Functional Fiber and Panel Interconnect for Electronic Textiles

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/656,454, filed Jun. 5, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Electronic textiles (also known as “e-textiles”) may include fabrics, garments, and/or clothing articles having at least one functional fiber woven into the fabric. Functional fibers can perform one or more functions including, for example, energy generation, energy storage, activity sensors, data transmission, and more. In this way, e-textiles can have numerous applications across various industries (e.g., athletics or military).

According to one aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus can include a fabric panel comprising a first edge and an electrically nonconductive material, a plurality of electrically conductive fibers integrated in the fabric panel, the plurality of electrically conductive fibers having ends adjacent to or located at the first edge, and being optionally insulated. The apparatus can also include a flexible electrical connector disposed adjacent to or located at the first edge, the flexible electrical connector comprising a flexible substrate, wherein the ends of the plurality of electrically conductive fibers are electrically coupled to the flexible electrical connector.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus can include a fabric panel comprising a first edge and an electrically nonconductive material, a plurality of pairs of electrically conductive fibers integrated in the fabric panel, each electrically conductive fiber comprising a first end adjacent to or located at the first edge, and a flexible electrical connector disposed adjacent to or located at the first edge. The flexible electrical connector can include a flexible substrate, a first electrically conductive area on the flexible substrate, a second electrically conductive area on the flexible substrate, and a deposition of non-conductive dielectric material on the flexible substrate, wherein at least one of the first ends of the electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the first electrically conductive area of the flexible electrical connector, wherein at least one of the first ends of the electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the second electrically conductive area of the flexible electrical connector.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus can include a first fabric panel comprising a first edge and a plurality of first electrically conductive fibers, the plurality of first electrically conductive fibers having ends adjacent to or located at the first edge, and a second fabric panel comprising a second edge and a plurality of second electrically conductive fibers, the plurality of second electrically conductive fibers having ends adjacent to or located at the second edge. The apparatus can further include a flexible electrical connector disposed between the first edge of the first fabric panel and the second edge of the second fabric panel, the connector comprising a flexible substrate and an electrical connection route, the electrical connection route at least partially comprising a non-conductive dielectric material, wherein the ends of the plurality of the first electrically conductive fibers and the ends of the plurality of second electrically conductive fibers are electrically coupled to the flexible electrical connector, and wherein at least one of the first electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to one of the second electrically conductive fibers via the electrical connection route of the flexible electrical connector.

These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

To form an e-textile garment, a number of e-textile panels may need to be assembled. For example, a conventional T-shirt may include four fabric panels: a front panel, a back panel, and two sleeve panels. Depending on the application, it may be desirable for two or more panels of the e-textile garment (e.g., both the front and back panels of a T-shirt) to include functional fibers. As recognized by the inventors, it may be desirous to have the functional fibers of the panels of the garment be connected in such a manner which maintains, for example, the flexibility, foldability, and/or comfort, etc. of the e-textile garment.

As discovered by the inventors, one or more embodiments disclosed herein may serve as a solution for connecting functional fibers of e-textiles. In some embodiments, fiber-to-fiber and panel-to-panel e-textile interconnects are disclosed and can accommodate the termination of ends of functional fibers. In some embodiments, fiber-to-bus interconnect misalignment and/or inconsistent pitch spacing between connected fibers may be alleviated.

In some embodiments, functional fiber-to-fiber and e-textile panel-to-panel connections may be provided for a so-called smart garment. These connections can depend on the electrical connection of the terminals of functional fibers—which can be woven into the garment fabric—to a mechanically flexible bus substrate. As discovered by the inventors, by locating a bus connector in a garment's seams-which are naturally thicker than the fabric panels-relatively thick connectors and connector assemblies can be “hidden” in the seams such that user comfort is not sacrificed. The functional fibers, which can be woven together and connected via the bus, in turn may form a functional garment panel. As discovered by the inventors, a similar connection method can be used to connect and integrate multiple functional panels together into a full garment. These panel-to-panel connection busses can reside within the seams of the garment and connect the functional panels together. The in-seam busses can in turn route to a terminal or hub on the garment for connecting to external systems. As an end-use application, the garment can be, for example, a shirt, a pair of pants or trousers, a coat, a shoe, a hat, or any other article of clothing.

