TWI751935B - Optical fiber fabric device - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical fiber fabric device including a fabric, a plurality of light sources, and a shell is provided. The fabric includes a plurality of side emitting type optical fibers and a plurality of yarns. At least a part of the yarns and the side emitting type optical fibers are knitted in a cross manner. Each of the side emitting type optical fibers extends along a first direction of the fabric, and the side emitting type optical fibers are arranged along a second direction of the fabric. The fabric has a plurality of cut openings at different positions in the second direction or a plurality of cut openings in different layers. The side emitting optical fibers are divided into a plurality of bundles of the optical fibers, each bundle of the optical fibers passing through the cut openings. The light sources are optically coupled to the bundles of the optical fibers. The shell has an opening. The fabric covers the shell. The bundles of the optical fibers extend towards the light sources through the opening.

Description

Fiber Optic Fabric Device

The present invention relates to a device having a fabric, and in particular to a fiber optic fabric device.

Products that traditionally use fabric as the appearance surface, if the product itself has the function of lighting display or atmosphere requirements, it is often troubled by the following problems.

1. The light guide structure needs to be specially designed to increase the development and verification time of the mechanism, and increase the cost of mold opening, injection parts and assembly.

2. The light guide path is often occupied by the key parts placed under the fabric, and the design is difficult. For example, products such as speakers, motherboards, antennas, etc. are not suitable due to internal space constraints. If the light-emitting area is larger and the light-guiding structure becomes more complicated, the number of light-emitting diodes, the area of the circuit board, and the difficulty of circuit design increase, resulting in insufficient internal space or increased thermal energy to meet the lighting effect.

3. Long-term development and verification schedules are often required due to simulation testing. If the light source is emitted from the bottom of the fabric, the light source is often blocked due to the density relationship of the fabric weaving, resulting in poor lighting effect. Generally, a light shield (black light cover) needs to be added to avoid the interference of the surrounding light sources, which also increases the cost.

Fourth, it is often difficult to present a richer light effect than the monotonous lighting display. The light-emitting area is difficult to match with the visual design method, and it cannot be displayed on products with complex curved surfaces, such as trademarks, exclusive patterns, etc., which are difficult to display.

5. When the conventional optical fiber cloth does not guide light, the optical fiber filament will appear milky white. In addition to the poor appearance, the plastic optical fiber itself is less wear-resistant, and the clustering and light source modules are mostly used in clothing products. , and did not give more consideration to the fit with the shell and the mass production of the product.

The invention provides an optical fiber fabric device, which can effectively reduce the number of light sources, the number of light guide-related parts, development time and cost, and can make the light effect design more variable.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an optical fiber fabric device, which includes a fabric, a plurality of light sources, and a casing. The fabric includes a plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers and a plurality of yarns, and at least a part of the plurality of yarns and the plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers are woven in a cross manner. Each side light-emitting fiber extends along a first direction of the fabric, and the plurality of side light-emitting fibers are arranged along a second direction of the fabric. The fabric has a plurality of cuts at different locations in the second direction, or a plurality of cuts at different layers of the fabric. The plurality of side-emitting optical fibers are divided into a plurality of optical fiber bundles, and the plurality of optical fiber bundles pass through the slits respectively. The light sources are respectively optically coupled to the plurality of fiber bundles. The housing has an opening, wherein the fabric covers the housing, and the plurality of fiber optic bundles extend toward the light sources through the opening.

In the fiber optic fabric device of the embodiment of the present invention, a side light-emitting optical fiber extending along the first direction is used, and the fabric has a plurality of cutting slits located at different positions in the second direction, or has a plurality of cutting slits located in different layers of the fabric The slits are cut, and a plurality of fiber bundles pass through the slits respectively, and are then optically coupled with the light source. Therefore, the fiber optic fabric device of the embodiment of the present invention can effectively reduce the number of light sources, the number of light guide-related parts, development time and cost, and can make the light effect design more variable.

