Smart garment, user terminal, system including same, and method of changing design of smart garment
11140926 · 2021-10-12
Assignee
Inventors
- Kyong Il KIM (Seoul, KR)
- Hyung Rae CHO (Seoul, KR)
- Dong Hyun Sohn (Hwaseong-si, KR)
- In Oh HWANG (Seongnam-si, KR)
Cpc classification
D01F8/00
TEXTILES; PAPER
D03D15/60
TEXTILES; PAPER
G06F3/04842
PHYSICS
G09G5/003
PHYSICS
H04N5/44
ELECTRICITY
H04N21/42204
ELECTRICITY
H04L67/12
ELECTRICITY
D03D15/547
TEXTILES; PAPER
G02F1/1334
PHYSICS
A41D31/0005
HUMAN NECESSITIES
International classification
H04N21/422
ELECTRICITY
G06F3/0484
PHYSICS
G09G5/00
PHYSICS
H04N5/44
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
The disclosed embodiments provide a smart garment on which implemented designs can be changed in terms of color, image, text, etc. Also, a system is provided that comprises: a server for providing various designs to be implemented on a smart garment; and a user terminal that can change the design of the smart garment by receiving various designs from the server and transmitting same to the smart garment. The system according to the disclosed embodiments comprises: a server including a design database for a smart garment; a user terminal for downloading a design for the smart garment from the server; and the smart garment on which the design transmitted from the user terminal is implemented.
Claims
1. A user terminal comprising: a communicator configured to communicate with a server and a smart garment; a display configured to: display a garment display area showing at least one image of at least one smart garment found in a search for smart garments, wherein the display is further configured to display a search button provided to receive a command for searching for the smart garments and a pairing button provided to receive a command for pairing with a smart garment corresponding to a first image among the at least one image shown on the garment display area; in response to a user selection of the first image corresponding to the smart garment among the at least one image shown on the garment display area and pairing the smart garment with the user terminal by touching or clicking the pairing button, display a second image of the smart garment reflecting a current design of the paired smart garment based on design information transmitted from the smart garment and received by the communicator; and in response to the user terminal receiving a second design of the smart garment transmitted from the server and received by the communicator, display the second design of the smart garment transmitted from the server and received by the communicator; and a processor configured to, in response to a user selection of the second design of the smart garment displayed on the display, transmit information of the selected second design to the smart garment to the communicator in a manner that the current design of the smart garment is changed to the second design.
2. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein, when the smart garment is paired with the user terminal through the pairing button, the display is further configured to display the paired smart garment in the garment display area.
3. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein, when a command is input via the search button, the processor is further configured to: search for the smart garments around the user terminal, and pair with the smart garment corresponding to the first image when a command is input via the pairing button.
4. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the display is further configured to display the garment display area in which the smart garment is displayed, a color selection area provided to allow a color of the smart garment displayed in the garment display area to be selected, an image selection area provided to allow an image to be implemented on the smart garment displayed in the garment display area to be selected, and a text input area provided to allow text to be implemented on the smart garment displayed in the garment display area to be input.
5. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein the display is further configured to: display the color selection area below the garment display area, display the image selection area below the color selection area, and display the text input area below the image selection area.
6. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein, when the smart garment displayed in the garment display area is paired with the user terminal, the display is further configured to display an object representing that the smart garment displayed in the garment display area is paired with the user terminal.
7. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein, when the smart garment displayed in the garment display area is changed, the display is further configured to: change a color and a type of an image displayed in the color selection area and the image selection area to a color and an image associated with the changed smart garment, and display the changed color and image.
8. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein the display is further configured to display at least one of an image received from the server, an image stored in the user terminal, and an object for driving a camera of the user terminal in the image selection area.
9. The user terminal of claim 8, wherein, when the object is selected and capturing of the camera is performed, the display is further configured to apply an image captured by the camera to the smart garment displayed in the garment display area.
10. The user terminal of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the captured image to the smart garment.
11. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein, when the image displayed in the image selection area is selected, the processor is further configured to transmit the selected image to the smart garment and the display is further configured to display the selected image on the smart garment displayed in the garment display area.
12. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein, when the color displayed in the color selection area is selected, the processor is further configured to transmit the selected color to the smart garment and the display is further configured to apply the selected color to the smart garment displayed in the garment display area.
13. The user terminal of claim 4, wherein, when text is input to the text input area, the processor s further configured to transmit the input text to the smart garment and the display is further configured to display the input text on the smart garment displayed in the garment display area.
14. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: generate a design to be implemented on the smart garment based on location information or weather information, and transmit the generated design to the smart garment through the communicator.
15. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: provide a surrounding environment recognition mode that generates a design based on surrounding information of the user terminal, and transmit the generated design to the smart garment.
16. A method of changing a design of a smart garment, the method comprising: displaying, at a user terminal, a garment display area showing at least one image of at least one found smart garment, a search button for receiving a command for searching for the smart garments, and a pairing button for receiving a command for pairing with a smart garment corresponding to a first image among the at least one image shown on the garment display area; receiving, at the user terminal, a selection of the first image among the at least one image displayed on the garment display area; receiving, at the user terminal, a second user input comprising a touching or clicking of the pairing button for pairing with the smart garment corresponding to the selected first image; receiving, at the user terminal, design information from the smart garment indicating a current design of the smart garment; displaying, at the user terminal, a second image of the smart garment reflecting the current design of the paired smart garment; receiving, at the user terminal, a second design of the smart garment including a color, an image, text, and combinations thereof from a server; displaying the second design on the user terminal; and when the second design is selected, transmitting the selected second design from the user terminal to the smart garment in a manner that the current a design of the smart garment is changed to the second design.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: searching for smart garments in the user terminal; displaying the at least one found smart garment in the user terminal; and when the first image corresponding to the smart garment is selected, pairing the smart garment with the user terminal in the user terminal.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the receiving of the second design includes, when the user terminal and the smart garment are paired, receiving, at the user terminal, identification information transmitted from the smart garment, transmitting, at the user terminal, the received identification information to the server, and receiving, at the user terminal, a design of a smart garment corresponding to the identification information transmitted from the server.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: displaying the garment display area in which the smart garment is displayed, a color selection area provided to allow a color of the smart garment displayed in the garment display area to be selected, displaying an image selection area provided to allow an image to be implemented on the smart garment displayed in the garment display area to be selected, and displaying a text input area provided to allow text to be implemented on the smart garment displayed in the garment display area to be input.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(17) Hereinafter, disclosed embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(18)
(19) Referring to
(20) The design of the smart garment 400 refers to a color, an image, text, or a combination thereof, which is displayable on the smart garment 400.
(21) A provider of the smart garment 400, such as a seller or a business operator of the smart garment 400, may upload the design implementable on the smart garment 400 to the server 200 using the provider terminal 100. In addition to the above-described garment provider, a separate design provider or purchaser may freely upload a design of the smart garment 400 to the server 200.
(22) The provider terminal 100 may include a computer capable of communicating with the server 200 or a mobile device such as a smart phone or a tablet personal computer (PC). The devices are merely examples of the provider terminal 100, and any device may be included in the range of the provider terminal 100 as long as the device is capable of communicating with the server 200.
(23) The provider of the smart garment 400 uploads identification information of the smart garment 400 on which the uploaded design can be implemented, for example, a product number, a trademark, a size, a material, and the like, when the design is uploaded to the server 200 so that a design that can be implemented on the smart garment 400 possessed by the purchaser can be easily retrieved.
(24) The server 200 stores designs of the smart garment 400 uploaded from various provider terminals 100 to build a database. The server 200 may classify and store designs by providers who have uploaded the designs and classify and store designs uploaded by the same provider according to the type of smart garment 400. A user may access the server 200 through the user terminal 300 and download the design from the server 200 after undergoing a predetermined authentication process.
(25) When the user inputs the identification information of the smart garment 400, for example, the product number, the trademark, the size, the material, and the like, through the user terminal 300 after undergoing the authentication process, the user may download a design of the smart garment 400 associated with the input identification information from the server 200 to the user terminal 300.
