped with a textile structure. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such an enveloped electrical component.
The invention furthermore relates to a textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component integrated in this textile structure and to a method of manufacturing such a textile structure.

Background of the invention

Elongated elements such as wires, strips and cables provided with LED lights are well known and are for example used for home decoration or decoration for the holidays. Most of these elongated elements provided with LED lights are engineered so that they can be used as decoration. Because of this, these elongated elements have a limited mechanical performance.
Textiles and textile materials can be found in many different applications, ranging from clothing, interior decoration, curtains, wallcovering, bedding textiles, etcetera. Although textile materials can be widely found, they normally don't incorporate lighting in their use. As textile materials have to be able to be washed, have to be flexible, have to be drapable and have sometimes additional necessary features such as stitchability it is difficult to provide textile materials incorporating lighting. Although it is difficult to incorporate lighting in textile materials, it is a function that is definitely wanted to decorate or accentuate issues.
Ribbons are typically thin bands of material, typically made of textile fibers. They are used primarily as decorative materials onto other textile materials or objects. Ribbons can for example be woven, knitted or braided. Many different types of textile fibers such as cotton, silk, polyester or polyamide fibers are used for producing ribbons.
US20150204496 discloses a fabric construction having woven tubular hollows with light emitting means mounted in the tubular hollows of the fabric construction.
GB2396252 discloses a fabric with LED components mounted or stitched onto the fabric. These LED components are visually present onto the fabric.
WO200880245 discloses a LED light wire that is protected through winding a textile yarn over the LED light wire. The thus obtained yarn can then be further used as a warp or weft yarn in a fabric.
The above-mentioned techniques however do not disclose a light emitting textile structure, such as a ribbon that can be further used to be incorporated onto a substrate, such as a textile material.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical component that can be further processed in a textile structure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an enveloped electrical component in which the electrical component is invisible for the human eye.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an enveloped electrical component whereby the envelopment around the electrical component protects the electrical component and whereby the electrical component can not be removed easily out of the envelopment.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a textile structure, such as a ribbon in which an electrical component, more particularly an enveloped electrical component is processed.
Furthermore it is an object of the present invention to provide a method to manufacture a textile structure incorporating at least one enveloped electrical component.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a textile structure, such as a ribbon, with an electrical component, that is washable, flexible, stichable, drapable and that can be cut at the desired length.
According to a first aspect of the present invention an enveloped electrical component is provided. The enveloped electrical component comprises an electrical component and an envelopment surrounding said electrical component. The envelopment comprises a textile structure. The textile structure is provided around the electrical component by a textile operation.
Preferably, the envelopment is in direct contact with the electrical component. With 'direct contact between the envelopment and the electrical component' is meant that the envelopment contacts or touches the electrical compound at the outer circumference of the electrical component over the complete or substantially the complete circumference of the electrical component. By the direct contact between the electrical component and the envelopment it is physically hard to pull the electrical component out of the textile structure.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the envelopment fully covers the electrical component so that the electrical component is invisible for the human eye.
The term 'electrical component' refers to any type of electrically conductive material, preferably elongated electrically conductive material, such as wires, metal wires, strips, metal strips, ribbons, or other conductive elongated elements. Electrical components used for the present invention preferably comprise elongated elements provided with at least one lighting component. More preferably, the electrical components comprise a number of lighting components, for example lighting components placed at regular distance on the elongated elements, for example at a distance ranging between 1 cm and 100 cm, for example at a distance of 2 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm or 50 cm.
The term 'lighting component' refers to any type of lighting component known in the art. Preferred lighting components comprise light-emitting diodes (LED). A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits visible light when an electric current passes through it.
The term 'envelopment' means a material surrounding or covering the electrical component. According to the present invention the envelopment comprises a textile structure, for example a braided or knitted structure.
The textile structure is provided around the electrical component by a textile operation. In preferred embodiments the electrical component is provided with the envelopment by braiding or knitting a textile structure around the electrical component. In a particularly preferred embodiment the envelopment comprises a circular knitted textile structure around the electrical component. The circular knitted envelopment is preferably obtained by circular knitting the envelopment around the electrical component.
By providing the envelopment around the electrical component by a textile operation a close, direct contact is obtained between the electrical component and the envelopment. Because of the direct contact between the electrical component and the envelopment it can be physically hard to pull the electrical component out of the textile structure. Such envelopment allows to process the electrical component into a textile structure without damaging the electrical component. Furthermore, the envelopment makes the electrical component invisible for the human eye, so that it has a high decorative aspect.
The textile structure of the envelopment comprises at least one elongated element. Any type of elongated element that is suitable for the manufacturing of a textile structure can be considered. Examples of elongated elements comprise wires, cords, yarns, strips or tapes. The elongated elements may comprise natural material, polymer material, paper, metal or metal alloys or any combination thereof.
Preferred elongated elements comprise yarns. The term 'yarn' or 'textile yarn' refers to a yarn that can be a monofilament, a multifilament or a spun yarn. The yarn may be made out of natural or man-made fibers, or a combination of both. Man-made fibers are fibers obtained by a manufacturing process, as distinct from natural fibers which occur naturally in fibrous form. Natural fibers include, but are not limited to silk, types of wool, such as sheep, angora or cashmere, cotton, flax, bamboo, hemp, jute and cellulose derived fibers such as viscose or rayon. Common man-made fibers include, but are not limited to polyester, polyamide, polylactic acid (PLA), polyolefins such as polypropylene, acetate, acrylics and metals or metal alloys. Preferably, mulifilament polyester or spun cotton yarns are used for the envelopment. These yarns have preferably a linear density between 50 and 1000 dtex, more preferably a linear density between 250 and 450 dtex.
Other examples of elongated elements comprise strips or tapes, such as metal strips or tapes as for example aluminium strips or tapes.
According to a second aspect of the present invention a method to manufacture an enveloped electrical component is provided. The method comprises the following steps:

