WO2020035592A1

WO2020035592A1 - System comprising an item of clothing, an energy storage device for storing electrical energy and a charging appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2020035592A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/072010
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lisa Lang
Original assignee: EC Brands GmbH
Priority date: 2018-08-17
Filing date: 2019-08-16
Publication date: 2020-02-20
Also published as: DE102018120133A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a system comprising: an item of clothing (28) produced from a clothing material (32); at least one energy storage device for storing electrical energy; at least one receiving interface for receiving electrical energy, which is connected or can be connected to the energy storage device such that the energy storage device can be charged with electrical energy received by the receiving interface; and at least one charging appliance (2) comprising at least one emission interface for emitting electrical energy, which is designed such that it corresponds to the receiving interface, wherein the charging appliance (2) comprises at least one attaching element (10) by means of which the charging appliance (2) can be detachably attached directly to the clothing material (32).

Description

SYSTEM WITH A CLOTHING, AN ENERGY STORAGE FOR STORING ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND D

A CHARGER

The invention relates to a system with a garment, which is made of an clothing material and has at least one energy store for storing electrical energy and at least one receiving interface for receiving electrical energy, which is thus connected or connectable to the energy store. that the energy storage device can be charged with electrical energy that is received by the receiving interface. The system also has at least one charger that has a delivery interface for delivering 10 electrical energy that is designed to correspond to the receiving interface.

In many applications, items of clothing are now equipped with electronic or electrical devices. This can be, for example, lighting elements that are particularly useful for emergency services, for example the police and

Firefighters are an advantage in order to make the wearer of the respective item of clothing more visible in night-time operations, for example. Speakers or radio devices for communication and GPS devices for determining the position of the wearer of the item of clothing can also be used. In principle, all electrical or electronic devices can also be arranged in or on an item of clothing. In order to supply the respective electrical consumer, which can be an electrical or an electronic device, with electrical energy, the item of clothing has at least one energy store, in particular a battery or a rechargeable battery.

25

Such garments are known, for example, from US 2017/0179750 A1 or EP 2 133 890 B1. In the latter document, the item of clothing consists of a number of partial items of clothing which can be connected to one another, for example, by means of push buttons, the electrical consumer being able to be arranged on one item of clothing and the energy store on another part of the item of clothing. The electrical connection is then, for example, via the push buttons. While the item of clothing is being worn, a connection to an electrical energy source, for example in the form of a socket, is not possible or only possible in very unusual cases. For this reason, the energy store for storing electrical energy is generally designed as a battery or rechargeable battery, which naturally has to be charged when its energy reserves are exhausted. Different chargers are also known from the prior art.

The aforementioned US 2017/0179750 A1 suggests integrating an inductive charger in a clothes hanger. Inductive chargers have a charging coil which is supplied with alternating electrical current and / or alternating voltage and thus generates an alternating magnetic field. A charging coil is arranged within this magnetic field and, in this case, has the receiving interface for receiving electrical energy. The alternating magnetic field generates an alternating electrical current in the charging coil, which is used to charge the electrical energy store. The use of a charger in the form of a clothes hanger has the advantage that the item of clothing whose energy store is to be charged can be hung over the coat hanger and stored neatly and in a manner which is gentle on the item of clothing, while the energy store is being charged. However, it is disadvantageous that for an optimal positioning of the receiving interface of the item of clothing relative to the delivery interface of the clothes hanger, the receiving interface and thus the charging coil of the item of clothing must be arranged in the region of the collar of the item of clothing. However, this may be disadvantageous for the comfort of the garment.

