KR102245048B1 - Flexible electric wire for wearable el products and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flexible electric wire for wearable EL products to prevent a user from feeling a sense of a foreign body. According to the present invention, the flexible electric wire for wearable EL products comprises: a base film made of transparent or translucent flexible polyurethane (PU); a wire part formed by applying a conductive paste to a surface of the base film at regular intervals; a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) (or PU) single-sided sheet attached to the base film on which the electric wire is formed to protect the electric wire; and a connector terminal installed at an end of an assembly of the base film and the TPU (or PU) single-sided sheet. The connector terminal is fixed by driving a plurality of connector pins extending downward into the end of the assembly, the wire part is formed by screen-printing one or two or more lines of the conductive paste on the surface of the base film, and the conductive paste can be selected from at least one material group including silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, and aluminum (Al).

Description

Flexible electric wire for wearable EL products and its manufacturing method {FLEXIBLE ELECTRIC WIRE FOR WEARABLE EL PRODUCTS AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD}

The present invention relates to a wire used in a wearable device, and more particularly, to a flexible wire for a wearable EL product and a method of manufacturing the same.

Smart wear is a next-generation clothing product that integrates various digital devices necessary for daily life into clothes, shoes, hats, and various accessories. With the development of wearable devices, the smart textile field is emerging as a promising future technology.

In the case of conductive fiber, which is the core of smart fiber technology, fabric-based circuit technology is also developing based on the existing conductive fiber technology that coats a metal coating or a conductive polymer.

However, conventional wearable devices, for example, wearable EL products, are exposed to moisture as much as they are exposed to an outdoor environment or receive a lot of external shocks, and wires may be easily damaged by such shocks.

In particular, in the case of applying to mountaineering clothes or running wear, there is a problem in that the electric wire formed inside is damaged or there is a problem of washing property when there is a lot of friction or folding due to the nature of the outdoor, and in the case of clothes, there is a problem that the fit is deteriorated by the electric wire.

Accordingly, there is a need to develop a wearable device that prevents the wire formed in the wearable device from being disconnected or the disconnection from occurring at the connection portion, and does not cause inconvenience in wearing comfort by the wire.

Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-0321922

Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to solve the above problems, and has excellent fit and washability when applied to wearable devices, and in particular, when applied to wearable EL products with electromagnetic wave shielding function, there is no risk of disconnection at the connection part. Its purpose is to provide a flexible wire for wearable EL products and a manufacturing method thereof.

According to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, for a wearable EL product consisting of an EL member as a light emitting member, a wire member extending from the EL member, and an inverter for controlling power application and operation to the EL member. As a flexible wire, a base film composed of a transparent or semi-transparent flexible polyurethane (PU); A wire portion formed by applying a conductive paste to the surface of the base film at regular intervals; A TPU (or PU) cross-section sheet attached to the base film on which the wire part is formed to protect the wire part; And a connector terminal installed at an end of the assembly of the base film and the TPU (or PU) cross-section sheet, wherein the connector terminal is fixed by driving a plurality of connector pins extending downward to the end of the assembly, and the EL The member includes EL, which is a light-emitting element coated with a fluorescent material in a certain shape or shape, a hot melt applied to the back and front surfaces of the EL, respectively, and a rear shield attached to the back of the EL by hot melt to shield electromagnetic waves from the EL. , And a front shield attached to the front surface of the EL by a hot melt to shield electromagnetic waves from the EL, the EL, the rear shield and the front shield are formed on a flexible polyurethane film, and a part of the EL A flexible wire for a wearable EL product is provided, characterized in that it is configured to electrically conduct electrical conduction between the rear shield and the front shield to shield electromagnetic waves from the EL member.

According to the present invention, the wire portion is formed by screen printing one or two or more lines of the conductive paste on the surface of the base film, and the conductive paste is silver (Ag: silver), gold (Au: gold), At least one or more of a material group including copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al), and the like may be selected.

