KR20240068995A - Conductive textile including knitted fibrous electrode preparing method thereof, and clothing for vital sign monitoring using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A conductive textile (or fabric, or cloth) equipped with a knitted fiber electrode or conductive pattern that has excellent adhesion and fit while preventing a decrease in collection signal reliability due to stretching, a manufacturing method thereof, and biological signal monitoring clothing using the same are provided. . The conductive textile is a knit-based textile made at least partially of a knit tissue, and includes a conductive pattern portion and a non-conductive portion, the non-conductive portion having at least one non-conductive yarn in a course direction. It includes one or more non-conductive layers knitted to form a ring, wherein the conductive pattern portion includes one or more non-conductive layers in which the non-conductive yarns are knitted to form a plurality of rings in the course direction, and at least one conductive yarn is knitted to form a plurality of rings in the course direction. It has a laminated structure of one or more conductive layers knitted to form a plurality of rings.

Description

Conductive textile including knitted fibrous electrodes, manufacturing method thereof, and biosignal monitoring clothing using the same

The present invention relates to a conductive textile including knit fiber electrodes, a manufacturing method thereof, and biological signal monitoring clothing using the same. In detail, a conductive textile (or fabric, or cloth) equipped with a knitted fiber electrode or conductive pattern that has excellent adhesion and fit while preventing a decrease in collection signal reliability due to stretching, a method of manufacturing the same, and monitoring biological signals using the same. It's about clothing.

Monitoring the body's vital signs using electronic devices is a convenient and effective way to check, maintain, and manage human biological status. In particular, the development of technologies such as wearable devices that naturally provide convenient functions during daily life without the user having to hold and manage the electronic device has been actively conducted.

Electronic devices in the form of glasses, watches, bracelets, and rings are being developed as representative wearable devices. However, the inconvenience of having to wear them in addition to clothing is still a limitation, and for this reason, smart wear, in which clothing or the clothing itself can detect or respond to external signals, is gaining attention.

The biological signals that the above monitoring device seeks to measure vary greatly depending on its purpose. Representative examples of biosignals include electromyography (EMG), electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and body temperature.

KR 10-2008-0114107 A KR 10-2020-0106699 A KR 10-1687154 B1

Some of the various biosignals described above, such as electromyography, are inappropriate to be implemented in the form of glasses, watches, bracelets, or rings. Additionally, electronic devices in the form of glasses, watches, bracelets, rings, etc. have limitations as they must be worn in addition to clothing. In this regard, smart wear that can transmit various electrical signals through conductive paths inside clothing is being actively developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which electronic components are fixed on a textile fabric, such as a clothing fabric, and electrical signals are transmitted using a conductive thread.

However, although the fabric substrate of Patent Document 1 can transmit a path capable of transmitting electrical signals, it is difficult to use it to collect biological signals. For example, electromyography measures and quantifies the action potentials that occur during muscle contraction and relaxation. Biosignals must be collected adjacent to the muscle to be monitored, and through this, the degree of muscle activation for each part of the body can be estimated. You can. Therefore, in order to collect biological signals, it is most important that the electrodes are in close contact with the skin of the human body. In particular, in the case of fibrous electrodes, the adhesion to the user's skin is not high, so it is not easy to provide a fibrous electrode in a form that provides uniform conductivity and area.

A method of measuring electromyography currently being developed, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, is a method of providing electrodes in close contact with the skin on the inner side of clothing for exercise and connecting the electrodes to an electromyography measuring device separately provided outside the clothing. However, this type of electromyography measurement system has not been commercialized. Reasons for this include problems with the manufacturing cost of clothing equipped with electrodes and problems with the elasticity of the electrodes.

In addition, existing electrodes for collecting biological signals are mainly made of metal, so they are not comfortable to wear, and have limitations in being unable to adhere closely to curved skin surfaces or skin surfaces whose curvature changes with movement. Accordingly, Patent Document 3 proposes a structure in which an electrode pattern using conductive yarn adheres closely to the user's skin.

Electrode patterns using conductive wires of the type shown in Patent Document 3 have a problem of particularly poor flexibility. For example, electromyography monitoring clothing can mainly be applied to sportswear. When exercising, each part of the body expands and contracts significantly, or expands and contracts. In particular, the stress caused by the expansion and contraction of the body due to the user's sweat may be applied to the clothing even more. When an electrode pattern formed across both sides of a base material is formed using a single conductive yarn as in Patent Document 3, the electrode pattern is very vulnerable to the above-mentioned stretching and contraction, and the electrode pattern may be damaged due to a short circuit of the conductive yarn as use is repeated.