As discovered by the inventors, to achieve such in-seam connections, polymers and/or anisotropically-conductive adhesives can be used to enable high-density, direct fiber-to-fiber connections to a flexible bus. In this way, the need for bulky, conventional connectors or high levels of fiber-to-bus alignment and post process bonding can be avoided. In some embodiments, aerosol jet printed conductors with custom-toolpath capability can allow fiber-to-fiber and panel-to-panel connections to be highly modular and tolerant to misalignment. In some embodiments, the electrical terminals of the functional fibers can be coupled to an anisotropically-conductive adhesive positioned on the bus to form a direct electrical connection and adhesive bond to the bus.

depicts a perspective view of an exemplary connector assemblyA. Connector assemblyA can include a smart fabric panelincluding at least one edgeA at an end of the panel. The panelmay be a panel of electrically nonconductive material (e.g., cotton, polyester, wool, etc.) which also includes one or more electrically conductive fibersintegrated therein. The fibersmay be functional fibers. In some embodiments, the fiberscan be insulated. The fiberscan be located at or adjacent to the edgeA of the fabric panel. The endsA of the fiberscan be located over or past the edgeA of the fabric panel. The endsA of the fibersmay include fiber terminalsB, which may be used to electrically connect the fibersto another component.

As previously explained, to create an e-textile (such as a smart garment), the fiberscan include at least one functional fiber. Any number or combination of functional fibers are included without limitation, with examples of at least one functional fibercan be or more of an energy generation fiber, an energy storage fiber, an active sensor fiber, a responsive, local-emissions fiber (e.g., acoustic, thermal, haptic, electromagnetic), or a transmitting device.

The connector assemblyA can also include a flexible electrical connector(also referred to herein as “connector”) which is located at or adjacent to the edgeA of panel. The flexible electrical connectormay include a non-conductive flexible substrate. In some embodiments, to improve usability and comfort to the user, the connectorcan be flexible, which can be achieved, for example, with the flexible substrate. The flexible substratemay be made of, for example, polyimide or polyester film. The connectormay include conductive substrate terminals (or bus lines)disposed on the flexible substrate. The conductive substrate terminalsmay be electrically connected to other components. In, the connectoris shown having two conductive substrate terminals. In some embodiments, the connectormay have one, two, three, four, five, or more conductive substrate terminals. In some embodiments, the connectorcan include any number of conductive substrate terminalswhich are electrically isolated from each other.

Because the fibersand the connectorcan both be adjacent to or located at the edgeA of the panel, the endsA of the fiberscan be electrically coupled to the connector. The endsA of the fibersmay overlay on the connector. The fiber terminalsB at the endsA of the fibersmay overlay on the connector.

To electrically couple the connectorand the various fibers, aerosol jet printing may be used to print electrical conductorsbetween respective fiber terminalsB (e.g., for a fiber-to-fiber connection) or between fiber terminalsB and conductive substrate terminalsdisposed on the flexible substrate. The conductorsmay be, for example, silver, gold, platinum, nickel, copper, or aluminum.

In some embodiments, the fiberscan include at least one pair of fibers. Each pair of fiberscan include a positive-designated fiber and a negative-designated fiber. The positive-designated fiber can be connected to a positive-designated fiber terminalB+, and the negative-designated fiber can be connected to a negative-designated fiber terminalB−. In, for each fiber, a positive-designated fiber terminalB+ and a negative-designated fiber terminalB− are shown; however, for each fiber, a positive-designated fiber and a negative-designated fiber are not shown.

In some embodiments, the connectorcan include two or more substrate terminalsto connect to the respective fibers. As shown in, some embodiments can include a positive-designated substrate terminal+ and a negative-designated substrate terminal−.

In some embodiments, such as shown in, the positive substrate terminal+ can be connected to a positive fiber terminalB+ with an aerosol-jet-printed conductor(also referred to herein as “conductor”); the negative substrate terminal− can be electrically connected to a negative fiber terminalB− with a different conductor; and the positive terminal+ can in turn be connected to the (i) negative substrate terminal− or (ii) the negative fiber terminalB− of an adjacent fiberwith other conductors, depending on how many functional fibers are to be used in the garment.

The fiberscan be connected to the connectorin series or parallel. For example,depict a connectorwith fibersconnected in series. On the other hand,depicts a connectorwith fibersconnected in parallel.

In some embodiments, the substratecan include an electrical routing bus which may have a number of conductive bus lines (eg. PWR, GND, Signal, etc.) to accommodate various terminalsfrom the functional fibers. In some embodiments, the bus substratecan include, for example, a single layer of conductive bus lines, a substrate with bus lines on both sides, or a multilayer bus substrate with layers interconnected with electrical via structures.