Meanwhile, in the EL member, a plurality of circuits are formed on the surface of the EL to form a ground terminal for grounding by connecting to the negative (-) of the battery in any one of these circuits. One or more connection terminals are formed respectively for connection to the ground terminal of the EL, and the EL and the hot melt correspond to the connection terminals for electrical conduction between the rear shield and the connection terminals formed on the surface of the front shield. Each through hole is formed at the points, the wire member is a base film made of a flexible material, a wire portion formed by applying a predetermined conductive paste to one surface of the base film, and a hot melt applied to one surface of the base film of the wire member A cover film, an upper shield and a lower shield respectively applied to the upper and lower portions of the combination of the base film and the cover film of the electric wire member to shield electromagnetic waves from the electric wire portion of the electric wire member, and the negative electrode (-) of the battery It is configured to shield the generation of electromagnetic waves in the wire member by electrically conducting electrical conduction between the (-) line of the wire part connected to and the upper shield and the lower shield, and for shielding electromagnetic waves in the wire member, the cover film comprises the base One or more through holes are formed between the wire on the film and the upper shield, respectively, across the cover film and the hot melt, and one or more through holes corresponding to the through holes on the cover film and the hot melt are formed from the lower shield to the wire portion, or Alternatively, in order to prevent or minimize disconnection of the wire member, one or more metal pins may be inserted instead of through holes so as to be electrically connected between the (-) line of the wire part and the lower shield.

According to the present invention, the front shield and the rear shield, or the upper shield and the lower shield are transparent electrodes, or silver (Ag: silver), gold (Au: gold), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), Consisting of at least one or more of a variety of material groups including nickel, aluminum (Al), etc., the base film and the cover film are made of polyurethane of a flexible material so that it is not inconvenient to wear and is easy to wash, the cover film Is preferably at least a TPU or PU film, and the inverter has a PCB board for controlling the operation of the EL product and a battery for supplying power to the PCB board inside the case, and at least on the upper and lower inner walls of the case It is preferable that a predetermined conductive material is applied and the conductive material is grounded to the negative electrode (-) of the battery through a screw for fastening the PCB substrate, thereby shielding electromagnetic waves generated from the inverter.

The above-described method for manufacturing a flexible wire for wearable EL products is to form a wire part by screen printing one or two or more rows of conductive paste on the surface of a base film composed of a transparent or semi-transparent flexible polyurethane (PU). And; Attaching a single-sided sheet of TPU (or PU) coated with a hot melt on the PU film on which the electric wire part is formed by thermocompression; And driving and fixing a connector terminal having a plurality of connector pins at an end of the combination of the base film and the TPU single-sided sheet, wherein the conductive paste is silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu). , At least one or more of a material group including iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al), and the like may be selected.

From the above-described features, the present invention uses a flexible PU film as a base member of a wearable flexible wire so that a user feels less foreign body in a wearable device worn close to the human body, especially a wearable EL product with an electromagnetic wave shielding function. At the same time, even if it is used for a long period of time, it can be safely used without the risk of disconnection in the connection part to which the connector terminals are bound.

1 is a view showing the configuration of a wearable EL product to which a flexible wire according to the present invention is applied,
2 is a cross-sectional view showing an electromagnetic wave shielding structure of an EL member in the configuration of FIG. 1, FIG. 2A is an exploded view of the EL member, and FIG. 2B is an assembly view of the EL member.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an electromagnetic wave shielding structure of a wire member in the configuration of FIG. 1;
4 is a cross-sectional view showing an electromagnetic wave shielding structure of an inverter in the configuration of FIG. 1;
5 is a plan view showing a process of forming a flexible wire of the present invention by applying a conductive paste to a base film;
6 is a cross-sectional view showing an assembled state of a part of the flexible wire according to FIG. 5;
7 is a plan view showing an assembled state of a part of the flexible wire according to FIG. 6.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

In the following embodiments, the illustration and description are omitted except for inevitable parts in the description of the invention, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the same and similar elements throughout the specification, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted without repetition. do.

1 shows the configuration of a wearable EL product to which the flexible wire according to the present invention is applied, and can be applied to all products that can be worn by people, such as various clothes, hats, gloves, shoes, and accessories. As shown, the wearable EL product consists of an EL member 100, which is a light emitting element, a wire member 200 extending from the EL member, and an inverter 300 for controlling power application and operation to the EL member. Due to the characteristics of the product, at least the EL member 100 and the wire member 200 are preferably made of a thin and flexible material so that they are not inconvenient to wear and can be washed.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an electromagnetic wave shielding structure of an EL member in the configuration of FIG. 1, FIG. 2A is an exploded view of the EL member, and FIG. 2B is an assembly view of the EL member. As a basic element of the EL member 100 for shielding electromagnetic waves, the EL 110, which is a light emitting device coated with a fluorescent material in a certain shape or shape, and a hot melt 121, 122, respectively applied to the rear and front surfaces of the EL, The rear shield 130 attached to the rear surface of the EL 110 by the hot melt 121 to shield the electromagnetic waves emitted from the EL 110, and the EL 110 by the hot melt 122 to shield the electromagnetic waves emitted from the EL 110. A front shield 140 attached to the front surface of 110) is provided.