Accordingly, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a conductive path structure, a fibrous electrode, and/or a fibrous conductive pattern that has very high flexibility and is robust despite expansion and contraction of the base. In addition, the goal is to provide a conductive path structure, a fiber-type electrode, and/or a fiber-type conductive pattern that can minimize the generation of noise signals and collect highly reliable biological signals in a stretched state.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a conductive textile including the fibrous electrode and/or the fibrous conductive pattern.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the above fibrous electrode and/or conductive textile.

Another problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide bio-signal monitoring clothing that can minimize the generation of noise signals and collect highly reliable bio-signals in a stretched state. In addition, the goal is to provide bio-signal monitoring clothing that provides excellent fit and user convenience and can be manufactured at low cost.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

The conductive textile according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem is a knit-based textile at least partially made of a knit tissue, and includes a conductive pattern portion and a non-conductive portion, and the non-conductive portion includes at least one comprising one or more non-conductive layers in which the non-conductive yarns are knitted to form a plurality of loops in the course direction, wherein the conductive pattern portion is knitted in such a way that the non-conductive yarns form a plurality of loops in the course direction. It has a stacked structure of a non-conductive layer and one or more conductive layers in which at least one conductive yarn is knitted to form a plurality of rings in the course direction.

The type of knitted fabric in the non-conductive portion formed by the non-conductive yarn may be different from the type of knitted fabric in the conductive pattern portion formed by the non-conductive yarn.

The non-conductive portion and the conductive pattern portion may be knitted at once.

Additionally, the non-conductive portion and the non-conductive layer of the conductive pattern portion may share the non-conductive yarn.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the quality of the collected signal can be improved by alleviating the degree of local stretching of the fiber electrode or the fiber conductive pattern portion despite the stretching of the textile, that is, the clothing fabric.

Effects according to embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the contents exemplified above, and further various effects are included in the present specification.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of biological signal monitoring clothing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing the vicinity of the electrode of the textile of the clothing of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a layout schematic diagram showing the organizational structure of the conductive pattern portion of the textile of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a layout schematic diagram showing the organizational structure of the non-conductive part of the textile of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is an image to explain the performance of Experimental Example 3.
Figure 6 shows the AR EMG results of Experimental Example 3.

The advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described in detail below along with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and will be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments serve to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete, and those skilled in the art It is provided to fully inform the person of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. That is, various changes may be made to the embodiments presented by the present invention. The embodiments described below are not intended to limit the embodiments, but should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes therefor.

The size, thickness, width, length, etc. of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated or reduced for convenience and clarity of explanation, so the present invention is not limited to the form shown.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used with meanings that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Additionally, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly specifically defined.

Spatially relative terms such as 'above', 'upper', 'on', 'below', 'beneath', and 'lower' are used in the drawing. As shown, it can be used to easily describe the correlation between one element or component and other elements or components. Spatially relative terms should be understood as terms that include different directions of the element when used in addition to the direction shown in the drawings. For example, when an element shown in a drawing is turned over, an element described as 'below or beneath' another element may be placed 'above' the other element. Accordingly, the illustrative term 'down' may include both downward and upward directions.

As used herein, 'and/or' includes each and every combination of one or more of the mentioned items. Additionally, the singular form also includes the plural form unless specifically stated in the phrase. As used herein, 'comprises' and/or 'comprising' do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components. The numerical range expressed using 'to' indicates a numerical range that includes the values written before and after it as the lower limit and upper limit, respectively. ‘About’ or ‘approximately’ means a value or numerical range within 20% of the value or numerical range stated thereafter.

In this specification, when referring to components, ordinal modifiers such as 'first component', 'second component', '1-1 component', etc. are used to distinguish one component from another component. It just happens. Accordingly, the first component referred to below may be referred to as the second component within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, what is referred to as a first component in one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment. Also, of course, what is referred to as a first component in the description of the invention may be referred to as a second component in the claims.

Unless otherwise defined herein, the term 'fiber' or 'thread' or 'yarn or thread' refers to a natural or artificial long, thin fibrous polymer material, consisting of a single strand or multiple continuous sheets. It can be used to include filaments, which are long fibers, and staples, which are made by twisting short single fibers together.

Additionally, unless otherwise defined, the terms 'conductive yarn', 'conductive yarn', or 'conductive fiber' collectively refer to fiber materials that have electrical conductivity or thermal conductivity, and include a combination of only conductive fibers, or a combination of conductive fibers and non-conductive fibers. , or non-conductive wire plated with a conductive material. In this specification, the terms ‘electrode’, ‘fiber electrode’, ‘electrode unit’, ‘electrode pattern’, ‘conductive pattern’, ‘conductive pattern’, ‘conductive pattern unit’, ‘conductive pattern unit’, ‘electrode unit’ Mutual terms such as 'conducting part' and 'conducting part' may be used interchangeably.