(26) The user terminal 300 may include a computer capable of communicating with the server 200 or a mobile device such as a smart phone or a tablet PC. The devices are merely examples of the user terminal 300, and any device may be included in the range of the user terminal 300 as long as the device is capable of communicating with the server 200. More specifically, the user terminal may include a communicator capable of communicating with the server or the smart garment, a display configured to display a user interface for changing a design of the smart garment, and a processor configured to generate a signal including a design of the smart garment and transmit the signal to the smart garment through the communicator when the design of the smart garment displayed on the display is selected.
(27) The user terminal 300 may serve as the provider terminal 100 when the design of the smart garment 400 is uploaded to the server 200 through the user terminal 300, and even the provider terminal 100 may serve as the user terminal 300 when the provider terminal 100 downloads the design of the smart garment from the server 200.
(28) The user terminal 300 transmits design information selected by the user from the design downloaded from the server 200 or a previously stored design to the smart garment 400.
(29) The smart garment 400 includes a connection module 420 that may receive the design information transmitted from the user terminal 300 and change the design of the smart garment 400 based on the received information.
(30) As shown in
(31) The connection module 420 of the smart garment 400 will be first described in detail with reference to
(32) Referring to
(33) As shown in
(34) The communicator 427 of the connection module 420 is connected to the user terminal 300 through a communication scheme, such as a wireless local area network (LAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, an ultra-wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), near field communication (NFC), and the like.
(35) The driver 421 is connected to electrodes of color-changing fibers constituting the smart garment 400, which will be described below, and applies a voltage to the electrodes according to the signal generated by the processor 423 so that the design of the smart garment 400 is changed. Only one driver 421 may be provided or a plurality of drivers 421 may be provided.
(36) The memory 425 may include not only a volatile memory, such as a static random access memory (S-RAM), a dynamic RAM (D-RAM), and the like, but also a flash memory, such as a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), and the like.
(37) As shown in
(38) For example, the connection module 420 may include the communicator 427 and the driver 421. In this case, the communicator 427 may receive the control signal generated by the processor of the user terminal 300, and the driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying a voltage to the smart garment 400 according to the control signal received by the communicator 427.
(39) Alternatively, the connection module 420 may include the communicator 427, the processor 423, and the driver 421. In this case, when the communicator 427 receives the signal including the design information transmitted from the user terminal 300, the processor 423 generates the control signal for controlling the driver 421 according to the signal received by the communicator 427 and outputs the control signal to the driver 421. The driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying a voltage to the smart garment 400 according to the control signal output from the processor 423 of the connection module 420.
(40) Alternatively, the connection module may include the communicator 427, the processor 423, the driver 421, and the memory 425. In this case, when the communicator 427 receives the signal including the design information transmitted from the user terminal 300, the memory 425 stores the design information included in the signal received by the communicator 427. Also, the memory 425 may store information related to a current design of the smart garment 400. In addition, the processor 423 generates the control signal for controlling the driver 421 according to the signal received by the communicator 427 and outputs the control signal to the driver 421. The driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying the voltage to the smart garment 400 according to the control signal output from the processor 423.
(41) Alternatively, the connection module 420 may include the communicator 427, the processor 423, the driver 421, the memory 425, and the battery 429. When light emitting diodes are used as the color-changing fibers constituting the smart garment 400, the battery 429 may be needed to supply power to the light emitting didoes. In addition, when cholesteric liquid crystals, electronic ink, or electrochromic devices having bistability are used as fabrics constituting the smart garment 400, the battery 429 may be omitted. Descriptions of the remaining configurations are the same as the above descriptions, and thus will be omitted.
(42) Alternatively, as shown in
(43) Meanwhile,
(44) An application for changing a design of the smart garment 400 may be installed in the user terminal 300. The application may provide a user interface related to pairing the smart garment 400 with the user terminal 300, changing a design of the smart garment 400, and the like through a display of the user terminal 300.
(45) Referring to
(46) The user terminal 300 searches for the smart garment 400 and transmits a signal to the nearby smart garment 400 to be paired with the smart garment 400. When the nearby smart garment 400 receives the signal transmitted from the user terminal 300 and transmits a signal in response to the received transmitted signal to the user terminal 300, the user terminal 300 and the smart garment 400 are paired. As described above, the pairing of the smart garment 400 and the user terminal 300 may be performed through a communication scheme, such as a LAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, a UWB, IrDA, BLE, NFC, and the like.
