WO2003039014A1

WO2003039014A1 - Garment with an electronic circuit

Info

Publication number: WO2003039014A1
Application number: PCT/DE2002/002945
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernd Burchard; Stefan Jung
Original assignee: Infineon Technologies Ag
Priority date: 2001-10-29
Filing date: 2002-08-09
Publication date: 2003-05-08
Also published as: DE10153312A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a piece of garment (100) having an electronic circuit (200) that comprises at least one unit (101 to 106, 210, 211) for data acquisition and/or data output and a transmission interface (108, 214), wherein said transmission interface (108, 214) can transmit electronic signals between the electronic circuit (200) and an electronic communication device (109, 216) external of the piece of garment by means of a wireless short range radio communication (219, 221) or a wired connection (217, 220).

Description

description

Garment with an electronic circuit

The invention relates to a garment with an electronic circuit.

According to the prior art, it is known to integrate a communication device in the form of an electronic circuit into a piece of clothing. The electronic circuit can, for example, be subsequently sewn or glued into an item of clothing which has already been manufactured, or can also be woven into the item of clothing during manufacture. One aim of the combination of the garment and the communication device is to give the garment a certain degree of "intelligence". This can be done by the communication device being, for example, a radio receiver, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), which often also as

Organizer is called, or a combination of these devices. The user of the garment is thus offered constant availability of the corresponding communication device. If the communication device is a cell phone, this also ensures largely uninterrupted accessibility of the user of the item of clothing.

However, this results in a number of disadvantages for the “intelligent” item of clothing just described. For example, an “intelligent” item of clothing with a mobile phone function has the disadvantage that it is in direct competition with modern mobile phones. The development of modern mobile phones not only makes them more powerful, but also smaller in size and weight. As a result, modern mobile phones are extremely portable and offer the user one almost as great availability as an "intelligent" garment with a mobile phone function. The same applies to "intelligent" garments with an organizer and / or radio function.

Another disadvantage of the "intelligent" garment is the following fact: If a user who relies on the availability of the "intelligent" garment forgets, loses or deliberately takes off the "intelligent" garment, the user is not offered any

Possibility to use the communication device from the "intelligent" garment at another location. This means that the communication device is no longer available at all times.

Furthermore, the “intelligent” item of clothing described above has the following disadvantage: If a user wishes the communication device of the “intelligent” item of clothing to be permanently available, but at the same time wants to change the “intelligent” item of clothing occasionally for fashion and / or hygienic reasons, the user needs several copies of the "intelligent" garment. It is therefore indirectly necessary for the user to purchase several communication devices. These multiple communication devices should also be the same in terms of their functionality and their usability in order to avoid conversion difficulties for the user when changing the “intelligent” items of clothing. This inevitable multiple purchase of similar communication devices unnecessarily makes them more expensive

"Intelligent" garments. In addition, the desired equipment with similar communication devices is no longer given in the course of the progressive development with a delayed purchase of several "intelligent" garments. In [1] a piece of clothing is described in which a recording and / or playback unit is incorporated, the recording and / or playback unit being integrated as a digital / analog, miniaturized and flat structure which is arranged separately from one another by a Bus structure interconnected function groups is formed.

The invention is therefore based on the problem of specifying a piece of clothing with an electronic circuit which does not require expensive multiple purchases of the same type of communication devices when purchasing several pieces of clothing according to the invention and which can be used as the external mobile communication devices continue to develop.

The problem is solved by a garment with an electronic circuit with the features according to the independent claim.

In a garment with an electronic circuit, the electronic circuit has at least one unit for data acquisition and / or output of data and a transmission interface, the transmission interface being electronic signals between the electronic circuit and a garment-external electronic communication device by means of a short-range wireless radio connection or can transmit a wired connection.

The garment according to the invention can thus be clearly viewed as an additional and / or expansion unit for a garment-external communication device, which expands the input and / or output options of the garment-external communication device. The electronic circuitry of the garment consequently provides not an independent, functional communication device.

An advantage of the invention is that the garment does not compete with the currently available mobile communication devices. Since the electronic circuitry of the garment merely represents an additional and / or expansion unit for a communication device external to the garment, a communication external to the garment is always an independent, i.e. external, item of clothing. Functional, communication device necessary regardless of the garment.

Another advantage of the garment is that it is inexpensive to manufacture. The reason for this is that only the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data, the transmission interface, a power supply and electrical connecting lines are provided in the garment. The circuits of a communication device, which are complex to manufacture, therefore do not have to be produced in every item of clothing, as a result of which the manufacturing costs for the item of clothing are reduced.