‘Knitted fabric’ refers to continuous knitting by making a loop using a single strand of fiber extending in a certain direction, and includes flat knitting and warp knitting. . The direction in which the fibers extend is referred to as the course, course, or transverse direction, and the direction in which they are woven into rings is referred to as the wale direction or longitudinal direction. In this specification, 'stitch length' refers to the length of one unit loop constituting a knitted fabric, and the lower the stitch length, the tighter the structure.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of biological signal monitoring clothing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the biological signal monitoring clothing 1 according to this embodiment may be made at least partially including conductive textile 11. Here, the conductive textile 11 can be understood as the fabric or part of the fabric that makes up the fabric of clothing.

The conductive textile 11 includes a conductive pattern portion (CA) (or electrode portion, or electrode pattern portion, or conductive portion, or conductive pattern portion) having electrical conductivity and a non-conductive portion (NA) (or insulating portion) having no electrical conductivity. , or a non-conductive pattern portion, or a non-conductive portion).

Clothing 1 may be functional clothing that can monitor biosignals, such as electromyogram, electrocardiogram, heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, or body temperature, during exercise or the like. The present invention is not limited to the biosignals described above.

The conductive pattern portion (CA) may function as an electrode and provide a conductive path connecting the inner and outer surfaces of the clothing 1 or the lower and upper surfaces of the textile 11. From a planar view, a plurality of conductive pattern parts (CAs), for example, two, may form a set and together collect bio-signals at a specific location.

Additionally, a plurality of conductive pattern portions (CA) constituting one set may be located within one pocket 30. A biosignal measurement device 40 may be accommodated in the pocket 30 to provide meaningful biometric information by measuring, storing, analyzing, or processing biosignals transmitted through the conductive pattern portion (CA). The biological signal measurement device 40 may be electrically connected to a plurality of conductive pattern portions (CA). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the conductive pattern portion (CA) may be exposed on the outer surface of the clothing 1 without a pocket to provide aesthetics.

Hereinafter, the structure and conductive path structure of the textile 11 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with further reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing the vicinity of the electrode of the textile of the clothing of Figure 1. FIG. 3 is a layout schematic diagram showing the tissue structure of the conductive pattern portion of the textile of FIG. 2, and is a schematic diagram showing the tissue structure of the upper conductive layer and the upper non-conductive layer of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a layout schematic diagram showing the tissue structure of the non-conductive portion of the textile of FIG. 2, and is a schematic diagram showing the tissue structure of the upper non-conductive layer. That is, Figures 3 and 4 show either an upper layer or a lower layer, and when the textile includes an upper layer and a lower layer, the tissue structure of Figures 3 or 4 is understood as a laminated structure with the backs facing each other. It can be.

Referring further to FIGS. 2 to 4, a portion of the textile 11 in the horizontal direction (course direction, or wale direction) may form a conductive pattern portion (CA), and another portion may form a non-conductive portion (NA). there is. The non-conductive portion (NA) can be understood as a part of the textile 11 that refers to the remaining portion other than the conductive pattern portion (CA).

The non-conductive portion (NA) may include one or more non-conductive layers (200a, 200b). Additionally, the conductive pattern portion (CA) may be formed by stacking one or more non-conductive layers (200a, 200b) and conductive layers (100a, 100b). 2 and the like, the non-conductive layers 200a and 200b are a plurality of layers including an upper non-conductive layer 200a (or a first non-conductive layer) and a lower non-conductive layer 200b (or a second non-conductive layer). It is composed of, and the conductive pattern portion (CA) is an upper non-conductive layer (200a), an upper conductive layer (100a) (or first conductive layer) disposed on the upper non-conductive layer (200b), and a lower non-conductive layer (200b) disposed on the lower portion. A case where the layer is composed of a plurality of layers including the lower conductive layer 100b (or the second conductive layer) is exemplified. At this time, the upper conductive layer 100a and the upper non-conductive layer 200a may be referred to as the upper layer 11a, and the lower conductive layer 100b and the lower non-conductive layer 200b may be referred to as the lower layer 11b.

The upper conductive layer 100a and the lower conductive layer 100b are electrically connected to each other and may be exposed to the outer and inner surfaces of the clothing 1, respectively. For example, the lower conductive layer 100b may be in contact with the wearer's body skin, and the upper conductive layer 100a may be electrically connected to the electrodes of the biological signal measurement device 40. Through this, electrical signals detected from the wearer's body can be collected by the biosignal measurement device 40 through the lower conductive layer 100b and the upper conductive layer 100a.

The maximum thickness of the textile 11 in the conductive pattern portion (CA) may be greater than the maximum thickness in the non-conductive portion (NA). That is, the upper conductive layer 100a and/or the lower conductive layer 100b may have a shape that protrudes at least partially in the upward and downward directions. Through this, the upper conductive layer 100a and lower conductive layer 100b, which function as electrodes, can be configured to be in close contact with the biosignal measurement device 40 and/or the user's skin.