1A is a schematic view of the back of the fiber optic fabric device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a schematic front view of the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 1A , and FIG. 1C is a schematic view of an opening of an optical fiber passing through a housing in the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 1A , 1D shows that a light source in the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 1A is optically coupled to an optical fiber bundle. For clarity, the housing is not shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B , please refer to FIG. 1C for the housing. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a side light-emitting optical fiber and a yarn in the optical fiber fabric device of FIG. 1A , and FIG. 2B is a schematic top view of a part of the fabric of FIG. 1A . Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1D , 2A and 2B, the fiber optic fabric device 100 of this embodiment includes a fabric 200 , a plurality of light sources 110 and a housing 120 (as shown in FIG. 1C ). The fabric 200 includes a plurality of side-exit optical fibers 210 (as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2B ) and a plurality of yarns 220, at least a portion of the plurality of yarns 220 (for example, along a warp direction D1 of the fabric 200 (ie, The yarns 220a) extending in the second direction) are woven with the plurality of side light exit type optical fibers 210 in a perpendicular cross manner. Each side light exit type optical fiber 210 extends along a weft direction D2 (ie, the first direction) of the fabric 200 , and the plurality of side light exit type optical fibers 210 are arranged along the warp direction D1 of the fabric 200 . The warp direction D1 refers to the direction perpendicular to the reel in a roll of fabric 200, that is, the circumferential direction of a roll of fabric, and the weft direction D2 refers to the direction parallel to the reel, that is, the direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction of a roll of fabric.

The fabric 200 has a plurality of slits 205 (as shown in FIG. 1A ) located at different positions in the warp direction D1 . The plurality of side-emitting optical fibers 210 are divided into a plurality of fiber bundles 211 , and the plurality of fiber bundles 211 pass through the slits 205 respectively. The light sources 110 are optically coupled to the plurality of fiber bundles 211 respectively. As shown in FIG. 1C , the casing 120 has an opening 122 , the fabric 200 covers the casing 120 , and the plurality of optical fiber bundles 211 extend toward the light sources 110 through the opening 122 . In this way, the fabric 200 can be adhered to the casing 120 without affecting the tactile sensation and visual effect.

Specifically, in the optical fiber fabric device 200 of the present embodiment, the side light-emitting optical fibers 210 extend in the weft direction D2, and the cutting slits 205 are located at different positions in the warp direction D1, and the plurality of optical fiber bundles 211 pass through respectively The cutting slits 205 are then optically coupled to the light source 110 . Therefore, the fiber optic fabric device 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention can effectively reduce the cost of embedded light sources or light guide columns and the difficulty of designing internal spaces and mechanisms, thereby effectively reducing the number of light sources, the number of light guide-related parts, and the development time schedule. and cost. In addition, various patterns can be woven with the side light-emitting optical fiber 210 and the yarn 220, so that the light effect design can be more variable.

In this embodiment, the light sources 110 respectively have multiple luminous colors, and the light sources 110 are, for example, light emitting diodes or laser diodes. Referring to FIG. 1D , the illumination light 112 emitted by the light source 110 is transmitted to the inside of the side-light-emitting optical fiber 210 by the side-light-emitting optical fiber 210 near the end E1 of the corresponding light source 110 , and exits the side-light-emitting fiber 210 from the side of the side-light-emitting fiber 210 . type optical fiber 210 and irradiated to the outside. In this embodiment, a plurality of (eg, four in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B ) light sources 110 with different emitting colors respectively emit a plurality of different colors of illumination light 112 to a plurality of fiber bundles 211 (eg, four fiber bundles 211 ) , and the plurality of fiber bundles 211 are woven into a plurality of (eg, four) different regions A1 , A2 , A3 , and A4 of the fabric 200 , and these regions A1 , A2 , A3 , and A4 are arranged in the warp direction D1 . In this way, the fabric 200 can be made to produce various luminous effects of different colors. In this embodiment, these areas A1, A2, A3, and A4 are connected. However, in other embodiments, these areas A1, A2, A3, and A4 may also be spaced apart from each other. In one embodiment, the fiber optic fabric device 100 may further include a control chip 140, which may include a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a color combiner (eg, red, green, and blue combiners). combiner)), in this way, the change and display mode of the light source 110 can be regulated. In addition, when a light source 110 has red, green and blue light-emitting chips, the microcontroller and the color combiner can change the light-emitting intensity ratio of the three-color light-emitting chips to mix different colors.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers 210 have color when the light sources 110 do not emit light, that is, they are not white, that is, the plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers 210 are color-transmitting fibers, so The fabric 200 can still exhibit attractive colors when the light source 110 is not illuminated. The color-transparent optical fiber can be obtained by simultaneously coating and dyeing the optical fiber, or by mixing the optical fiber materials with color particles and then drawing together to form the above-mentioned color-transparent optical fiber. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the side-emitting optical fibers 210 in each optical fiber bundle 211 are aligned near the end E1 of the corresponding light source 110 (as shown in FIG. 1D ), so that the side-emitting optical fibers 210 can be aligned. Has a good and average light harvesting effect. In addition, in this embodiment, the diameters of the plurality of yarns 220 are larger than the diameters of the plurality of side-light-emitting optical fibers 210, so that the surface of the side-light-emitting optical fibers 210 is less likely to be touched by foreign objects. This improves the abrasion resistance of the fabric 200 as a whole. In this embodiment, in addition to the yarns 220a extending in the warp direction D1, the fabric 200 also has a plurality of yarns 220b extending in the weft direction D2, and these yarns 220b and the side light-emitting optical fibers 210 are The distribution is staggered on D1, as shown in 2B.