providing at least one electrical component,
enveloping said at least one electrical component with an envelopment by a textile operation to provide said electrical component with an envelopment being in direct contact with said electrical component.

The envelopment comprises preferably a textile structure.
In preferred embodiments the enveloping of the at least one electrical component is obtained by braiding, knitting or core spinning. The envelopment comprises preferably a textile structure.
In particularly preferred embodiments the enveloping of the at least one electrical component is obtained by braiding or knitting a textile structure around the at least one electrical component. By braiding or knitting a textile structure around the at least one electrical component it can be guaranteed that the electrical component is invisible. Furthermore such techniques allow to obtain a direct contact between the electrical component and the enveloping textile structure.
In a particular preferred embodiment the enveloped electrical component is obtained by circular knitting a textile structure around the at least one electrical component.
According to a third aspect of the present invention a textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component as described above is provided. The at least one electrical component is integrated in the textile structure.
The term 'textile structure' refers to any structure obtained by a textile operation. Preferred textile structures comprise woven, knitted or braided structure. A particular preferred textile structure comprises a warp-knitted structure.
Preferably the textile structure comprises at least one yarn. The yarn can be a monofilament, a multifilament or a spun yarn. The yarn may be made out of natural or man-made fibers, or a combination of both. Man-made fibers are fibers obtained by a manufacturing process, as distinct from natural fibers which occur naturally in fibrous form. Natural fibers include, but are not limited to silk, types of wool, such as sheep, angora or cashmere, cotton, flax, bamboo, hemp, jute and cellulose derived fibers such as viscose or rayon. Common man-made fibers include, but are not limited to polyester, polyamide, polylactic acid (PLA), polyolefins such as polypropylene, acetate, acrylics and metals or metal alloys.
In preferred embodiments the textile structure comprises a thin band of materials made of textile yarns. Such thin band can be woven, knitted or braided. An example of such textile structure comprises a narrow fabric such as a ribbon. Such ribbon has for example a width ranging between 0.5 and 20 cm, for example ranging between 1 and 5 cm. A particular preferred textile structure comprises a warp-knitted ribbon.
A textile structure according to the present invention has the advantage that it can be further processed onto or into a substrate. Furthermore, the textile structure is drapable, flexible, washable and stitchable. A further advantage of a textile structure according to the present invention is that it can easily be cut at the desired length. This makes a textile structure according to the present invention very convenient to be used for decoration applications. The desired length can be cut from a textile structure, for example from a roll of a textile structure. The textile structure cut at the desired length can then be connected with a power supply and/or can be connected to a substrate such as a garment for example by gluing, stitching, pasting, welding and needling.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention a method to manufacture a textile structure comprising at least one electrical component. The method to manufacture a textile structure comprises for example weaving, braiding or knitting at least one yarn and at least one enveloped electrical component as described above.
In a preferred embodiment the method to manufacture a textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component comprises warp-knitting. In such method the at least one enveloped electrical component is preferably used as weft thread. In a first example the enveloped electrical component is kept straight in the final textile structure. In a second example the enveloped electrical component is positioned in a non-straight way, for example in a zig-zag like way in the final textile structure. In the first example the electrical component can be pulled out of the textile structure, in the second example it is impossible or very hard to pull out the enveloped electrical component out of the textile structure.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention a method to connect a textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component as described above to a substrate is provided. The method comprises the steps of

