An apparatus and method of manufacturing same is provided. The apparatus comprises a base layer integrated with an article; an electrode mounted adjacent to a conductive layer, both the electrode and conductive layer mounted on the base layer; an active electrode board in electrical communication with the conductive layer and the electrode, the active electrode board configured receive and/or send electrical signals from the electrode. The electrode comprises filaments or filament yarn knitted into a textile. The filaments or filament yarn comprise thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) blended with one or multiple conductive filler/s for improving impedance at the skin-electrode interface.

Electrical components may have plastic packages. Contacts may be formed on exterior surfaces of the plastic packages. A plastic package for an electrical component may have an elongated shape that extends along a longitudinal axis. A first groove may run parallel to the longitudinal axis on a lower surface of the plastic package. A second groove may run perpendicular to the first groove on an opposing upper surface of the plastic package. The electrical components may be coupled to fibers in a fabric such as a woven fabric. A first solder connection may be formed between the first groove and a first fiber such as a weft fiber. A second solder connection may be formed between the second groove and a second fiber such as a warp fiber.

A yarn has a first conductive yarn having conductivity, a first insulating section covering the first conductive yarn and formed of an insulating material having absorbency, and a second conductive yarn having conductivity and disposed on an outer circumferential side of the first insulating section.

An insulated nanofiber having a continuous nanofiber collection extending along a longitudinal axis with an outside surface and an inside portion is described. A first material infiltrates the inside portion, where the outside surface of the nanofiber collection is substantially free of the first material. An electrically-insulating second material coats the outside surface of the nanofiber collection. A method of making an insulated nanofiber collection is also disclosed.

A pre-fabricated sensor assembly for an interactive object including an object substrate is provided. The pre-fabricated sensor assembly includes a touch sensor comprising a plurality of flexible sensing elements, a first electronics module comprising sensing circuitry in electrical communication with the plurality of flexible sensing elements, a communication interface comprising a first end portion coupled to the first electronics module and comprising a second end portion, a receptacle coupled to the second end portion of the communication interface, and one or more flexible retaining layers that define a housing for a first portion of the pre-fabricated sensor assembly. The first portion of the pre-fabricated sensor assembly can include at least a portion of each of the plurality of flexible sensing elements.

The present invention provides an anisotropic, thermal conductive, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composite including a plurality of aligned polymer nanofibers to form a polymer mat or scaffold having a first and second planes of orientation of the polymer nanofibers. The first plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers has a thermal conductivity substantially the same as or similar to that of the second plane, and the thermal conductivity of the first or second plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers is at least 2-fold of that of a third plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers which is about 90 degrees out of the first and second planes of orientation of the polymer nanofibers, respectively, while the electrical resistance of each of the first and second planes is at least 3 orders lower than that of the third plane. A method for preparing the present composite is also provided.

A method for producing a sheet having nanofibers that contain a piezoelectric polymer material. The method including dissolving a piezoelectric polymer material into a solvent so as to prepare a spinning solution; preheating a target board before nanofibers are formed by electrospinning the spinning solution; and, after the heating of the target board, receiving the nanofibers formed by electrospinning onto the heated target board so as to form the nanofibers into a sheet on the heated target board.

A color-changing product includes a fabric. At least a portion of the fabric includes or is arranged using at least one of (i) a color-changing fiber or (ii) a color-changing yarn including the color-changing fiber. The color-changing fiber includes an electrically conductive core having a first tensile strength, a reinforcement core having a second tensile strength that is greater than the first tensile strength, and a coating disposed around and along the electrically conductive core and the reinforcement core. The coating includes a polymeric material having a color-changing pigment.

Weaving equipment may include warp strand positioning equipment that positions warp strands and weft strand positioning equipment that inserts weft strands among the warp strands to form fabric. The fabric may include insulating strands and conductive strands. The conductive strands may be coupled to electrical components. The warp strand positioning equipment may position the warp strands to form a shed. Component insertion equipment may be used to insert electrical components into the shed. The weaving equipment may have a reed. The reed may be used to help position an electrical component in the fabric. The weaving equipment may have take-down equipment and individually controllable warp fiber positioning and tensioning devices.

The invention relates to an embodiment in which the textile component comprises at least one flexible thread that can be woven. A plurality of semiconductor columns are attached in or on the thread and are configured to generate radiation. Furthermore, a plurality of electrical lines are located in or on the thread, by means of which lines the semiconductor columns are electrically contacted. An average height (H) of the semiconductor columns in a direction transverse to a longitudinal direction (L) of the thread is at most 20% of an average diameter (D) of the thread.