(47)
(48) The user interface may include a garment display area 310 at an upper portion thereof where an image of the paired smart garment 400 is displayed, a color selection area 320 displayed below the garment display area 310 and provided to allow a color of the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310 to be selected, an image selection area 330 displayed below the color selection area 320 and provided to allow an image to be implemented on the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310 to be selected, and a text input area 340 provided below the image selection area 330 and provided to allow text to be displayed on the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310 to be input. Positions of the garment display area 310, the color selection area 320, the image selection area 330, and the text input area 340 are not limited to the above-described positions, and may be variously set. For example, the user may change the positions as desired through application settings. The user may select a desired color or image or may input text through the user interface, and the user terminal 300 transmits a signal including information selected or input through the user interface to the smart garment 400 so that the design of the smart garment 400 can be changed. The connection module 420 of the smart garment 400 according to the present embodiment may include at least the connector 428, as shown in
(49) The image of the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310 may be a representative image set as a default in association with the paired smart garment 400. For example, when the paired smart garment 400 is a short-sleeved t-shirt, a representative image that does not reflect a shape or the like of the paired short-sleeved t-shirt and is designed to allow the user to intuitively recognize that the smart garment is a short-sleeved t-shirt may be displayed in the garment display area 310. According to another embodiment, an image similar to the actual smart garment 400 reflecting a current design of the smart garment 400 may be displayed in the garment display area 310, which will be described below with reference to
(50) The color selection area 320 may be displayed in various colors in a matrix form, as shown in
(51) The image selection area 330 may display images including a pattern or design stored in advance in the user terminal 300 in association with the paired smart garment 400, as shown in
(52) As described above, in addition to the images stored in advance in the user terminal 300 in association with the paired smart garment 400, images, such as photographs stored in the user terminal 300, may also be displayed in the image selection area 330. In addition, an object for driving a camera may also be displayed to display an image directly captured by the camera of the user terminal 300 on the smart garment 400. That is, when the user touches the object or clicks the object through an inputter, the camera installed in the user terminal 300 is driven so that the user can acquire a desired image by camera capturing. When camera capturing is performed, the captured image may be displayed on the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310. The user may select an image displayed in the image selection area 330 through application settings. That is, only the images stored in advance in the user terminal 300 in association with the paired smart garment 400 may be set to be displayed, or only images such as photos stored in the user terminal 300 may be displayed. In addition, only the object for driving the camera may be set to be displayed so that the image directly captured by the camera of the user terminal 300 can be displayed on the smart garment 400.
(53) In the text input area 340, a representation, such as <text input>, for allowing the user to know that a corresponding area is provided for text input may be displayed. Alternatively, the text input area 340 may be displayed as a blank space without a separate guide. When the user touches the text input area 340 or clicks it through a separate inputter, the user terminal 300 displays a keyboard for text input to enable the user to input desired text. A detailed description thereof will be given below. Text may be input through the keyboard or may be input via voice. The user may input text through the keyboard or input text via voice by application settings. An icon for guiding a keyboard input of text and an icon for guiding a voice input of text may be displayed in the text input area 340 so that the user can select a desired text input method by touching or clicking the icon for guiding the desired text input method.
(54) When text is input to the text input area 340, the input text may be displayed on the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310.
(55)
(56) Referring to
(57) The user terminal 300 searches for the smart garment 400 and transmits a signal to the nearby smart garment 400 to be paired with the smart garment 400. When the nearby smart garment 400 receives the signal transmitted from the user terminal 300 and transmits a signal in response to the received transmitted signal to the user terminal 300, the user terminal 300 and the smart garment 400 are paired.
(58) As shown in
(59) When the user touches or clicks the search button 312 to search for the nearby smart garment 400, as shown in
(60) When the nearby smart garment 400 is found, images of the found smart garments 400 may be displayed in a matrix form in the garment display area 311, as shown in
(61) As shown in
(62) The user terminal 300 may display an image similar to the actual smart garment 400 reflecting the current design of the paired smart garment 400 or the like in the garment display area 310 on the basis of information transmitted from the smart garment 400. For example, as shown in
(63) The user may select a desired color or image or input text through the user interface, and the user terminal 300 may transmit a signal including the information selected or input through the user interface to the smart garment 400 so that the design of the smart garment 400 can be changed.