In some embodiments, to electrically isolate the fibersfrom each other, such as illustrated in, a non-conductive adhesiveor other suitable material can be disposed on the connectorand between and/or around the fibers. In some embodiments, to electrically isolate the fibersand the connector, the adhesivecan be disposed between the fibersand the connector. In some embodiments, to electrically isolate the fiber terminalsB and the substrate terminals, the adhesivecan be disposed between the fiber terminalsB and the substrate terminals. In some embodiments, the adhesivecan be a non-conductive dielectric material. In some embodiments, the adhesiveor other material can be applied to the connectorby aerosol jet printing, with a syringe, or any other suitable method, prior to printing, applying, or adding the conductors. In this way, the adhesivecan be positioned on the substrateand under the conductors. In some embodiments, the adhesivecan be applied only between the fiber terminalsB and the substrate terminalsto adhere the fibersto the flexible substratesuch that the conductorsare printed, applied, or added to electrically connect the fiber terminalsB and the substrate terminals.

depicts a perspective view of an exemplary connector assemblyB. The connector assemblyB is the same as the connector assemblyA of, except that the fibersare connected to the connectorin a different configuration. As illustrated in, the positive and negative fiber terminalsB+,B− at each respective fiber endB are arranged in line with the respect to a longitudinal axis of each fiber, such that when the connector assemblyA is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the connector assemblyA, the conductorsare printed in a diagonal direction. In contrast, as illustrated in, the positive and negative fiber terminalsB+,B− at each respective fiber endB are arranged side-by-side in parallel with the respect to the longitudinal axis of each fiber, such that when the connector assemblyA is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the connector assemblyA, the conductorsare printed perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of each fiberand parallel or substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the connector. One skilled in the art will understand that other configurations of fiber terminalsB and conductorsmay also be possible.

depicts parts of an exemplary connector assemblyhaving anisotropic adhesive material. The connector assemblyis the same as the connector assemblyA of, except the connector assemblyincludes an anisotropically-conductive material. For ease of discussion, the non-conductive adhesiveofis not shown in the connector assemblyof. In the connector assembly, the connectorcan be electrically coupled to the fiberswith the anisotropically-conductive material. For example, the anisotropically-conductive materialcan be adhered on one side to the terminalsB on the endsA of the fibers; on the other side, the anisotropically-conductive materialcan be adhered to the substrate terminals. Because of the anisotropic electrical conductivity quality of the material, the anisotropically-conductive materialis capable of conducting electrical current predominantly or mostly in a single direction, e.g., in the direction of the Z-axis depicted inand/or normal to a top faceA of the flexible substrate. In some embodiments, this anisotropic materialcan be a double-sided, z-axis electrically conductive tape (also referred to hereinafter as “Z-tape” or “Z-axis tape”), such as 3M™ Electrically Conductive Adhesive Transfer Tape. One skilled in the art will understand that other commercially available or non-commercial anisotropic adhesive materials can be used. In this way, arrowA depicts connectorbeing flipped such that the substrate terminalsare adhered to the anisotropic material. ArrowB points to the resulting, assembled connector assembly, which is a bottom view compared to a top view in.

depict exemplary connector assemblies for connecting pairs of e-textile fabric panels having functional fibers, anddepict exemplary connector assemblies having anisotropic adhesive material for connecting pairs of e-textile fabric panels having functional fibers. With embodiments such as depicted in, an article of clothing having two or more e-textile fabric panels may be manufactured. Accordingly,depict connector assemblies,,for a smart garment including (i) two fabric panels,and (ii) two sets of fibers,corresponding thereto, which are electrically connected by the connectorusing aerosol jet printing as described above.depict embodimentsandwhich also include two sets of fibers,which correspond to two fabric panels,which are electrically connected by the flexible connectorusing an anisotropically-conductive materialas described above. Althoughdo not depict panels,for purposes of visual clarity, one skilled in the art will understand that the panels,can be integrated into embodimentsandin the same manner shown in.

More specifically, connector assemblies,,,,can include smart fabric panels,each of the panels,including at least one edgeA,A. The panels,can each also include one or more electrically conductive fibers,which are integrated therein. In this way, the fibers,can be located at or adjacent to the respective edgesA,A of the fabric panels,. In some embodiments, the fibers,can be insulated. The connector assembly,,,,can also include a connectorwhich is located at or adjacent to the edgesA,A of panels,. To improve usability and comfort to the user, the connectorcan be flexible, which can be achieved by using the flexible substrate, as explained above. Because the fibers,and the connectorcan both be adjacent to or located at the edgesA,A of the panels,, the endsA,A of the fibers,can be electrically coupled to the connector.