In this embodiment, the fiber optic fabric device 200 further includes a plurality of concentrators 230 , and the plurality of fiber optic bundles 211 are disposed near the ends E1 of the light sources 110 , as shown in FIG. 1C . In addition, in this embodiment, the fiber optic fabric device 200 further includes a base 130 , the light sources 110 are disposed on the base 130 , and the bundlers 230 are fixed on the base 130 , so that the plurality of fiber bundles 211 are respectively aligned with the base 130 . The light sources 110 are aligned.

In this embodiment, any two adjacent ones of the cutting slits 205 are arranged in a staggered position in the weft direction D2. In this way, when the plurality of optical fiber bundles 211 are to be assembled above the light source 110 , the lateral light-emitting type optical fibers 210 can be easily picked out and sorted into a whole bundle.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a side light-emitting optical fiber and yarn in an optical fiber fabric device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to FIG. 3 , the fiber optic fabric device of the present embodiment is similar to the fiber optic fabric device 100 of FIG. 1A , and the difference between the two is that the plurality of yarns 220c include functional yarns, so that the fiber optic fabric device can be applicable to various usage scenarios and functions need. Functional yarns are, for example, flame-retardant and fire-resistant yarns, light-resistant yarns, high-temperature-resistant yarns, smoke-resistant yarns, water-repellent yarns, scratch-resistant yarns, abrasion-resistant yarns, fade-resistant yarns, household chemicals-resistant yarns high-quality yarn, easy-to-clean yarn, flexible yarn, dust-proof fungus yarn or a combination thereof.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a backside of an optical fiber fabric device according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a schematic front view of the optical fiber fabric device of FIG. 4A . Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B , the optical fiber fabric device 100 d of the present embodiment is similar to the optical fiber fabric device 100 of FIG. 1A , and the differences between the two are as follows. In the fiber optic fabric device 100d of the present embodiment, any two adjacent ones of the slits 205 have a distance G in the meridian direction D1. When the fiber bundles 211 are to be assembled above the light source 110, it can be easily These side-exit optical fibers 210 are picked out and sorted into a bundle. In addition, in this embodiment, the plurality of different regions A1 , A2 , A3 , and A4 in which the plurality of fiber bundles 211 are woven into the fabric 200 also have a gap G1 between adjacent ones.

FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the back of the fiber optic fabric device according to still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a schematic front view of the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 5A . Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B , the optical fiber fabric device 100e of the present embodiment is similar to the optical fiber fabric device 100 of FIG. 1A , and the differences between the two are as follows. Please refer to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B at the same time, in the fiber optic fabric device 100e of the present embodiment, the fabric 200e has a plurality of slits 205e located in different layers. Specifically, the fabric 200e includes a plurality of sub-layers 201, each sub-layer 201 is equivalent to a layer of the fabric 200 as shown in FIG. 1A, and a portion of the plurality of fiber bundles 211 extends from one of the sub-layers 201 to an adjacent other one. A sublayer 201 . For example, an optical fiber bundle 211 in region A5 extends from sublayer 201a to sublayer 201b, and extends to light source 110 through a cutout 205e on sublayer 201b. On the other hand, an optical fiber bundle 211 located in the area A6 extends to the light source 110 through the slit 205e of the sublayer 201a. Such a structural design can make the area A5 and the area A6 arranged in the latitudinal direction D2, and the area A5 and the area A6 can emit light of different colors, for example.