(64)
(65) Referring to
(66) The user terminal 300 searches for the smart garment 400 and transmits a signal to the nearby smart garment 400 to be paired with the smart garment 400. When the nearby smart garment 400 receives the signal transmitted from the user terminal 300 and transmits a signal in response to the received transmitted signal to the user terminal 300, the user terminal 300 and the smart garment 400 are paired.
(67) A description of paring of the user terminal 300 and the smart garment 400 is the same as the description of
(68) When the connection module 420 of the smart garment 400 is paired with the user terminal 300, the connection module 420 transmits identification information of the smart garment 400 to the user terminal 300 and the user terminal 300 transmits the identification information of the smart garment 400 transmitted from the smart garment 400 to the server 200. The connection module 420 of the smart garment 400 according to the present embodiment may include at least the communicator 427, the processor 423, the driver 421, and the memory 425, and design information or identification information of the current smart garment 400 may be stored in the memory 425.
(69) The server 200 searches for a design of the smart garment 400 represented by the identification information on the basis of the identification information of the smart garment 400 transmitted from the user terminal 300 and transmits found design information to the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 downloads the design of the paired smart garment 400 from the server 200 and displays the downloaded design in the color selection area 320 and the image selection area 330 of the user interface shown in
(70) The user may select a desired color or image or input text through the user interface, and the user terminal 300 may transmit a signal including the information selected or input through the user interface to the smart garment 400 so that the design of the smart garment 400 can be changed.
(71) A method of changing a design of the paired smart garment 400 through the user interface provided by the user terminal 300 will be described in detail with reference to
(72) As shown in
(73) When the user intends to change the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310 to another found smart garment 400, as shown in
(74) When the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310 is changed, the color selection area 320, the image selection area 330, and the text input area 340 are changed to suit the changed smart garment 400. For example, when the changed smart garment 400 does not support text input, a representation that conveys a meaning that text input is not possible, for example, <none>, is displayed in the text input area 340, as shown in
(75) Also, as shown in
(76) Meanwhile, when the user intends to implement an image on the paired smart garment 400 or change an existing image, the user may change the image of the smart garment 400 by touching or clicking the image, pattern, or design displayed in the image selection area 330. As shown in
(77) As shown in
(78) As shown in
(79) In addition, as shown in
(80) As shown in
(81) Meanwhile, the user may input text through the text input area 340 when the user intends to display text on the paired smart garment 400 or change existing text.
(82) As shown in
(83) When the user touches the text input area 340 or clicks the text input area 340 through a separate inputter, the user terminal 300 displays an area provided for selecting a color of text and a keyboard for inputting text, as shown in
(84) In addition, although not illustrated in the drawings, a user interface for selecting a text font may be further displayed to allow the user to select a desired font.
(85) When text is input and a color and font of the input text are selected, the input text is displayed on the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310. Also, the user terminal 300 transmits a signal including information for implementing the input text on the smart garment 400 to the smart garment 400 so that the input text can be displayed on the smart garment 400. As shown in
(86) Further, the text may be input through a keyboard or input via voice. The user may input text through the keyboard or via voice by application settings. An icon for guiding keyboard input of text and an icon for guiding voice input of text may be displayed in the text input area 340 so that the user can select a desired text input method by touching or clicking the icon for guiding the desired text input method. When the icon for guiding keyboard input is selected, the user interface shown in
(87) When text is input to the text input area 340, the input text may be displayed on the smart garment 400 displayed in the garment display area 310.
(88) As described above, the design of the smart garment 400 may be changed through the user interface provided by the user terminal 300, or the user terminal 300 may sense information of the surrounding environment and automatically change the design of the smart garment 400, which will be described with reference to
(89) As shown in
(90) For example, when a current position recognized by the user terminal 300 is a baseball field, the user terminal 300 may transmit a signal to the smart garment 400 such that a symbol of a team playing a game at the baseball field can be implemented on the smart garment 400. The smart garment 400 may display the symbol of the team according to the signal transmitted from the user terminal 300.