According to known methods of manufacturing e-textiles, it is extremely challenging to electrically connect fibers,of adjacent panels,because doing so generally requires alignment of the fibersof the first panelwith the fibersof the second panel. Due to the small size of the fibers,, such an alignment can be difficult and costly to achieve. As is shown in, however, the fibersof the first paneldo not need to be perfectly aligned with the fibersof the second panelto electrically connect the fibers,of the two panels,. Due to the printing, applying, or adding the conductors, for example, the fibersof the first paneldo not need to be perfectly aligned with the fibersof the second panelto electrically connect the fibers,of the two panels,. In some embodiments, the conductorscan be printed onto the non-conductive adhesiveafter the fibers,have been secured in place by the adhesive. Therefore, the conductors, which connect the fibersof the first panelwith corresponding fibersof the second panel, can be printed to follow any electrical connection route needed regardless of the alignment of the corresponding fibers,.

The particular configuration in which the various fibers,and the substrate terminalsare electrically connected can be referred to as the electrical connection route. As explained above and as is seen in, the fibersof the first paneland corresponding the fibersof the second panelare slightly misaligned; therefore, the electrical connection route includes a number of conductorswhich have a zig-zag shape, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the connector assembly. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the conductorsmay have other shapes as well,

In some embodiments, the electrical connection route can be configured as follows. The first and second panels,can each include at least one pair of fibers i.e., four total fibers, such that one fiberof the first panelis electrically connected to a corresponding fiberof the second panelwith a conductor, and a second fiberof the first panelis connected to a corresponding fiberof the second panelwith a conductor. As shown in, the connectorcan include two bus-board linesA,B. As an example, bus-board lineA may be a positive-designated bus-board line, and bus-board lineB may be a negative-designated bus-board line. Therefore, a first set of corresponding fibers,from the first and second panels,(i.e., fibers(),(),(),()) can be electrically connected to the first bus-board lineA, and a second set of corresponding fibers,from the first and second panels,(i.e., fibers(),(),(),()) can be electrically connected to the second bus-board lineB. As previously explained with respect to, the use of conductorscan accommodate any misalignment between each respective set of corresponding fibers,by utilizing a zig-zag electrical connection route, or any other suitably-shaped electrical connection route. Additionally, when bus-board linesA,B are utilized (as is the case in), the use of conductorscan accommodate any misalignment between fibers,and the bus-boardsA,B.

depicts connector assemblyhaving a different electrical connection route compared to the electrical connection route of. As shown in, the connectorincludes three bus-board linesA,B, andC. As an example, bus-board lineA may be a positive-designated bus-board line, bus-board lineB may be a negative-designated bus-board line, and bus-board lineC may be a common-designated bus-board line. In this way, all of the fiberscan be electrically connected to the common bus-board lineC. As previously explained with respect to, the use of conductorscan accommodate any misalignment between each respective set of corresponding fibers,and/or bus-board linesA,B by utilizing a zig-zag or other suitably-shaped electrical connection route. Additionally, when common bus-board lineC is utilized (as is the case in), the use of conductorscan also accommodate any misalignment between fibers,and the common bus-boardC.

depict connector assembliesand, respectively, having anisotropically-conductive material, a connectorhaving a plurality of terminals, and no conductors. One skilled in the art will understand that the connectormay include any number of terminals, such as one, two, three, four, five, or more terminals. In some embodiments, the connectorcan have two or more terminals(),() which are arranged in a single layer—i.e., on a single plane which is located on or parallel to the top surfaceA of flexible substrate—to form a single-layer bus-board. In this way, sets of corresponding fibers()-(),()-() from the first and second panels,(not shown) can be electrically connected to the terminal()-(), respectively, through anisotropic material. Therefore, the electrical connection route runs from a particular fiber, through anisotropically-conductive material, then across a terminal, through anisotropic material, and through a corresponding fiber. Similar to arrowA of, arrowA depicts connectorbeing flipped such that the substrate terminalsare adhered to the anisotropic material.