Meanwhile, in Figure 2, etc., each layer is modeled with an outer boundary line to clearly explain the cross-sectional structure of the textile 11 and the stacked structure of a plurality of layers, but each layer may or may not have conductivity. It is implemented as a set of fibers extending in the horizontal direction or intertwined with each other, and each layer adjacent to each other in the mutual stacking direction may be formed by the fibers being entangled with each other.

For example, at least some of the conductive fibers constituting the upper conductive layer 100a forming the conductive pattern portion (CA) are the non-conductive fibers constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a forming the conductive pattern portion (CA). At least some of the conductive threads constituting the upper conductive layer 100a may be intertwined or crossed, or may be inserted into the upper non-conductive layer 200a, or their physical boundary in the stacking direction may be unclear. In other words, at least some of the conductive fibers constituting the upper conductive layer 100a may be at least partially located lower than the non-conductive fibers constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a, and vice versa.

For another example, at least some of the non-conductive yarns constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a forming the conductive pattern portion (CA) are non-conductive fibers constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a forming the non-conductive portion (NA). It may be substantially the same as Dosa. In other words, the conductive pattern portion (CA) and the non-conductive portion (NA) may partially share the non-conducting yarn.

For another example, at least some of the non-conductive yarns constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a forming the conductive pattern portion (CA) are those constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a forming the non-conductive portion (NA). It may intersect or intersect with non-conducting threads, making its physical boundaries in the horizontal direction unclear.

For another example, at least some of the conductive fibers constituting the upper conductive layer 100a forming the conductive pattern portion (CA) are non-conductive fibers constituting the upper nonconductive layer 200a forming the non-conductive portion (NA). It may intersect or intersect, and its physical boundary may be unclear.

For another example, at least some of the conductive fibers constituting the upper conductive layer 100a may be entangled with, intersect, or be the same as at least some of the conductive fibers constituting the lower conductive layer 100b. That is, the conductive material constituting the upper conductive layer 100a or the lower conductive layer 100b may be penetrated or inserted into the upper non-conductive layer 200a and/or the lower non-conductive layer 200b.

As another example, at least some of the non-conductive yarns constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a are entangled or intersected with the non-conductive yarns constituting the lower non-conductive layer 200b, forming the upper non-conductive layer 200a. At least some of the non-conductive threads may be inserted into the lower non-conductive layer 200b, or their physical boundaries in the stacking direction may be unclear. In other words, at least some of the non-conductive yarns constituting the upper non-conductive layer 200a may be at least partially located lower than the non-conductive yarns constituting the lower non-conductive layer 200b, and vice versa.

The plurality of layers described above, for example, the upper conductive layer 100a, the upper non-conductive layer 200a, the lower non-conductive layer 200b, and the lower conductive layer 100b, may be knitted at once. In other words, it can be knitted using multiple types of fiber yarns in one knitting process.

In the conventional case, a non-conductive textile (or base) forming clothing was formed, and electrodes were separately formed and attached to penetrate the inner or outer surface of the clothing, or the textile. For a specific example, a non-conductive textile was formed, and a separate electrode was formed locally on the non-conductive textile by a method such as embroidery using conductive fiber thread. In other words, it was possible to separate the embroidered electrodes from the non-conductive textile if necessary. In this case, the conductive threads that form the embroidery electrode penetrate the non-conductive textile and become integrated with each other, but since they are manufactured through a separate process, the process becomes complicated and may cause an increase in cost. However, according to this embodiment, a plurality of layers constituting the non-conductive portion (NA) and the conductive pattern portion (CA), and the non-conductive portion (NA) and the conductive pattern portion (CA) can be knitted integrally in a single knitting process. This simplifies the process and reduces manufacturing time and manufacturing costs.

In addition, the upper conductive layer 100a (or lower conductive layer 100b) and the upper non-conductive layer 200a (or lower non-conductive layer 200b), and the upper non-conductive layer 200a and lower non-conductive layer 200b ), etc., since an adhesive layer or the like is not used in joining the layers, excellent breathability can be achieved by forming each layer into a knitted fabric and combining them by crossing them, as will be described later.

Hereinafter, the arrangement and tissue structure of the fiber yarns constituting the textile 11 will be described in detail. As described above, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the tissue structure of either the upper layer 11a or the lower layer 11b, for example, the upper layer 11a. Hereinafter, the case where the fiber yarns shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are the tissue structure of the upper layer 11a will be described as an example.

The knitted fabric texture in the conductive pattern portion (CA) and the knitted fabric texture in the non-conductive portion (NA) may be different. That is, the knitting method in the conductive pattern portion (CA) and the knitting method in the non-conductive portion (NA) may be different.

In an exemplary embodiment, the conductive pattern portion (CA) may be knitted including a first conductive yarn 110, a second conductive yarn 120, a first non-conductive yarn 210, and a second non-conductive yarn 220. These may each form a plurality of loops along the course direction.