It is also advantageous that when purchasing several items of clothing, no expensive multiple purchases of similar communication devices are required. This reduces the acquisition costs if a user purchases several items of clothing according to the invention.

An additional advantage is that the garment can continue to be used even if the communication device external to the garment has expanded and / or has new functions due to ongoing development.

According to the invention, the communication device external to the garment can be a radio receiver, a television receiver, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), which is also referred to as an organizer, a notebook computer or a combination of several such or similar devices. The transmission unit of the

Garment-external communication device, which is the counterpart to the transmission unit of the garment, can also be provided outside the garment-external communication device. So the transfer unit of the garment-external

Communication device can be realized for example in the form of a suitably designed hanger.

The unit for data acquisition and / or output of data can have, for example, a loudspeaker, an optical data display unit, a light-emitting diode, a lamp, a heating element, a motor, a switch, a button, a microphone and / or a camera.

Instead of in a piece of clothing, the invention can also be integrated, for example, into a soft toy or into a toy doll.

In a preferred embodiment of the item of clothing, the electronic circuit has at least one processor which is suitable for processing analog and / or digital data signals. The digital data signals are signals that can be sent or received by the transmission unit, while analog data signals are recorded or output by the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data. The processor can, for example, carry out a signal compression or a signal decompression and / or a signal coding or a signal decoding.

A memory unit is preferably provided in the electronic circuit of the garment. If for for a certain period of time no connection to the communication device external to the garment is possible, data entered by the user can be temporarily stored by means of the storage unit until the input data can be transmitted again. For example, a written or spoken message entered by the user can be temporarily stored as an SMS message (SMS = short message service = short message service for mobile phones) or as a voice message, a so-called voice mail. If a transmission-related connection with the external communication device of the garment is possible again, a processor present in the electronic circuit can largely automatically transmit the data temporarily stored in the storage unit by means of the transmission unit.

At least one selectable transmission protocol for the transmission interface is preferably stored in the storage unit. The transmission interface is preferably set up in such a way that it can send and / or receive electronic signals according to the IrDA standard during the wireless short-range radio link. In addition or as an alternative to the IrDA standard, the IEEE802.il standard and / or the Bluetooth TM standard can also be used.

The electronic circuit preferably has an analog-digital converter which is provided for converting an analog signal detected by the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data into a digital signal which can be transmitted by the transmission interface. Furthermore or as an alternative, the electronic circuit has a digital-to-analog converter, which is used to convert a digital signal that can be received by the transmission interface into one from the unit Data acquisition and / or output of data outputable analog signal is provided.

In addition to the storage unit, the electronic circuit preferably has an exchangeable storage unit. This makes it possible to expand the capacity of the storage unit for the data to be stored as required. There is also the possibility of storing the data temporarily stored in the storage unit on the exchangeable storage unit and, by means of a transfer of the exchangeable storage unit into a suitable reading device of the communication device external to the garment, to transmit the data neither in a wireless nor in a wired manner but rather in a data carrier manner. In the event of a possible malfunction of the transmission unit, it is nevertheless possible to transmit acquired or output data.

The unit for data acquisition and / or output of data preferably has a biometric sensor. This biometric sensor is preferably set up in such a way that it can output a control signal by means of which a signal transmission can be controlled by the transmission interface. The biometric sensor for the electronic circuit thus enables biometric authentication. A temperature sensor and / or a moisture sensor and / or a conductivity sensor and / or a fingerprint sensor and / or a speech recognition sensor and / or is preferably used as the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data, which can be used as a biometric sensor

Speaker verification sensor and / or a voltage sensor for detecting nerve potentials and / or a sensor for detecting movement sequences for use.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the figures and is explained in more detail below. The same reference numerals designate the same components. Show it

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a garment with electronic circuit according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a schematic equivalent circuit diagram of the electronic circuit of the garment according to Fig.l.

Fig.l shows a schematic representation of a

Garment 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the garment 100 is a sweater with an electronic circuit (not visible). Several units for data acquisition or output of data are integrated in the textile garment 100. In particular, in the garment 100 there are two loudspeakers 101, a film display 102 used as an optical data display unit, two microphones 103, one

Foil or textile keyboard 104, a switching element 105 for switching the electronic circuit on and off and a fingerprint sensor 106 for biometric authentication of the user of the garment 100 incorporated. Furthermore, the garment 100 contains a replaceable one

Memory in the form of a multimedia card 107 and a wireless transmission unit in the form of a Bluetooth TM

Interface 108 provided.