As compared to the connector assemblyin, the connector assemblyinincludes a connectorhaving terminalsarranged in multiple layers to form a multi-layer bus-board—i.e., on two distinct planes which are parallel to the top surfaceA of flexible substrate. More specifically, the multi-layer bus-board can include a first bus-board layerand a second bus-board layer. One skilled in the art will understand that any number of bus-board layers can be used. In this way, sets of corresponding fibers()-(),()-() of the first and second panels,(not shown) can be electrically connected to the terminals()-(), respectively, of the first bus-board layer. The first bus-board layer can be electrically isolated from the second bus-board layer, yet current can pass through a terminal()-() of the first bus-board layerto a terminal(),() of the second bus-board layervia a number of electrical vias(and vice versa). By isolating the viasfrom the first bus-board layer, therefore, the fibers,can simultaneously pass electrical signals to each of the bus-board layers,. Similar to arrowA of, arrowA depicts connectorbeing flipped such that the substrate terminalsare adhered to the anisotropic material.

Regardless of whether a connector assembly utilizes the aerosol jet printed connectors or the Z-tape to connect the fibers,and the connector, the connector assembly can be encapsulated in a thermoset polymer to reinforce the fiber-to-bus connection.

The invention includes other illustrative embodiments (“Embodiments”) as follows.

Embodiment 1. An apparatus comprising: a fabric panel comprising a first edge and an electrically nonconductive material; a plurality of electrically conductive fibers integrated in the fabric panel, the plurality of electrically conductive fibers: having ends adjacent to or located at the first edge; and being optionally insulated; and a flexible electrical connector disposed adjacent to or located at the first edge, the flexible electrical connector comprising a flexible substrate, wherein the ends of the plurality of electrically conductive fibers are electrically coupled to the flexible electrical connector.

Embodiment 2. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive fibers comprise at least one functional fiber.

Embodiment 3. The apparatus of embodiment 2, wherein the at least one functional fiber comprises at least one of an energy generation fiber, an energy storage fiber, an active sensor fiber, a local-emissions fiber, or a transmitting device.

Embodiment 4. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein at least a first electrically conductive fiber of the plurality of electrically conductive fibers is electrically coupled to a second electrically conductive fiber of the plurality of electrically conductive fibers with an aerosol-jet-printed conductor.

Embodiment 4A. The apparatus of embodiment 1, further comprising an aerosol-jet-printed adhesive disposed on or proximate the flexible substrate.

Embodiment 5. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein an end of at least one of the plurality of electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the flexible electrical connector with an anisotropic material.

Embodiment 5A. The apparatus of embodiment 6, wherein the anisotropic material is conductive in a direction normal to a face of the flexible electrical connector.

Embodiment 6. The apparatus of embodiment 6, wherein the anisotropic material is a z-axis electrically conductive tape.

Embodiment 7. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the apparatus is one of a garment or an article of clothing.

Embodiment 7A. The apparatus of embodiment 9, wherein the garment or article of clothing is one of a shirt, a pant, a coat, a shoe, or a hat.

Embodiment 8. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the flexible substrate comprises an electrical routing bus.

Embodiment 9. An apparatus comprising: a fabric panel comprising a first edge and an electrically nonconductive material; a plurality of pairs of electrically conductive fibers integrated in the fabric panel, each electrically conductive fiber comprising a first end adjacent to or located at the first edge; and a flexible electrical connector disposed adjacent to or located at the first edge, the flexible electrical connector comprising: a flexible substrate; a first electrically conductive area on the flexible substrate; a second electrically conductive area on the flexible substrate; and a deposition of non-conductive dielectric material on the flexible substrate, wherein at least one of the first ends of the electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the first electrically conductive area of the flexible electrical connector, wherein at least one of the first ends of the electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the second electrically conductive area of the flexible electrical connector.

Embodiment 10. The apparatus of embodiment 9, wherein: a pair of electrically conductive fibers includes a positive-designated fiber and a negative-designated fiber; the first conductive area is a positive-designated conductive area; and the second conductive area is a negative-designated conductive area.

Embodiment 11. The apparatus of embodiment 10, wherein: the positive-designated fiber of the pair of electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the positive-designated conductive area; and the negative-designated fiber of the pair of electrically conductive fibers is electrically connected to the negative-designated conductive area.

Embodiment 12. The apparatus of embodiment 10, wherein: the positive-designated fiber is electrically connected to the positive-designated conductive area; and the negative-designated fiber is electrically connected to the negative-designated conductive area.

Embodiment 13. The apparatus of embodiment 9, wherein at least two of the electrically conductive fibers are electrically connected to the flexible electrical connector in a series.

Embodiment 14. The apparatus of embodiment 9, wherein at least two of the electrically conductive fibers are electrically connected to the flexible electrical connector in parallel.