The present invention relates to visual fabric articles intended to permit the display of a certain pattern or design. More specifically, the present invention relates to a visual fabric display system that may be implemented in an article of clothing, furniture, or in other location to provide communication and informational or decorative display by the action of electrostatic charges.
The idea of dynamically changing the appearance of the fabric of a garment, for example, is highly desirable and certainly attractive for designers and the fashion industry. There are a number of display devices that utilize informational and decorative manipulatives. Attempts so far include embedded LEDs, thermochromic liquid crystal, and electroluminescent materials applied to the fabrics. However, these techniques employ additional manufacturing efforts and costs.
As described in detail below, it has been found efficacious to use electrostatic charges applied to an area of fabric to realize visual display, and unlike prior art they do not involve the use of additional devices.
The present invention discloses a display fabric system, which includes a fabric layer having at least one conductive layer therein for passing an electrostatic field and a plurality of surfaces having a plurality of furs on the surface thereof, so that selective regions covered by the furs can selectively extend out of the fabric layer in a substantially vertical orientation in response to the electrostatic field, thereby revealing the surface color of the fabric layer. In operation, an electric field is generated by the activation of a user via a conductive layer, so that the selected regions covered by the furs can repel each other and extend out of the fabric layer in a substantially vertical direction. The fabric surface may comprise a plurality of different color surfaces.
According to one aspect of the invention, a garment or furniture of desired form and function can be constructed in a conventional manner using readily available fabrics and materials, and the fabrics serving as a visual display system can be positioned advantageously within a wearable garment or furniture that permits easy manual activation by a person.
According to another aspect of the invention, the garment comprises a shirt, a hat, a jacket, a vest, a fashion accessory or the like.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation rather than limitation, specific details are set forth such as the particular architecture, interfaces, techniques, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. For purposes of simplicity and clarity, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail.
Referring now to
The embodiment illustrated in
Referring to
The surface of fabric 14 may be divided into a number of predetermined patterns and different colors. Hence, the pattern is determined by the fabric surfaces of different colors as well as the orientation of pieces of fabric that make up the pattern. For example, each area can be considered as a pixel and therefore charging/discharging different areas, a change in the contrast can be achieved which can form a binary image or pattern.
The material of the fabric layer 14 can be either natural or synthetic, and the fabric created from such materials can be either woven or sheet-formed in any well-known manner. For example, the fabric layer 14 can be formed of a material such as cotton, polyester, spandex, a combination thereof, or the like. Alternatively, the fabric layer 14 can be constructed from non-woven (felted) or knitted fabrics or a composite structure. However, in each alternative case, electrically conductive layer 12 is included in the production of the fabric, thus providing electrically conductive layers. The conductive layer 12 may be produced by printing them onto the fabric layer 14 or it may be mounted as adhesive tape. Alternatively, the conductive layer 12 may be produced by printing a material containing conductive particles onto the fabric layer 14. All of the alternatively described methods provide a suitable bond, forming a reliable electrical connection.
While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made, and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the present invention. Thus, the shape of an interconnect system in the drawings should not impose limitations on the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention, but that the present invention include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/508,497 filed Oct. 3, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2004/051921 | 9/29/2004 | WO | 00 | 3/13/2006 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2005/034067 | 4/14/2005 | WO | A |
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