providing a textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component as described above;
providing a substrate;
cutting said textile structure at a predetermined length;
connecting said textile structure cut at a predetermined length to said substrate;
connecting said textile structure with a power source.

The term 'substrate' refers to any type of object to which a textile structure can be connected. Substrates include utilitarian objects, decorative objects, protective or household objects. Such objects comprise for example clothing, such as a shirts, jackets, caps, hats, shoes, beds, chairs, Christmas trees, flowers, carpets, furniture, such as poufs, sofas, chairs and the like. Substrates include component materials for making an object or for direct use. Such substrate can be wood, plastic, foil, foam, a textile material, cork, glass, silicone and the like. Such direct use can be use such as wall covering, curtains and the like. Preferred substrates comprise garments.
Cutting the textile structure according to the present invention can be done by any technique that is able to cut the textile structure at the desired length so that all different aspects of the textile structure and the electrical component is cut at the desired length. These techniques can be, but are not limited to, slicing, laser cutting and using scissors. Preferably according to the present invention scissors are used to cut the textile structure at the desired length.
Connecting a textile structure according to the present invention to a substrate or object can be done by any technique that is able to temporary or permanently connect, attach or adhere a textile structure to or onto a substrate. These techniques can be, but are not limited to, gluing, stitching, pasting, welding and needling. Preferably according to the present invention the textile structure is stitched onto a substrate.
As power source any available power source that is capable to actively power the electrical component in the textile structure can be considered. These sources can be, but are not limited to, batteries, plug in, solar panels and the like. Preferably batteries are used to power the electrical component. When the textile structure is attached to a textile substrate and it has to be washed, it is possible to take the battery out of the substrate.
Connecting the power source with the enveloped electrical component or with a textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component can be done by any available method that is capable to bring the power to the electrical component. These connecting methods can be, but are not limited to, push buttons, cable connections and the like.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described into more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings whereby

Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 show different embodiments of enveloped electrical components according to the present invention;
Figure 4 show a textile structure comprising an enveloped electrical component according to the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.
Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of an enveloped electrical component 5 according to the present invention. The enveloped electrical component 5 comprises an electrical component 1 and an envelopment 2. The envelopment 2 is obtained by circular knitting six yarns around the electrical component 1.
The electrical component 1 used in this specific example was a LED decorated string, with one LED every 6 centimeters.
The envelopment 2 of the electrical component 1 was obtained by using 330 dtex polyester yarns on a 6 cylinder Semel knitting machine. These yarns were circularly knitted round the electrical component 1 so that the electrical component 1 is not visible any more. Because of the low mechanical properties of the LED string, the machine speed was adjusted to a lower speed to be able to perform the circular knitting.
Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of an enveloped electrical component 5 according to the present invention. The enveloped electrical component 5 comprises an electrical component 1 and an envelopment 3. The envelopment 3 is obtained by circular knitting a yarn around the electrical component 1.
Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of an enveloped electrical component 6 according to the present invention. The enveloped electrical component 5 comprises an electrical component 1 and an envelopment 4. The envelopment 4 is obtained by braiding yarns around the electrical component 1.
Figure 4 shows a textile structure 6 in which an enveloped electrical component as for example an enveloped electrical component 5 shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 or Figure 3 is integrated. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4 the enveloped electrical component 5 is used as a weft thread in a warp knitting process to produce a textile structure 6. The textile structure 6 comprises for example a ribbon width a width of 3 centimeter. By the warp knitted construction it was possible to place the enveloped electrical component 5 in the middle of the ribbon. Polyester yarns with a linear density of 330 dtex were used to perform the warp knitting. Six yarns were used on a Comez warp knitting machine. Preferably, after the knitting action, the textile structure 6 goes directly through walsing rolls, that have a pressure of for example 1 bar, to consolidate the textile structure 6.
The textile structure 6 is for example used to decorate a piece of clothing for example to decorate a collar of a shirt with an illuminable ribbon.
43 centimeters of the so produced ribbon were cut from the textile structure 6 with a pair of scissors. This piece of ribbon was stitched to the outside of the collar of the shirt. The wire of the electrical component were connected on the back side of the shirt with a cable to a battery pack of 3.7 V that was inserted in an inner pocket of the shirt.
The resulting shirt was washed, after removing the battery pack, ten times on a washing cycle of 30°C. After washing and inserting the battery pack, the LED string still illuminated.

Claims

An enveloped electrical component (5) comprising an electrical component (1) and an envelopment (2, 3, 4) surrounding said electrical component, characterized in that said envelopment (2, 3, 4) is in direct contact with said electrical component (1) and comprises a textile structure being provided around said electrical component (1) by a textile operation.
An enveloped electrical component (5) according to claim 1, whereby said electrical component (1) comprises at least one elongated conductive element provided with at least one lighting component.
An enveloped electrical component (5) according to claim 2, whereby said at least one lighting component comprises a light emitting diode (LED).
An enveloped electrical component (5) according to any one of the preceding claims, whereby said textile structure of said envelopment (2, 3, 4) comprises a braided or knitted structure, such as a circular knitted structure.
An enveloped electrical component (5) according to any one of the preceding claims, whereby said textile structure of said envelopment (2, 3, 4) comprises at least one yarn.
A method of manufacturing an enveloped electrical component (5), said method comprising the steps of
- providing at least one electrical component (1),

- enveloping said at least one electrical component (1) with an envelopment (2, 3, 4) by a textile operation to provide said electrical component (1) with an envelopment (2, 3, 4) being in direct contact with said electrical component (1).
A method according to claim 6, whereby said textile operation comprises knitting, braiding or core spinning.
A method according to claim 6 or 7, whereby said textile operation comprises circular knitting or braiding a textile structure around said at least one electrical component (1).
A textile structure comprising at least one enveloped electrical component (5) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 5.
A textile structure (6) according to claim 9, whereby said textile structure (6) comprises a woven structure, a braided structure or a knitted structure, for example a warp-knitted structure.
A textile structure (6) according to claim 9 or claim 10, whereby said textile structure (6) comprises a ribbon.
A method of manufacturing of manufacturing a textile structure (6) comprising at least one enveloped electrical component, said method comprises the step of weaving, braiding or knitting at least one enveloped electrical component (5) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 5 and at least one yarn.
A method according to claim 12, whereby said knitting comprises warp-knitting.
A method of connecting a textile structure (6) as defined in any one of claims 9 to 11 to a substrate, said method comprising the steps of
- providing a textile structure (6) as defined in any one of claims 8 to 10;

- providing a substrate;

- cutting said textile structure (6) at a predetermined length;

- connecting said textile structure (6) cut at a predetermined length with said substrate;

- connecting said textile structure (6) with a power source.