A different positioning at a less disturbing point would have the consequence that the delivery interface positioned in the bracket in the form of the transmitter coil cannot be optimally positioned to the charging coil of the item of clothing. In addition, this type of charger is limited to items of clothing in outer clothing, ie T-shirts, pullovers, shirts, blouses and / or jackets or similar items of clothing. Pants, gloves, boots, hats or similar items of clothing to be Within the scope of this invention, for example, pieces of jewelry such as brooches, necklaces or rings cannot be optimally supplied with electrical energy. DE 101 19 283 A1 also deals with the inductive charging of electrical energy stores in clothing. Here, for example, the charging coil of the garment is arranged around the edge of a pocket, so that a charger can be inserted into the pocket through this charging coil and inserted in order to charge the energy store of the garment. In this way, too, the transmitter coil of the charger is positioned well relative to the charger coil of the item of clothing. However, this is also limited to items of clothing that have a suitably modified pocket. The position of the garment's loading spool is limited to the top of the bag. This may also not be an advantage for comfort. In addition, the bag should also be used for other objects, so that the charging coil of the garment wound around the edge of the bag is exposed to high mechanical loads.

The invention has for its object to develop a system of the type described here so that the disadvantages of the prior art can be eliminated or at least reduced.

The invention achieves the stated object by a system according to the preamble of claim 1, which is characterized in that the charger has at least one fastening element by means of which the charger can be detachably fastened directly to the clothing material.

This has several advantages. Since the charger in the embodiment according to the invention is detachably fastened directly to the clothing material, it can preferably be arranged at almost any position of the clothing item. The charger can therefore be positioned at the best possible position regardless of the technical design of the receiving interface or the delivery point become. This means that there are no or hardly any limits for the position of the receiving interface. It is not necessary to arrange the receiving interface in a collar area in order to be able to design the charger as a clothes hanger. It is also not necessary to arrange the receiving interface around a specific pocket in order to achieve the best possible positioning of the receiving interface relative to the delivery interface. Therefore, the receiving interface can be arranged at the position that is optimal for the respective garment, the desired function and in particular the comfort of the wearer of the garment.

It also ensures that the charger can be used for different items of clothing that have a receiving interface suitable for the delivery interface, regardless of whether the receiving interface is arranged at the same position for the different items of clothing. It is preferably completely irrelevant at which point the charging device is fastened to the clothing material, since direct fastening is possible, additional fastening elements, for example in the form of Velcro strips, snap fasteners or other components, are unnecessary, which also means the production effort and thus the manufacturing costs can be reduced for the garment.

In a preferred embodiment, the receiving interface has a receiving coil and the delivery interface has a transmitting coil. In this way, an already described inductive, that is to say in particular non-contact, energy transmission between the output interface in the form of the transmitting coil and the receiving interface in the form of the receiving coil is possible. Alternatively or additionally, one of the interfaces has a plug and another of the interfaces has a corresponding socket. Compared to an inductive charging process, this has the disadvantage that the plug and socket must be arranged in such a way that they can withstand the mechanical loads that may occur or the presence of moisture. can. However, the advantage over inductive charging lies in the significantly better cross-section and thus the more efficient charging of the energy store for storing electrical energy. The fastening element advantageously has a clip, a clip or a plug-in element which is designed, for example, in the form of a needle, a pin or a safety pin. If the fastening element has a clip or a clip, the charger can, for example, be arranged on each pocket of an item of clothing by the clip or clip engaging in the pocket and thus holding the charger on the item of clothing. It is an advantage, but not necessary, if the clip or clip applies a clamping force to hold the charger on the clothing material. In particular, if the item of clothing is not moved or worn during the charging process, it may be sufficient to hang the charger in the respective pocket by means of a hook or a projection without a clamping force occurring.

However, a clip or a clip can also be placed on every fold or protrusion of the garment. Even positioning on a smooth surface of the item of clothing is possible, for example by turning the item of clothing over so that a clip or a clip can be positioned. A sufficient clamping force or holding force is an advantage here.

If the fastening element has a plug element in the form of a needle or a pin or a safety pin, the charger can be fastened via the fastening element at any position of the item of clothing that can be penetrated by the respective plug element. It is not necessary, but it may be advantageous if there are corresponding recesses or holes in the garment. The disadvantage of this type of attachment, however, is that the clothing material of the garment is perforated. In particular, but not exclusively in the event that the fastening element contains a pin, a securing element can be present, which is pushed onto the end of the fastening element, in particular the needle or the pin, after the clothing material has pierced through the fastening element. On the one hand, this reduces the risk of injury due to the protruding, open end of the fastening element and, on the other hand, it can preferably cause a latching action between the securing element and the end of the fastening element, by which the fastening element and thus the charger are inadvertently removed from the garment is prevented.