The first conductor 110 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and includes a 1-1 conductor loop 110L1 (or a first conductor loop) and a 1-2 conductor loop. It may have (110L2) (or the second loop of the first conductive yarn) and the first conductive yarn extension part (110L3) as a repeating unit. The 1-2 conductor loop 110L2 may be located at a bias toward one side in the wale direction (lower side based on the drawing) compared to the 1-1 conductor loop 110L1.

Additionally, the second conductor 120 may form a different repeating unit from the first conductor 110. The second conductor 120 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and may have one second conductor loop 120L1 and a second conductor extension 120L3 as a repeating unit. there is. The repeating unit of the second conductor 120 may be shorter in the course direction than the repeating unit of the first conductor 110. For example, one repeating unit of the first conductive yarn 110 may be knitted to correspond to two repeating units of the second conductive yarn 120.

The second conductor loop 120L1 may be twisted with the 1-2 conductor loop 110L2 to form a combined structure, but may not be entangled with the 1-1 conductor loop 110L1. For a specific example, the second conductor loop 120L1 is at least partially located on the upper side than the 1-2 conductor loop 110L2, and a second conductor extension extending in the course direction from the second conductor loop 120L1 ( 120L3) may be located at least partially lower than the 1-2 conductor loop 110L2.

That is, the layer formed by the first conductor 110 and the layer formed by the second conductor 120 form substantially the same layer, and the first conductor 110 and the second conductor 120 together form an upper conductive layer. (100a) can be formed. The first conductor 110 and the second conductor 120 may be arranged alternately in the wale direction.

In addition, the first non-conducting yarn 210 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and includes a 1-1 non-conducting yarn loop 210L1 (or a first non-conducting yarn loop) and a first non-conducting yarn loop 210L1 It may have 1-2 non-conducting yarn loops (210L2) (or first non-conducting yarn second loops) and a first non-conducting yarn extension (210L3) as a repeating unit. The 1-2 non-conducting yarn loop 210L2 may be located at a bias toward one side in the wale direction (lower side based on the drawing) compared to the 1-1 non-conducting yarn loop 210L1.

The repeating unit formed by the first non-conducting yarn 210 may be substantially the same as the repeating unit formed by the first conducting yarn 110. However, the loops formed by the first non-conducting yarn 210 may be positioned alternately with the loops formed by the first conducting yarn 110. This will be described later.

Additionally, the second non-conducting yarn 220 may form a different repeating unit from the first non-conducting yarn 210. The second non-conductive yarn 220 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and includes one second non-conductive yarn loop 220L1 and a second non-conductive yarn extension 220L3 as a repeating unit. You can have it as The repeating unit of the second non-conducting yarn 220 may be shorter in the course direction than the repeating unit of the first non-conducting yarn 210. For example, one repeat unit of the first non-conductive yarn 210 may be knitted to correspond to two repeat units of the second non-conductive yarn 220.

The second non-conducting yarn loop 220L1 may be twisted with the 1-2 non-conducting yarn loop 210L2 to form a combined structure, but may not be entangled with the 1-1 non-conducting yarn loop 210L1. As a specific example, the second non-conducting yarn loop 220L1 is located at least partially above the first-2 non-conducting yarn loop 210L2 and has a second non-conducting yarn loop extending in the course direction from the second non-conducting yarn loop 220L1. The conducting yarn extension portion 220L3 may be located at least partially lower than the first-second non-conducting yarn loop 210L2.

That is, the layer formed by the first non-conducting yarn 210 and the layer formed by the second non-conducting yarn 220 form substantially the same layer, and the first non-conducting yarn 210 and the second non-conducting yarn 220 Together, they can form the upper non-conductive layer 200a. The first non-conducting wire 210 and the second non-conducting wire 220 may be arranged alternately in the wale direction.

The first non-conductor 210 is located on the rear side relatively compared to the first conductor 110, that is, on the lower layer (11b) side, and the second non-conductor 220 is located on the rear side relatively compared to the second conductor 120. It can be located in . However, the first non-conductor 210 may form a structure that is at least partially entangled with or intersects the first conductor 110, and accordingly, the lower surface of the first non-conductor 210 is partially intertwined with the first conductor 110. ) can be located on the upper side (front side) than the upper surface. Likewise, the lower surface of the second non-conductive yarn 220 may be partially located above the upper surface of the second non-conductive yarn 120.

Therefore, in this specification, 'the second fiber yarn is located relatively lower than the first fiber yarn' means that, despite the entangled structure or crossing structure, the degree or length of the second fiber yarn located lower than the first fiber yarn, It should be understood as being greater than the degree or length of the second fiber yarn located above the first fiber yarn.