As already explained above, a light-emitting diode, a lamp, a heating element, a motor, a button and / or a camera can also be provided as a unit for data acquisition or output of data.

The various units for data acquisition or output of data are not shown in the Garment 100 woven wires integrated into the electronic circuit and are controlled in a suitable manner by means of a processor, not shown. The data acquisition units record data signals which are transmitted wirelessly to an external, preferably mobile, item of clothing by means of the Bluetooth TM interface 108.

Communication device, according to this embodiment in the form of a mobile phone 109, are transmitted. On the other hand, data signals to be output from the mobile phone 109 are transmitted to the corresponding suitable units for outputting data by means of the Bluetooth TM interface 108.

2 shows a schematic equivalent circuit diagram of the electronic circuit 200 of the garment 100 according to FIG.

The electronic circuit 200 of the garment 100 is surrounded by a dash-dotted line in the schematic equivalent circuit diagram. As a central unit, the electronic circuit 200 has a processor-based computer system 201 with a microcontroller 202 and a processor 203 for digital signal processing (DSP). The microcontroller 202 and the processor 203 can exchange data and commands via a common interprocessor interface 204.

Both the microcontroller 202 and the processor 203 are each coupled to a number of storage units 205. Flash memory, SRAM memory, DRAM memory, MRAM memory, FRAM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory and / or other ROM memory can be used as memory units 205, for example. The storage units 205 can also be coupled to the microcontroller 202 and the processor 203 such that they can be shared by the microcontroller 202 and the processor 203. The program code and predetermined variable and fixed data for operating the electronic circuit 200 by means of the processor-based computer system 201 are stored in the memory units 205. In addition to the storage units 205, interchangeable storage units, for example multimedia cards 107 and a GSM SIM module 206, are provided for flexibly expanding the storage capacity and for exchanging data.

The processor-based computer system 201 is coupled to an analog-to-digital converter 207, which converts acquired signal data into processable digital signals. Furthermore, the processor-based computer system 201 is coupled to a digital-to-analog converter 208, which converts digital signals to be output into analog signals. The analog-digital converter 207 and the digital-analog converter 208 are advantageously coupled to the processor-based computer system 201 by means of an interface module 209.

The film display 102, the film or textile keyboard 104, the switching element 105, the loudspeakers 101, the microphones 103 and the fingerprint sensor 106 are coupled as units for data acquisition or output of data directly or via the interface module 209 to the processor-based computer system 201. Further units for data acquisition or output of data are a temperature sensor 210 and a conductivity sensor 211. Like the fingerprint sensor 106, these can be used as biometric authentication sensors.

To operate the processor-based computer system 201, a clock 212 is provided, which serves as a clock for the microcontroller 202 and is time-dependent

Interface functions supported. Furthermore, the clock 212 can be used, for example, to synchronize games, which can be played by the user using the film display 102 and the film or textile keyboard 104 in the electronic circuit 200, or for preheating the garment 100 using a suitable heating element.

A voltage supply unit 213 is further provided in the electronic circuit 200, which can be implemented in the form of a battery or a rechargeable battery. The voltage supply unit 213 is coupled to the microcontroller 202 for monitoring the operating voltage via the analog / digital converter 207 and the interface module 209.

According to the exemplary embodiment, the electronic circuit 200 can communicate via two transmission units 214, each with a communication interface 215, with a communication device 216 external to the garment, for example a cell phone 109, for data exchange. One of the garment-external communication devices 216 is wired via a mechanical adapter 217 with an electronic adapter circuit 218 to the associated one

Communication interface 215 coupled, while the other garment-external communication device 216 is wirelessly coupled to the associated communication interface 215 via a transmitting and receiving unit 219.

The pin assignment of the mechanical adapter 217 and the transmission protocol to be used on the mechanical adapter 217 or on the transmitting and receiving unit 219, for example the Bluetooth TM protocol for the transmitting and

Receiving unit 219, can start from one of the

Storage units 205 or from one of the multimedia cards

107 can be loaded into the microcontroller 202. Thus, it is possible that garment-external communication devices 216 from different manufacturers or different Embodiment can be coupled to the electronic circuit 200 via the transmission units 214.