The charger can preferably be fastened to the clothing material by means of the at least one fastening element in such a way that the dispensing interface is optimally positioned or can be positioned relative to the receiving interface.

The system preferably has a plurality, preferably at least two, further preferably at least five, particularly preferably at least ten articles of clothing which have receiving interfaces corresponding to the delivery interface. It is not necessary, but an advantage, if the delivery interfaces of the different items of clothing are arranged at the same location of each item of clothing. Since all these items of clothing have a receiving interface corresponding to the delivery interface, the same charger can be used for charging the energy store for each of the items of clothing. The items of clothing preferably have at least one communication interface, in particular a radio, WLAN or Bluetooth interface and in each case an electrical or electronic control which allows the individual items of clothing to communicate with one another.

For example, warning messages can be transferred from one item of clothing that one person is wearing to another item of clothing that another person is wearing. This is useful, for example, if one piece of clothing has a sensor for a toxic substance and a certain limit value is exceeded. the amount of the substance is detected by the sensor. Other persons can then be warned of this danger by the garment sending a message to other garments via its electrical or electronic control and the communication interface, the wearer of which then, for example, by means of a corresponding optical and / or acoustic and / or haptic warning signal be warned.

The charger preferably has at least one electrical storage element for storing electrical energy, which is set up to deliver electrical energy to the output interface. Alternatively or in addition, the charger has a plug connection, for example a protective contact plug, with which the charger can be plugged into a socket and can thus be coupled to an electrical power supply. The electrical storage element of the charger can preferably be charged via at least one solar cell which is part of the charger. In this way, for example, the charger can be positioned in a sunny place during the day so that the solar cell is exposed to as much solar radiation as possible and the electrical storage element of the charger is charged during the day. If the garment is no longer worn, for example at night, the charger can then be fastened to the clothing material via the fastening element, so that the energy stored in the electrical storage element of the charger via the delivery interface parts to the receiving interface of the garment and thus to the electrical Energy storage of the garment can be transferred. In a preferred embodiment, the item of clothing has an electronic data processing device, in particular a microprocessor, which is arranged with the at least one energy store in a common, waterproof envelope. The covering is preferably heat-resistant up to at least 30 ° C., preferably up to at least 45 ° C., particularly preferably up to at least 60 ° C. An electronic data processing device is necessary for many applications, for example to control an operating variable of the electrical consumer, for example a volume or frequency of a loudspeaker, a brightness and frequency of an optical device, a program of sounds and light signals to be emitted or the like. If this electronic data processing device with the microprocessor is arranged in a common watertight, preferably heat-resistant envelope, the electronic data processing device remains in the item of clothing, in particular also when the item of clothing is to be washed. The data processing device preferably has an interface for wireless communication, in particular a radio interface, a WLAN interface or a Bluetooth interface. In this way, the electronic data processing device can communicate with the at least one electrical consumer, which is or can be arranged on the garment and which has a corresponding interface, and control signals for controlling at least one operating variable of the electrical Transferred to the consumer. Of course, electrical consumers are also possible that do not require an electronic data processing device. As an alternative or in addition to this, the envelope of the electronic data processing device and the energy store contains an interface for connecting with a cable, so that an electrical consumer can be supplied with electrical energy via the cable from the energy store of the garment.

The casing in which the electronic data processing device and the energy store are arranged preferably contains a water and / or heat-resistant plastic. It is advantageous if the electronic data processing device and the energy storage device are cast into the casing. An electrical consumer that is or can be arranged on the item of clothing is, for example, a sensor that detects measured values of a specific parameter and transmits it to the electronic data processing device. This can be a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a sensor for chemical substances, for example carbon dioxide, or another sensor. On the basis of the data determined by the sensor and transmitted to the electronic data processing device, the electronic data processing device can supply a further electrical consumer, which is arranged on the item of clothing, with corresponding control signals and, for example, control an operating variable of the electrical consumer.