The EL 110, the rear shield 130, and the front shield 140 are formed on a polyurethane (PU) film that is basically a flexible material, and a plurality of circuits may be formed on the surface of the EL 110, In any one of these circuits, a ground terminal 112 for electrically connecting to the negative electrode (-) of the battery 340 (see FIG. 4) to ground (earth) is formed.

The rear shield 130 and the front shield 140 are each composed of a transparent electrode, and one or more connection terminals 131 and 132 to be connected to the ground terminal 112 of the EL 110 on the surface of each shield 130 and 140 ) (141,142) may be formed. In addition, the rear shield 130 and the front shield 140 are not only transparent electrodes, but also silver (Ag: silver), gold (Au: gold), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al). It may be configured by selecting at least one or more from a variety of material groups including the like. In addition, in order that the connection terminals 131, 141, 132, and 142 formed on the surfaces of the rear shield 130 and the front shield 140 are electrically connected to be connected to the ground terminal 112, the EL 110 and the Holes 111, 121a, 121b, 122a, 122b corresponding to the connection terminals 131, 141, 132, and 142 may be formed in the hot melt 121 and 122, respectively.

3 is a diagram showing an electromagnetic wave shielding structure of the electric wire member in the configuration of Fig. 1, wherein the electric wire member 200 is basically coated with a conductive paste on one surface of the flexible base film 210 to form the electric wire part 220. , On the surface of the base film 210 on which the wire part 220 is formed, a cover film 230 to which a hot melt 231 is applied to protect the wire part is attached by thermal compression, and the base film 210 and the Upper and lower shields 250 and 240 are respectively applied to the upper and lower portions of the assembly of the cover film 230 in order to shield electromagnetic waves from the electric wire 220.

In order to block electromagnetic waves, the wire member 200 also connects the (-) wire of the wire part 220 connected to the negative (-) of the battery 340 (see FIG. 4) to the upper shield 250 and the lower shield 240. In order to conduct each conduction, the cover film 230 is formed between the electric wire 220 on the base film 210 and the upper shield 250, which is a transparent electrode, across the cover film 230 and the hot melt 231. Through holes (230a, 230b) (231a, 231b) may be formed, one or more through holes corresponding to the through holes (230a, 230b) (231a, 231b) from the lower shield 240 to the wire portion 220 To form (not shown) or to prevent or minimize disconnection of the wire part 220, one or more metal pins 260 are inserted instead of the through hole (not shown) to be transparent with the (-) wire of the wire part 220 The lower shield 240, which is an electrode, may be configured to be electrically conductive.

Through this configuration, the wire member 200 connects the upper shield 250 and the lower shield 240 with the (-) line of the electric wire 220 connected to the negative (-) terminal of the battery 340; By grounding, it is possible to completely shield the electromagnetic waves emitted from the electric wire 220.

Meanwhile, in the above, the conductive paste is generally materials having excellent electrical conductivity, such as silver (Ag: silver), gold (Au: gold), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al), etc. At least one or more may be selected from among various material groups including.

In addition, the upper shield 250 and the lower shield 240 are not only transparent electrodes, but also silver (Ag: silver), gold (Au: gold), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al), etc. It can be configured by selecting at least one or more from a variety of material groups including, in this case, it can be formed by a method of coating the upper and lower portions of the combination of the base film 210 and the cover film 230 by a printing method. , By allowing it to permeate itself through the through holes, it may be electrically connected to the (-) line of the electric wire part 220.

In addition, it may be desirable to use polyurethane (PU), which is a generally flexible material, so that the base film 210 and the cover film 230 are not uncomfortable at least in terms of wear and can be washed due to the characteristics of the wearable product. In particular, in the case of the cover film 230, a polyurethane (TPU or PU) film may be preferable.

4 is a diagram showing an electromagnetic wave shielding structure of an inverter in the configuration of FIG. 1, and the inverter 300 is basically a PCB board 330 for controlling the operation of the EL product according to the present invention inside the case 310 and the same. A battery 340 for supplying power to the PCB substrate is built-in. In order to shield the electromagnetic waves generated from the inverter 300, a predetermined conductive material 321, 322 may be applied to at least the upper and lower inner walls of the case 310, and the conductive materials 321 and 322 may be applied to the PCB substrate. The electromagnetic wave generated from the inverter 300 can be completely shielded by grounding so that it is electrically connected to the negative electrode (-) of the battery 340 through the screw 350 for fastening 330. In this embodiment, the conductive material is generally various materials including excellent electrical conductivity, such as copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al), etc. At least one or more of the substance groups may be selected.