The electronic circuit 200 also has an additional wired interface 220 and an additional wireless interface 221, by means of which the electronic circuit 200 can communicate with another data network 222. A USB interface, an IEEE1394 interface, an RS232 interface or another serial or parallel interface can be used, for example, as an additional wired interface 220. The additional wireless interface 221 can be based, for example, on one of the following protocols: CVBS / TXT for terrestrial, satellite-based or cable-based analog

TV reception, DVB-T and ATSC for terrestrial digital television reception, DVB-S for satellite-based digital television reception, DVB-C for cable-based digital television reception, DAB for terrestrial digital radio reception, GSM and UMTS for terrestrial mobile radio, analogue, ISDN and ADSL for PCTS telephone connections and FM and AM for terrestrial analogue radio reception.

The electronic circuit 200 is set up in such a way that it can carry out at least some of the following functions:

Speech synthesis, vocal synthesis, speech decompression, • speech compression, sound compression, sound recording,

Sound analysis (pitches and duration; this results in notes that can be input as input signals in a sound synthesis, so that the

Garment 100 can sing along), • Text-to-speech implementation, • speaker identification,

• speaker recognition,

• language group recognition,

• Breakdown of a word recorded by means of microphone 103 into its phonemes for speaker-independent

Word recognition,

Music decompression, for example MP3,

• sound and sound generation,

Echo suppression (the garment 100 generates tones which can be eliminated again from a microphone signal),

• noise reduction,

Active noise protection (inverse reproduction of the noise picked up by microphone 103 via loudspeakers 101),

Speech recognition (DTW and / or HMM algorithms),

• speaker localization (spatial hearing),

Sound location and sound orientation of objects by means of microphone 103 and loudspeaker 101,

• Pattern recognition, for example by means of the fingerprint sensor 106, and

Memo function by means of the memory units 205.

In principle, it is possible to implement the functions just described and the components of the electronic circuit 200 by means of separate small circuits.

The following publication is cited in this document:

[1] DE 198 43 236 C2

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

100 garments according to the invention

101 speakers

102 Foil display

103 microphone

104 membrane or textile keyboard

105 switching element

106 fingerprint sensor

107 Multimedia card

TM

108 Bluetooth interface

109 mobile phone

200 schematic equivalent circuit diagram of the electronic circuit of the garment according to the invention

201 processor-based computer system

202 microcontrollers

203 processor for digital signal processing (DSP)

204 Interprocessor interface

205 storage unit

206 GSM SIM module

207 analog-to-digital converter

208 digital-to-analog converter

209 interface module

210 temperature sensor

211 conductivity sensor

9 p.m.

213 power supply unit

214 transmission unit

215 communication interface

216 Garment external communication device

217 mechanical adapter

218 electronic adapter circuit

219 transmitter and receiver unit

220 additional wired interface

221 additional wireless interface

222 other data network

Claims

claims

1. Garment with an electronic circuit, which comprises: • at least one unit for data acquisition and / or output of data, and

A transmission interface,

• wherein the transmission interface electronic signals between the electronic circuit and a garment-external electronic

Communication device can transmit by means of a short-range wireless radio connection or a wired connection.

2. Garment according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit has at least one processor which is suitable for processing analog and / or digital data signals.

3. Garment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electronic circuit has a storage unit.

4. Garment according to claim 3, in which at least one selectable transmission protocol for the transmission interface is stored in the storage unit.

5. Garment according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transmission interface is set up in such a way that it can send and / or receive electronic signals according to the IrDA standard during the wireless short-range radio link.

6. Garment according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the transmission interface is set up in such a way that it is used during the short-range wireless Radio connection electronic signals according to the BluetoothTM

Standard can send and / or receive.

7. Garment according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the electronic circuit an analog-to-digital converter for converting a signal detected by the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data into a signal that can be transmitted by the transmission interface and / or a digital -Analog converter for converting a signal that can be received by the transmission interface into a signal that can be output by the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data.

8. Garment according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the electronic circuit in addition to

Storage unit has a removable storage unit.

9. Garment according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the unit for data acquisition and / or output of data has a biometric sensor.

10. Garment according to claim 9, wherein the biometric sensor is set up in such a way that it can output a control signal by means of which a signal transmission can be controlled by the transmission interface.

11. Garment according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the unit for data acquisition and / or output of a temperature sensor and / or a

Moisture sensor and / or a conductivity sensor and / or a fingerprint sensor and / or a speech recognition sensor and / or a voltage sensor for detecting nerve potentials and / or a sensor for detecting movement sequences.