(91) When a current temperature sensed by the user terminal 300 is more than 30° C., the user terminal 300 may transmit a signal for changing a color of the current smart garment 400 to white to the smart garment 400. The smart garment 400 may change the color thereof to white according to the signal transmitted from the user terminal 300. When the color of the current smart garment 400 is already white, the smart garment 400 may not change the color.
(92) In addition, when a current weather detected by the user terminal 300 is rainy weather, the user terminal 300 may transmit a signal for changing a pattern, a design, or an image currently displayed on the smart garment 400 to a raindrop image, design, or pattern to the smart garment 400. The smart garment 400 may change the current pattern, design, or image thereof to the raindrop pattern, design, or image according to the signal transmitted from the user terminal 300.
(93) An application may provide a surrounding environment recognition mode that provides the above-described functions, and the user may activate the surrounding environment recognition mode to automatically cause the user terminal 300 to change the design of the smart garment 400. Alternatively, the surrounding environment recognition mode may be usually turned off and optionally activated in a desired situation.
(94) Meanwhile, the smart garment 400 according to the disclosed embodiment includes a fabric including color-changing fibers and ordinary fibers, which are materials for changing an image, text, or color according to a signal transmitted from the user terminal 300, and the above-described connection module 420. Hereinafter, the color-changing fibers constituting the smart garment 400 will be described in detail.
(95)
(96) As shown in
(97) Cholesteric liquid crystals have bistability such that the cholesteric liquid crystals may be present in two stable states, such as a planar state in which light is reflected even when no voltage is applied to the cholesteric liquid crystals and a focal conic state in which light is scattered. The cholesteric liquid crystals may be converted into a homeotropic state in which light can be transmitted when a high voltage is applied thereto. Thus, when the design of the smart garment 400 is changed by the user terminal 300, the changed design may be maintained without the application of voltage.
(98) An inner electrode and an outer electrode may be transparent electrodes made of a transparent conductive material, and examples of the transparent conductive material may include indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZAO), a silver nano-wire (AgNW), and the like.
(99) The protective layer covering the first electrode, the second electrode, and the insulator may be formed by coating ordinary textile fibers or fibers in a mesh form. By using ordinary textile fibers as the protective layer, a texture of ordinary textile fibers may be imparted to the cholesteric liquid crystal fiber. The first electrode and the second electrode may be connected to the driver 421 of the connection module 420, and the driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying a voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode according to a control signal of the processor 423.
(100) As shown in
(101) As shown in
(102) In the case of the fabric woven with the color-changing fibers of the structure shown in
(103) In another embodiment, as shown in
(104)
(105) Alternatively, as shown in
(106) As shown in
(107) As shown in
(108) As shown in
(109) Meanwhile, when the smart garment 400, for example, a T-shirt, is made, it is necessary to connect fabrics of a sleeve portion and a body portion. This connection may be made at a cholesteric liquid crystal fiber level or at a fabric level formed by cholesteric liquid crystal fibers.
(110) Referring to
(111) In the case of the fabric woven with the color-changing fibers having a twisted structure shown in
(112) As described above, the fabric of the smart garment 400 may be formed using the color-changing fibers having the twisted structure shown in
(113) As shown in
(114) The cholesteric liquid crystal illustrated in
(115)
(116) The cholesteric liquid crystal fiber has been described above as an example of the color-changing fiber for changing a design of the smart garment 400. Hereinafter, other embodiments of the color-changing fiber will be described.
(117)
(118) As shown in
(119) The electronic ink capsules may contain at least one of a red electronic ink reflecting red light, a green electronic ink reflecting green light, a blue electronic ink reflecting blue light, a black electronic ink that absorbs light, and a white electronic ink that reflects light. For example, the red electronic ink, the black electronic ink, and the white electronic ink may be contained in one capsule, the green electronic ink, the black electronic ink, and the white electronic ink may be contained in one capsule, and the blue electronic ink, the black electronic ink, and the white electronic ink may be contained in one capsule.
(120) An inner electrode and an outer electrode may be transparent electrodes made of a transparent conductive material, and examples of the transparent conductive material may include ITO, IZO, aluminum-doped ZAO, AgNW, and the like.