The sensor itself is not necessarily an electrical consumer. Sensors that do not need their own electrical energy supply are also possible. The electronic data processing device is preferably set up

To determine the amount of energy contained in the energy store for storing electrical energy and, for example, to output a signal when this amount of energy falls below a predetermined energy limit. For the user of the item of clothing, this can be the signal to arrange the charger on the item of clothing.

The invention also achieves the object set by a charger for a system of the type described here, the charger having at least one output interface for delivering electrical energy and at least one fastening element through which the charger attaches to the clothing material of the item of clothing is attachable.

The invention also achieves the object by a garment for such a system, the garment having at least one energy store for storing electrical energy, at least one receiving interface for receiving electrical energy, which is connected or can be connected to the energy store in such a way that the energy storage device can be charged with electrical energy by the Receiving interface is received, and has an electronic data processing device, which is arranged with the energy storage in a common, waterproof casing, the casing preferably heat-resistant to at least 30 ° C, preferably up to at least 45 ° C, particularly preferably to is at least 60 ° C.

Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with the aid of the accompanying drawings. It shows:

1 shows a charger for a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention from a front, FIG. 2 shows the back of the charger from FIG. 1,

3 shows a side view of a charger with the fastening element folded in, FIG. 4 shows the side view from FIG. 3 with the fastening element folded out,

Figure 5 - the charger with the fastener folded out in one

Top view, and

Figures 6 and 7 - different configurations of a garment for a

System according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a charger 2 according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It has a delivery interface (not shown) in the form of a charging coil, which is inside a base body 4 of the charger 2 is arranged. A cable 6 with a plug 8 is arranged on the base body 4, via which the charger 2 can be connected to an electrical power supply, for example a socket. The connector 8 shown is a USB connector, so that an additional adapter element may be necessary to connect the charger 2 in the embodiment shown to the power supply, for example via a protective contact plug.

The charger 2 has various fastening elements 10, by means of which the charger 2 can be arranged on a clothing material of a garment. The charger 2 has a clip 12, which represents one of the fastening elements 10. In the illustration shown in FIG. 1, it is folded in, its outside is flush with the outside of the base body 4. A recessed grip 14 can be used, for example with a finger or an object, to grip under the clip 12 and fold it out. In addition, the charger 2 shown in FIG. 1 has two magnetic elements 16, each of which forms a further fastening element 10. The magnetic elements 16 are permanent magnets or electromagnets and can consequently exert a magnetic force and a magnetic field. They form the respective fastening element 10 together with a separate, second magnetic element, not shown, which is either magnetizable or itself a permanent magnet. It is therefore able to establish an interaction with the magnetic element 16 shown. In operation, the charger 2 with the magnetic elements 16 is arranged on an item of clothing. The second magnetic element is arranged on the opposite side of the clothing material in such a way that it interacts with the magnetic element 16 shown. There is a holding force through which the charger is held on the garment.

The charger shown in FIG. 1 also has two push-button elements 18, by means of which it can be arranged on the item of clothing or on another component which has the corresponding counterpart. Figure 2 shows the charger 2 of Figure 1 from the rear. One recognizes the cable 6 and the plug 8 as well as the base body 4 of the charger. In the view shown, the base body 4 is almost completely covered by a solar cell 20, by means of which an electrical storage element arranged in the interior of the base body 4 can be charged with electrical energy, which is then delivered to a corresponding reception interface of the garment via the delivery interface, also not shown can be.

Figure 3 shows the base body 4 of the charger 2 in a side view. One recognizes one of the push button elements 18, which protrudes beyond the outer surface 22, in which the recessed grip 14 is located, which is shown in FIG. 1. The clip 12 is shown in the folded state and consequently does not protrude beyond the outer surface 22. This is different in the illustration shown in FIG. 4. The base body 4 with the outer surface 22 and the push button 18 which extends beyond it are arranged as in FIG. Only the clip 12 is in the unfolded position and now also protrudes from the outer surface 22. At the end of the clip facing away from the joint 24 there is a friction element 26 which is intended to increase static friction between the clip 12 and the garment (not shown).