The loop formed by the first conductive wires 110 and the loop formed by the first non-conducting wires 210 may be arranged alternately in a plane. For a specific example, in a certain repeating unit, the 1-1st conductive loop (110L1) may be located relatively to the right of the 1-2 non-conducting loop (210L2). At this time, the 1-2 non-conducting yarn loop (210L2) may be located on an upper side than the 1-1 conducting yarn loop (110L1).

Additionally, the 1-2 conductive loop (110L2) may be located relatively to the left of the 1-1 non-conductive loop (210L1). At this time, the 1-2 conductive loop (110L2) may be located above the 1-1 non-conductive loop (210L1).

In addition, the first conductive yarn extension 110L3 is located at least partially on the upper side than the 1-1 non-conductive yarn loop 210L1, and is at least partially located on the lower side than the 1-2 non-conductive yarn loop 210L2, thereby forming the first It can be connected to a non-evangelist (210). Here, the first conductor extension portion 110L3 refers to a portion that connects the 1-2 conductor loop 110L2 of one repeating unit and the 1-1 conductor loop 110L1 of another repeat unit in the course direction.

Likewise, the first non-conductive yarn extension 210L3 is located at least partially on the upper side than the 1-1 conductive yarn loop 110L1 and at least partially located on the lower side than the 1-2 conductive yarn loop 110L2, so that the first non-conductive yarn extension 210L3 It can be connected by twisting with the evangelist (110). Here, the first non-conductive yarn extension (210L3) refers to a part that connects the 1-2 non-conductive yarn loop (210L2) of one repeating unit and the 1-1 non-conductive yarn loop (210L1) of another repeating unit in the course direction. .

Meanwhile, the loop formed by the second conductive wires 120 and the loop formed by the second non-conducting wires 220 may be arranged alternately in a plane. The second conductive yarn loop 120L1 may be located at a bias toward one side in the wale direction (lower side based on the drawing) compared to the second non-conducting yarn loop 220L1.

The second conductors 120 may be located above the second non-conductors 220 at all positions.

In addition, the second conductive yarn extension 120L3 is always located on the upper side than the 1-1 conductive yarn loop 110L1 and the 1-1 non-conductive yarn loop 210L1, and the second conductive yarn extension 120L3 is at least partially It may be located lower than the 1-2 conductive loop (110L2) and the 1-2 non-conductive loop (210L2).

In addition, the second non-conductive yarn extension 220L3 is always located lower than the 1-2 conductive yarn loop 110L2 and the 1-2 non-conductive yarn loop 210L2, and the second conductive yarn extension 120L3 is at least partially It may be located on an upper side than the 1-1 conductive loop (110L1) and the 1-1 non-conductive loop (210L1).

In the conductive pattern portion (CA) having the knitted structure as described above, the first conductive yarn 110 forms the upper conductive layer (100a), and the second non-conductive yarn 220 forms the upper non-conductive layer (200a). can do. In addition, the second conductor 120 forms a twisted structure with the first conductor 110 and the first non-conductor 210 at the upper side, and the second non-conductor 220 forms a twisted structure with the first conductor 110 and the first non-conductor 210. By forming a twisted structure on the lower side of the non-conducting yarn 210, a dense tissue structure that is strong against stretching can be formed. In addition, the first conductor 110 and the second non-conductor 120 protrude relatively on the upper side, that is, the front side, and the first non-conductor 210 and the second non-conductor 220, especially the second non-conductor ( 220) may be configured as the relatively lower side, that is, the upper non-conductive layer 200a.

In the above, the tissue structure using one fiber yarn for each of the first conductor 110, the second conductor 120, the first non-conductor 210, and the second non-conductor 220 was described, but the structure described above is a wale Can be repeated in either direction. Below, the organizational structure in the non-conducting department (NA) will be described.

In an exemplary embodiment, the non-conductive portion (NA) may be knitted including a third non-conductive yarn 260, a fourth non-conductive yarn 270, a fifth non-conductive yarn 280, and a sixth non-conductive yarn 290. . These may each form a plurality of loops along the course direction.

The third non-conducting yarn 260 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and may have one third non-conducting yarn loop 260L1 as a repeating unit. It can be understood that the third non-conducting yarn 260 forms a loop as many as one repeating unit in the course direction and does not have an extension part.

The fourth non-conductive yarn 270 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and includes one fourth non-conductive yarn loop 270L1 and a fourth non-conductive yarn extension 270L3 as a repeating unit. You can have it as

The fifth non-conductive yarn 280 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, and includes one fifth non-conductive yarn loop 280L1 and a fifth non-conductive yarn extension 280L3 as a repeating unit. You can have it as

The sixth non-conducting yarn 290 includes loops formed along the course direction, for example, from left to right in the drawing, including a 6-1 non-conducting yarn loop 290L1 (or a sixth non-conducting yarn first loop) and a 6- It may include two non-conducting yarn loops 290L2 (or a sixth non-conducting yarn second loop). It can be understood that the 6-1st non-conducting yarn loop 290L1 and the 6-2 non-conducting yarn loop 290L2 of the 6th non-conducting yarn 290 are each connected by every unit in the course direction and do not have an extension part.