5 is a plan view showing a process of forming a flexible wire for a wearable EL product of the present invention by applying a conductive paste to a base film, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a partial assembly state of the flexible wire of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is It is a plan view showing the assembly state of a part of the flexible wire according to.

As shown in FIG. 1, the flexible wire for a wearable EL product of the present invention forms a wire part 220 ′ by applying a conductive paste at regular intervals on the surface of the base film 210 ′.

The base film 210 ′ is preferably a transparent or translucent flexible polyurethane (PU) film, and the conductive paste is a material having excellent electrical conductivity, for example, a material such as silver (Ag: silver). By using at least one or more, preferably, two or more rows of lines on the surface of the PU film, which is the base film, to form the electric wire 220'. In this way, the method of forming an electric wire part through screen printing on the base film 210 ′ (hereinafter referred to as “PU film”) has the advantage of being able to easily use the flexible electric wire for a wearable EL product of the present invention in various shapes in a desired shape. Moreover, this method has advantages in that the manufacturing process is much simpler and cost-effective than the basic method in which conductive fibers are cut thinly and individually attached to the base film as many as the number of conductors. Meanwhile, in addition to the above-described silver (Ag), the conductive paste may select at least one or more from various material groups including gold (Au), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al), etc., which have excellent electrical conductivity. I can.

After the wire part 220 ′ is formed, a hot melt 231 ′ is applied on the PU film 210 ′ on which the wire part 220 ′ is formed to protect the wire part (thermoplastic polyurethane, Or PU) the single-sided sheet 230' is attached by thermocompression bonding. Reference numerals 240 ′ and 250 ′, which are not described in FIG. 6, are “wire sheathing” and may correspond to the upper shield 250 and the lower shield 240 of FIG. 3, respectively. Thereafter, a connector terminal 260' is installed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 at the end of the flexible wire configured as above. The connector terminal 260' has a plurality of connector pins 261 extending downward, and the connector pins 261 are driven on the surface of the electric wire to fix the lower end thereof to the rear of the electric wire.

On the other hand, the conventional electric wire made of conductive fibers gradually widens and loosens the hole through which the pin passes due to the nature of the fiber in the connection portion where the above-described connector pin is bound while repeatedly used several times. Eventually, the wire composed of conductive fibers causes disconnection in the pin binding portion as the wire is used for a long period of time, whereas the flexible wire for the wearable EL product of the present invention is printed and coated with a conductive paste on the PU film 210'. 220'), so even if the connector pin 261 is inserted into the PU film 210' to bind the connector terminal 260' at the end of the wire, the pin hole formed on the surface of the PU film 210' does not become wider. Rather, it shrinks back to its original state as time passes. Therefore, the wearable wire of the present invention has an advantage that the risk of disconnection at the pin binding portion disappears because the connector pin 261 bound to the connector terminal 260 ′ is in close contact with the PU film 210 ′ even when used for a long period of time.

In the present invention, when printing a conductive paste to form the wire part 220' on the surface of the PU film 210', it is preferable to apply the conductive paste so that the thickness of the conductive paste is at least 20 μm. This is because a very flexible property is required due to the characteristics of the wire for wearable EL products. For example, if the thickness of the conductive paste is less than 20㎛, wrinkles may occur during daily life or break easily during washing, resulting in disconnection in the wire part. Accordingly, in the present invention, the thickness of the conductive paste applied on the PU film 210 ′ is kept at least 20 μm or more, preferably in the range of 20 μm to 60 μm.

As described above, the flexible wire for a wearable EL product of the present invention is made of a flexible PU film as a base member, so that the user feels less foreign body when applied to a wearable device close to the body because it is softer than the existing wire. Moreover, it can be used safely for a long period of time without risk of disconnection in the connection part to which the connector terminals are bound.

Various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the contents described so far are only to the extent that some of the preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated, except for those that may appear in the appended claims below. It is not limited by the above contents. Accordingly, the present invention understands that many changes, modifications and substitutions of equivalents can be made without departing from the spirit and gist of the invention within the scope of the following claims, provided those of ordinary skill in the same technical field. You will have to do it.