(121) The protective layer covering the first electrode, the second electrode, and the insulator may be formed by coating ordinary textile fibers or fibers in a mesh form. By using ordinary textile fibers as the protective layer, a texture of the ordinary textile fibers may be imparted to the electronic ink fiber. The first electrode and the second electrode may be connected to the driver 421 of the connection module 420, and the driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying a voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode according to the control signal of the processor 423.
(122) The fabric of the smart garment 400 according to the present embodiment may be formed by color-changing fibers having a twisted structure of the electronic ink fibers and the ordinary textile fibers, as in the embodiment using the cholesteric liquid crystal fibers, or may be formed by weaving the electronic ink fibers and the ordinary textile fibers in the form of a net. In the case of the fabric woven with the color-changing fibers having the twisted structure of the electronic ink fibers and the ordinary textile fibers, the above-described first electrode and second electrode may not be formed on the electronic ink fiber, but the first electrode and the second electrode may be formed on one surface of the woven fabric and an opposite surface.
(123) Since the electronic ink also has bistability like the above-described cholesteric liquid crystal, power required for changing a design of the smart garment 400 may be minimized.
(124)
(125) As shown in
(126) The inner electrode and the outer electrode may be transparent electrodes made of a transparent conductive material to which a voltage is applied from the driver 421 of the connection module 420. Examples of the transparent conductive material may include ITO, IZO, aluminum-doped ZAO, AgNW, and the like.
(127) The electrolyte may be a solid electrolyte or a liquid electrolyte, which is ionized and supplies a charge or ion to the inner electrode and the outer electrode when a voltage is applied thereto.
(128) At least one of the working electrode and the counter electrode includes a color-changing material. For example, the working electrode may include a material that changes color as it is reduced, and the counter electrode may include a material that changes color as it is oxidized. Both the working electrode and the counter electrode may include the above-described color-changing material, or only one of the working and counter electrodes may include the above-described color-changing material while the other may include an ion-receiving electrode.
(129) Typical reducing color-changing materials include WO3 and MoO3 TiO2, and oxidative color-changing materials include Ir(OH)x, Ni(OH)2, and Rh2O3. The electrochromic fiber may realize different red colors, green colors, and blue colors and combinations thereof in the color-changing material, and may be changed to a transparent state. The protective layer may be formed by coating ordinary textile fibers or fibers in a mesh form. By using ordinary textile fibers as the protective layer, a texture of the ordinary textile fiber may be imparted to the electrochromic fiber. The inner electrode and the outer electrode may be connected to the driver 421 of the connection module 420, and the driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying a voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode according to a control signal of the processor 423.
(130) A fabric of the smart garment 400 according to the present embodiment may be formed by mixing electrochromic fibers and ordinary textile fibers, as in the embodiment using the cholesteric liquid crystal fabric. Since the electrochromic material also has bistability like the above-described cholesteric liquid crystal, power required for changing a design of the smart garment 400 may be minimized.
(131)
(132) The above-described cholesteric liquid crystal fibers, electronic ink fibers, and electrochromic fibers are reflective fibers, and electroluminescent fibers 490 shown in
(133) As shown in
(134) In the present embodiment, the first electrode will be referred to as an inner electrode since it is provided inside the fiber, and the second electrode will be referred to as an outer electrode.
(135) In another embodiment, as shown in
(136) In still another embodiment, as shown in
(137) In yet another embodiment, as shown in
(138) The inner electrode and the outer electrode are transparent electrodes made of a transparent conductive material. Examples of the transparent conductive material may include ITO, IZO, aluminum-doped ZAO, AgNW, and the like. The inner electrode and the outer electrode may be formed in a planar shape or in a linear shape.
(139) A protective layer may be formed by coating ordinary textile fibers or fibers in a mesh form. By using ordinary textile fibers as the protective layer, a texture of the ordinary textile fibers may be imparted to the electroluminescent fiber. As described above, the inner electrode and the outer electrode may be connected to the driver 421 of the connection module 420, and the driver 421 may change the design of the smart garment 400 by applying a voltage to the inner electrode and the outer electrode according to the control signal of the processor 423.
(140) The fabric of the smart garment 400 according to the present embodiment may be formed by mixing the electrochromic fibers and the ordinary textile fibers, as in the embodiment using the cholesteric liquid crystal fibers.