The third non-conducting yarn 260 to the sixth non-conducting yarn 290 may form repeating units that are at least partially different from each other. For example, one repeating unit of the fourth non-conducting yarn 270 to the sixth non-conducting yarn 290 may be knitted to correspond to two repeating units of the third non-conducting yarn 260.

In addition, the 6-1 non-conducting yarn loop (290L1) is twisted or crossed with the fourth non-conducting yarn loop (270L1), and the 6-2 non-conducting yarn loop (290L2) is twisted or crossed with the fifth non-conducting yarn loop (280L1). can do. The length or size of the 6-1 non-conducting yarn loop (290L1) in the wale direction may be larger than the length or size of the 6-2 non-conducting yarn loop (290L2) in the wale direction. The 6-1 non-conducting yarn loop 290L1 and the 6-2 non-conducting yarn loop 290L2 may be arranged alternately in the course direction.

That is, in connection in any wale direction, the third non-conductive yarn loop (260L1), the fourth non-conductive yarn loop (270L1) and the 6-1 non-conductive yarn loop (290L1) are entangled with each other, and the fifth non-conductive yarn extension ( 280L3) may be located at least partially lower than the 6-1 non-conducting yarn loop 290L1.

In addition, in connection to any other wale direction, the third non-conductive yarn loop (260L1), the fifth non-conductive yarn loop (280L1) and the 6-2 non-conductive yarn loop (290L2) are entangled with each other, and the fourth non-conductive yarn extension part (270L3) may be located at least partially lower than the fifth non-conducting yarn loop (280L1).

In an exemplary embodiment, any non-conductive yarn of the non-conductive portion (NA) may be a fiber yarn that is substantially the same as a non-conductive yarn of the conductive pattern portion (CA), that is, one strand. In other words, the non-conductive portion (NA) and the conductive pattern portion (CA) may share at least some non-conductive yarns.

For example, the first non-conductive yarn 210 of the conductive pattern part (CA) has the same configuration as the third non-conductive yarn 260 of the non-conductive part (NA), and the second non-conductive yarn 220 of the conductive pattern part (CA) ) may have the same configuration as the fourth non-conducting thread 270 of the non-conducting portion (NA). In addition, the first non-conductive yarn 210 of the conductive pattern part (CA) has the same configuration as the fifth non-conductive yarn 280 of the non-conductive part (NA), and the second non-conductive yarn 220 of the conductive pattern part (CA) It may have the same configuration as the 6th non-conductor (290) of the non-conductor (NA).

The textile 11 knitted with the above-described structure and having a conductive pattern portion (CA) and a non-conductive portion (NA) is used like an electrode using the protruding conductive pattern portion (CA), but the textile 11 is entirely knitted. Even when the structure exhibits high stretching characteristics, stretching in the conductive pattern portion (CA) can be suppressed and the impact on the quality of the collected electrical signal can be reduced. In addition, since the textile 11 is provided on a knitted basis, the clothing 1 has excellent adhesion and fit, and may be suitable for use as clothing for exercise.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through experimental examples of the present invention.

<Manufacturing example>

A conductive pattern portion was formed by knitting in the structure shown in FIG. 3, and a non-conductive portion was formed by knitting in the structure shown in FIG. 4. These were knitted at once using different fiber yarns in one knitting process. In addition, as shown in Figure 2, their back surfaces were knitted to face each other, and the upper conductive layer and lower conductive layer were electrically connected.

As conductive yarn, 2/3 sets of silver-coated conductive yarn and 1 set of polycovering yarn 20/75 were used, and as non-conductive yarn, 2 sets of nylon 100D/2 and 1 pair of polycovering yarn 20/75 were used. The knit tissue design program was designed using STOLL M1 Plus 7.0.038 software, and then knit pants with built-in electrodes were produced using a 10-gauge flat knitting machine (CMS 330 HP W TT Sport). The size of the electrode was 20 mm in diameter. The cutting size of the non-conductive part was set to 11.5, and the cutting size of the conductive pattern part was set to 10.0.

<Comparative example>

The performance of the knit electrode was tested by varying the types of tissue in the electrode portion, that is, the conductive pattern portion, and the tissue in the non-conductive portion, that is, the rest of the pants excluding the electrode portion. In order to clearly compare the characteristics of the conductive pattern part according to the change in tissue among the various candidates, the non-conductive part was knitted in the structure of Figure 4 as in the manufacturing example, and the tensile characteristics, electrical characteristics, electromyography signal collection performance, etc. according to the knitting method of the electrode part. was evaluated.