FIG. 5 shows the base body 4 of the charger 2 with the clip 12 unfolded in the perspective from FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows a piece of clothing 28 in the form of a jacket. It has a covering 30, which is arranged on a clothing material 32 and in which, schematically shown, there is an electronic data processing device 34 and an energy store for storing electrical energy, which is not shown separately. The casing 30 is watertight and advantageously heat-resistant. The envelope with the components arranged therein is shown enlarged in the circle in the right part of FIG. Schematically through the curved A line is indicated that the electronic data processing device 34 arranged in the covering 30 has an interface for wireless communication with electrical consumers 36, which are arranged at different locations on the item of clothing 28. It is shown schematically that these consumers can be in the form of light sources 38 of different types, audio signal devices 40 of different types, or sensors 42. However, these are only exemplary embodiments. Any type of electrical consumer is possible. In addition, it is quite advantageous if different electrical consumers represent 36 identical components.

FIG. 7 shows a similar arrangement of the item of clothing 28, which has several electrical consumers 36. In contrast to the representation from FIG. 6, however, these are connected to the electronic data processing device 34 within the casing 30 via connecting cables 44. Otherwise, different types of electrical consumers 36 are also conceivable here.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

2 charger

4 basic bodies

6 cables

8 plugs

10 fastener

12 clip

14 recessed grip

16 magnetic element

18 push button

20 solar cells

22 outer surface

24 joint

26 friction element

28 garment

30 wrapping

32 clothing material

34 electronic data processing device 36 electrical consumers

38 light source

40 audio signal device

42 sensor

44 connecting cables

Claims

claims:

1. System with

- A garment (28) that

o is made from a clothing material (32) and

o at least one energy store for storing electrical energy and

o has at least one receiving interface for receiving electrical energy, which is connected or connectable to the energy storage device such that the energy storage device can be charged with electrical energy that is received by the receiving interface, and

- At least one charger (2), the

o has at least one output interface for outputting electrical energy, which is designed to correspond to the receive interface,

characterized in that

the charger (2) has at least one fastening element (10) by means of which the charger (2) can be detachably fastened directly to the clothing material (32).

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving interface has a receiving coil and the delivery interface has a transmitting coil.

3. System according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one of the interfaces is a plug (8) and the other of the interfaces is a corresponding socket.

4. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one fastening element (10) has a clip (12), a clip or a plug element, for example in the form of a needle, a pin or a safety pin.

5. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charger (2) can be fastened to the clothing material (32) by means of the at least one fastening element (10) in such a way that the dispensing cut parts are optimally positioned relative to the receiving interface.

6. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by several, preferably at least two, more preferably at least five, particularly preferably at least ten items of clothing (28) which have receiving interfaces corresponding to the delivery interface.

7. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charger (2) has at least one electrical storage element for storing electrical energy, which is set up to deliver electrical energy to the output interface.

8. System according to claim 7, characterized in that the charger (2) has at least one solar cell (20) through which the electrical storage element can be charged with electrical energy.

9. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the item of clothing (28) has an electronic data processing device (34), in particular a microprocessor, which is arranged with the at least one energy store in a common watertight casing (30) , wherein the covering (30) is preferably heat-resistant up to at least 30 ° C, preferably up to at least 45 ° C, particularly preferably up to at least 60 ° C.

10. charger (2) for a system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the charger (2)

- At least one output interface for delivering electrical energy and

- Has at least one fastening element (10) by means of which the charger can be fastened to the clothing material (32) of the clothing item (28).

11. Garment (28) for a system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the garment (28)

at least one energy store for storing electrical energy,

- At least one receiving interface for receiving electrical energy, which is connected or connectable to the energy storage device such that the energy storage device can be charged with electrical energy that is received by the receiving interface, and

- Has an electronic data processing device (34), which is arranged with the energy store in a common waterproof casing (30), the casing (30) preferably heat-resistant to at least 30 ° C, preferably up to at least 45 ° C, particularly preferably up to is at least 60 ° C.