100: EL member
110: EL
111,121a,121b,122a,122b: through hole
112: ground terminal
121,122: Hot melt
130: rear shield
131,132,141,142: connection terminal
140: front shield
200: electric wire part
210,210': Base film
220,220': electric wire
230a,230b,231a,231b: through hole
231,231': Hot melt
230: cover film
230': TPU (or PU) single-sided sheet
240: lower shield
250: upper shield
240', 250': wire sheath
260: metal pin
260': connector terminal
261: connector pin
300: inverter
310: case
321,322: conductive material
330: PCB board
340: battery
350: screw
360: lead wire

Claims (7)

A flexible wire for a wearable EL product having an electromagnetic wave shielding function comprising an EL member as a light emitting member, an electric wire member extending from the EL member, and an inverter for controlling power application and operation to the EL member,
A base film composed of a transparent or semi-transparent flexible polyurethane (PU); A wire portion formed by applying a conductive paste to the surface of the base film at regular intervals; A TPU (or PU) cross-section sheet attached to the base film on which the wire part is formed to protect the wire part; And a connector terminal installed at an end of the assembly of the base film and the TPU (or PU) cross-section sheet, wherein the connector terminal is fixed by driving a plurality of connector pins extending downward to the end of the assembly,
The EL member includes an EL, which is a light emitting device coated with a fluorescent material in a certain shape or shape, a hot melt applied to the rear and front surfaces of the EL, respectively, and attached to the rear of the EL by a hot melt to shield electromagnetic waves from the EL. A rear shield and a front shield attached to the front surface of the EL by hot melt to shield electromagnetic waves from the EL, and the EL, the rear shield and the front shield are formed on a flexible polyurethane film, and the EL A flexible wire for a wearable EL product, characterized in that it is configured to electrically conduct electrical conduction between a part of the rear shield and the front shield to shield electromagnetic waves from the EL member. The method of claim 1,
A plurality of circuits are formed on the surface of the EL to form a ground terminal for grounding by connecting to the negative (-) of the battery in any one of these circuits, and on the surfaces of the rear shield and the front shield, the ground terminal of the EL At least one connection terminal for connection is formed, and each of the EL and the hot melt has a through hole at points corresponding to the connection terminals for electrical conduction between the rear shield and the connection terminals formed on the surface of the front shield. A flexible electric wire for wearable EL products, characterized in that it is formed. The method of claim 1,
The wire member includes a base film made of a flexible material, a wire portion formed by applying a predetermined conductive paste to one surface of the base film, a cover film coated with a hot melt bonded to one surface of the base film of the wire member, and the wire of the wire member It includes an upper shield and a lower shield respectively applied to the upper and lower portions of the combination of the base film and the cover film of the electric wire member to shield electromagnetic waves from the unit, and the negative (-) line of the electric wire connected to the negative (-) of the battery A flexible wire for a wearable EL product, characterized in that configured to electrically conduct electrical conduction between the upper shield and the lower shield to shield electromagnetic waves from the wire member. The method of claim 3,
For shielding electromagnetic waves in the electric wire member, the cover film has one or more through holes formed between the electric wire on the base film and the upper shield, respectively, across the cover film and the hot melt, and the cover film extends from the lower shield to the electric wire part. Electrical conduction between the (-) line of the electric wire and the lower shield is formed by forming one or more through holes corresponding to the through holes on the cover film and the hot melt, or by inserting at least one metal pin instead of the through hole to prevent or minimize the disconnection of the wire member. Flexible wire for wearable EL products, characterized in that it is configured to be made. The method of claim 1,
The wire part is formed by screen printing one or two or more lines of the conductive paste on the surface of the base film, and the conductive paste is silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) , Nickel, and a flexible wire for a wearable EL product, characterized in that at least one is selected from a group of materials including aluminum (Al). The method of claim 3,
The front shield and the rear shield, or the upper shield and the lower shield are transparent electrodes, or silver (Ag: silver), gold (Au: gold), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel, aluminum (Al ), etc., and the base film and the cover film are made of polyurethane of a flexible material so that they are not inconvenient to wear and are easy to wash, but the cover film is at least TPU or PU. Flexible wire for wearable EL products, characterized in that it is a film. As a method of manufacturing a flexible wire for a wearable EL product according to claim 1,
Forming an electric wire part by screen printing one or two or more rows of conductive pastes on the surface of a base film made of a transparent or semi-transparent flexible polyurethane (PU);
Attaching a single-sided sheet of TPU (or PU) coated with hot melt on the PU film on which the electric wire part is formed by thermocompression; And
And driving and fixing a connector terminal having a plurality of connector pins at an end of a combination of the base film and the TPU (or PU) cross-section sheet.

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