In another embodiment, the optical fiber fabric device can also have the features of the optical fiber fabric device 100 of FIG. 1A and the features of the optical fiber fabric device 100e of FIG. The slits and a plurality of slits located in different layers of the fabric can make the above-mentioned light-emitting areas arranged in both the warp D1 and the weft D2 directions in the fabric, and can be designed into any desired pattern.

To sum up, in the optical fiber fabric device of the embodiment of the present invention, the side light-emitting type optical fiber extending in the weft direction is adopted, and the fabric has a plurality of cutting slits located at different positions in the warp direction, or has a plurality of different positions in the fabric. The slits of the layer, and the plurality of optical fiber bundles pass through the slits respectively, and then are optically coupled with the light source. Therefore, the fiber optic fabric device of the embodiment of the present invention can effectively reduce the number of light sources, the number of light guide-related parts, development time and cost, and can make the light effect design more variable.

100, 100d, 100e: Fiber Optic Fabric Devices 110: Light source 112: Lighting Light 120: Shell 122: Opening 130: base 140: Control chip 200, 200e: Fabric 201, 201a, 201b: Sublayers 205, 205e: Cutout 210: side light type fiber 211: Fiber Bundle 220, 220a, 220b, 220c: Yarn 230: Buncher A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6: Area D1: Meridian D2: Weft E1: end G, G1: Spacing

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of the back of an optical fiber fabric device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic front view of the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 1A . FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram illustrating the opening of the optical fiber through the housing in the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 1A . FIG. 1D shows a light source optically coupled to a fiber optic bundle in the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 1A . FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a side light-emitting optical fiber and yarn in the optical fiber fabric device of FIG. 1A . FIG. 2B is a schematic partial top view of the fabric of FIG. 1A . 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a side light-emitting optical fiber and yarn in an optical fiber fabric device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the back of an optical fiber fabric device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a schematic front view of the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 4A . FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the back of an optical fiber fabric device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a schematic front view of the fiber optic fabric device of FIG. 5A .

100: Fiber Optic Fabric Installation

110: Light source

200: Fabric

205: Cutout

210: side light type fiber

211: Fiber Bundle

D1: Meridian

D2: Weft

Claims (13)

An optical fiber fabric device, comprising: A fabric including a plurality of side-light-emitting optical fibers and a plurality of yarns, at least a part of the plurality of yarns and the plurality of side-light-emitting optical fibers are woven in a cross manner, and each of the side-light-emitting optical fibers is along a first edge of the fabric. Extending in one direction, and the plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers are arranged along a second direction of the fabric, the fabric has a plurality of slits located at different positions in the second direction, or has a plurality of different layers of the fabric a cutting slit, the plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers are divided into a plurality of optical fiber bundles, and the multiple optical fiber bundles pass through the cutting slits respectively; a plurality of light sources, respectively optically coupled to the plurality of optical fiber bundles; and A casing has an opening, the fabric covers the casing, and the plurality of optical fiber bundles extend toward the light sources through the opening. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of side-emitting optical fibers have colors when the light sources do not emit light. The optical fiber fabric device as claimed in claim 1, wherein any two adjacent ones of the cutting slits are arranged in a staggered manner in the first direction. The optical fiber fabric device as claimed in claim 1, wherein any two adjacent ones of the slits have a distance in the second direction. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the fabric includes a plurality of sub-layers, and a portion of the plurality of fiber optic bundles extends from one of the sub-layers to an adjacent another sub-layer. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the side-emitting optical fibers in each optical fiber bundle are trimmed at an end close to the corresponding light source. The fiber optic fabric device according to claim 1, wherein the diameters of the plurality of yarns are larger than the diameters of the plurality of side light-emitting optical fibers. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of yarns comprise functional yarns. The fiber optic fabric device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of bundlers disposed at ends of the plurality of fiber optic bundles close to the light sources. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 9, further comprising a base, wherein the light sources are disposed on the base, and the bundlers are fixed on the base, so that the plurality of optical fiber bundles are respectively aligned with the light sources . The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the light sources have multiple luminescent colors. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the light sources are light emitting diodes or laser diodes. The fiber optic fabric device of claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the plurality of yarns is woven with the plurality of side-exit optical fibers in a perpendicular cross manner.

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