<Experimental Example 1 Tensile property evaluation>

Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 2 Comparative Example 3 Comparative Example 4 Comparative Example 5 Manufacturing example Electrode knitting method plain stitch
(plain) tuck stitch
(tuck) pearl stitch
(purl) interlock stitch
(interlock) miss stitch
(miss) Figure 3 Initial state (mm) 20 20 20 20 20 20 After 100% elongation (mm) 35 36 36 36 29 22 Rate of change (%) 75 80 80 80 45 10

Table 1 above shows the rate of change in the length of the electrode when the pants are stretched 100%. Referring to Table 1, in the case of the most commonly used conventional knitting methods such as plain, tuck, pearl, and other interlock methods, when the pants are stretched 100%, that is, when the non-conductive part is stretched 100%, the change rate of the electrode is It was over 75%.

When using miss stitch, the change rate was relatively low at 45%, and when using the new tissue method according to the present invention, the change rate was 10%. In other words, even when other parts of the pants stretched 100%, the electrodes stretched only about 10%.

<Experimental Example 2 Electrical Characteristics Evaluation>

Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 2 Comparative Example 3 Comparative Example 4 Comparative Example 5 Manufacturing example Electrode knitting method plain stitch
(plain) tuck stitch
(tuck) pearl stitch
(purl) interlock stitch
(interlock) miss stitch
(miss) Figure 3 Impedance (Ω) 10988.30±124.05 11563.22±105.61 12891.29±171.58 13399.99±204.22 7348.23±176.88 405.89±120.21

Table 2 above shows the results of measuring electrode-skin impedance at 100 Hz while wearing pants and configuring the electrode portion to be stretched to a significant extent. Referring to Table 2, it can be seen that the new tissue method according to the present invention exhibits a significantly low impedance. This is similar to Ag/AgCl electrode.

<Experimental Example 3 EMG signal collection performance evaluation>

After wearing the pants of the manufacturing examples and comparative examples and measuring noise in the initial state (rest), a squat movement was performed to measure the signal of the rectus femoris muscle, which is the target muscle (FIG. 5). The squat movement was repeated 5 times, with 5 seconds of movement followed by 5 seconds of rest.

To analyze the EMG data and muscle contraction activation state of the electromyographic signal measured from each electrode, the frequency of the signal was filtered from 20 Hz to 500 Hz, and then the AR EMG (average rectified EMG) of each data was extracted. Afterwards, to confirm the electromyogram collection performance, the signal to noise (SNR) was analyzed using the ratio of the AR EMG value before muscle activation and the AR EMG value during muscle activation.

The AR EMG results after filtering are shown in Figure 6. Referring to FIG. 6, when looking at the raw AR EMG and filtered EMG data as a whole, the EMG signal collection performance in the muscle activated state is similar, but in the noise in the rest state, in the case of comparative examples You can see that the noise is very large. However, it can be confirmed that the new tissue method according to the present invention generates significantly less noise.

Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 2 Comparative Example 3 Comparative Example 4 Manufacturing example Electrode knitting method plain stitch
(plain) tuck stitch
(tuck) pearl stitch
(purl) interlock stitch
(interlock) Figure 3 SNR 31.10±0.58 11.21±1.80 6.66±1.8 1.80±1.63 25.72±1.02

Table 3 above shows the results of calculating the SNR. The larger the value, the clearer the difference between the signal collection values in the resting and active periods, indicating superior signal collection performance. It can be seen that the pants according to the new tissue method of the present invention have an SNR of about 26, which is significantly superior to other tissue methods.

Although the above description focuses on the embodiments of the present invention, this is only an example and does not limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art will understand the present invention without departing from the essential characteristics of the embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent that various modifications and applications not exemplified above are possible.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood to include changes, equivalents, or substitutes of the technical ideas exemplified above. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments of the present invention can be modified and implemented. And these variations and differences in application should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (4)

A knit-based textile composed at least partially of a knit tissue, comprising a conductive pattern portion and a non-conductive portion,
The non-conductive portion includes one or more non-conductive layers in which at least one non-conductive yarn is knitted to form a plurality of loops in a course direction,
The conductive pattern portion has a stacked structure of one or more non-conductive layers in which the non-conductive yarns are knitted to form a plurality of rings in the course direction, and one or more conductive layers in which at least one conductive yarn is knitted to form a plurality of rings in the course direction. Conductive textile having. According to paragraph 1,
A conductive textile in which the types of knitted fabric in the non-conductive portion formed by the non-conductive yarn and the knitted fabric in the conductive pattern portion formed by the non-conductive yarn are different. According to paragraph 1,
A conductive textile in which the non-conductive part and the conductive pattern part are knitted at once. According to paragraph 2,
The non-conductive portion and the non-conductive layer of the conductive pattern portion are conductive textiles that share the non-conductive yarn.