LUMINOUS FABRIC

Abstract

A luminous fabric includes a plurality of first light-reflecting fiber units, a plurality of light-guiding fiber units, and a plurality of light-accumulating fiber units. The first light-reflecting fiber units are directed toward a first direction and spaced apart in intervals. The light-guiding fiber units are directed toward a second direction and spaced apart in intervals. Each light-guiding fiber unit has a lateral light-guiding portion. Some light-accumulating fiber units are drawn through the first light-reflecting fiber units, and some other light-accumulating fiber units are drawn through the light-guiding fiber units. Thereby, the luminous fabric can provide passive illumination when a light source is provided, and provide active illumination in dark settings. The light reflected by the luminous fabric is concentrated and uniformly distributed on one side thereof.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is being filed as a Continuation-in-Part of patent application Ser. #12/289,411, filed 28 Oct. 2008, currently pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The instant disclosure relates to a luminous fabric; more particularly, to a luminous fabric having both passive and active luminating capabilities.

2. Description of Related Art

Luminous fabric for lighting, decorations, and warning system applications can generally be divided into two categories.

The first category involves passive illumination, such as light-reflecting devices that require no electrical power. By being able to reflect incoming light, these light-reflecting devices increase night time visibility. Some examples of passive luminating devices are plastic reflective strips, reflectors, etc. However, they are usually made of hard and rigid materials. Moreover, these passive devices cannot illuminate without an external light source, because there is no light to reflect.

The second category involves active illumination, such as devices that incorporate fluorescent compounds or light bulbs, etc. These active luminous devices usually appear shiny and depend less on ambient conditions. However, they are usually more complex, bulky, and expensive. These negative attributes inevitably limit their practical applications in draperies for decoration.

Most conventional light emitting fabric only uses optical fibers. These optical fibers are specially processed to enable side emission of light along their length as light source is provided at one end thereof. The light would travel throughout the lengths of the fibers and be emitted through the lateral surface. This type of optical fibers is known as “side emitting fibers”.

However, the existing light emitting fabric can only provide passive illumination. The inability of the fiber optics fabric to provide active illumination means that there is still room for improvement. In addition, the existing optical fibers in conventional luminous fabric lack adequate mechanical flexibility (softness) and the illumination effect is often not uniform, and therefore cannot provide satisfactory illuminating effect for luminous clothing and decorations.

To address the above issues, the inventor strives via industrial experience and academic research to present the instant disclosure, which can effectively improve the limitations described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To resolve the above limitations, the instant disclosure provides a light-accumulating luminous fabric that processes both passive and active illumination characteristics, can concentrate the emitted light on the same side thereof and provide uniform illumination, and is flexible, lightweight, and portable.

The luminous fabric in accordance with the instant disclosure comprises a plurality of first light-reflecting fiber units, a plurality of light-guiding fiber units, and a plurality of light-accumulating fiber units. The first light-reflecting fiber units are arranged substantially parallel to each other along a first direction with intervals there-between. Likewise, the light-guiding fiber units are arranged substantially parallel to each other along a second direction. Each light-guiding fiber unit has at least one side emitting portion. A portion of the light-accumulating fiber units are interwoven with the first light-reflecting fiber units, while at least a portion of the light-accumulating fiber units are interwoven with the light-guiding fiber units.

The luminous fabric in accordance with the instant disclosure has the following advantages. The light-accumulating fiber units can provide active illumination in dark settings. Meanwhile, passive illumination is achieved by the light reflecting characteristic of the first light-reflecting fiber units in cooperation with the light-guiding fiber units. In particular, the reflected light is concentrated on one side of the fabric in providing uniform illumination. Moreover, the first light-reflecting fiber units allow the fabric to be soft, lightweight, and portable. The above attributes make the fabric a favorable choice for luminous clothing and decorations.

In order to further appreciate the characteristics and technical contents of the instant disclosure, references are hereunder made to the detailed descriptions and appended drawings in connection with the instant disclosure. However, the appended drawings are merely shown for exemplary purposes, rather than being used to restrict the scope of the instant disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a luminous fabric for a first embodiment of the instant disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the luminous fabric in FIG. 1 taken along a cutting plane A-A.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a luminous fabric for a second embodiment of the instant disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the luminous fabric in FIG. 3 taken along a cutting plane B-B.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a luminous fabric for a third embodiment of the instant disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a luminous fabric for a fourth embodiment of the instant disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the luminous fabric in FIG. 6 taken along a cutting plane C-C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 1. The instant disclosure provides a luminous fabric 1, which comprises a plurality of first light-reflecting fiber units 11, a plurality of light-guiding fiber units 12, and a plurality of light-accumulating fiber units 13. The first light-reflecting fiber units 11 are spaced in intervals along a first direction. The light-guiding fiber units 12 are spaced in intervals along a second direction. Some light-accumulating fiber units 13 are drawn through the first light-reflecting fiber units 11, while other light-accumulating fiber units 13 are drawn through the light-guiding fiber units 12. Each of the light-guiding fiber units 12 has at least one lateral light-guiding portion (not shown). Through the use of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11, the light-guiding fiber units 12, and the light-accumulating fiber units 13, the luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure possesses passive/active illumination and light reflecting characteristic. For example, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 can provide active illumination in dark settings. Meanwhile, passive illumination can be achieved by the light reflecting characteristic of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 in cooperation with the light-guiding fiber units 12. In particular, the reflected light can be concentrated on one side of the luminous fabric 1 in providing uniform illumination. Moreover, the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 allow the luminous fabric 1 to be soft, lightweight, and portable. The above attributes make the luminous fabric 1 a favorable choice for luminous clothing and decorations.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2, which show a plan view of the luminous fabric 1 for a first embodiment of the instant disclosure and a cross-sectional view thereof taken along a cutting-plane A-A, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 directed along the first direction, or the lengthwise direction, are warp threads. The light-guiding fiber units 12 directed along the second direction, or the crosswise direction, are weft threads. Please note, the running directions of the light-reflecting fiber units 11 and the light-guiding fiber units 12 in the figure are for illustration and explaining purposes only. Some light-accumulating fiber units 13 are drawn through the first light-reflecting fiber units 11, while other light-accumulating fiber units 13 are drawn through the light-guiding fiber units 12. The light-guiding fiber units 12 are interwoven with some first light-reflecting fiber units 11.

The first light-reflecting fiber units 11 may be single or double-sided light-reflecting threads made of polyester or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Cone-shaped micro structures can further be formed continuously on each light-reflecting thread. When light is projected onto those micro structures, the light reflection intensity of each thread is enhanced. The cross-sections of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 can be polygonal. Based on the CNS-7773 standard administered by the Chinese National Standards (CNS), the glossiness of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 is evaluated. For example, the level of glossiness is classified into a scale of grade one to ten by CNS-7773. If the gloss value falls between grade one and three, the object is considered to be not light reflective. If the gloss value is somewhere between grade three and ten, the object is deemed to possess light-reflecting ability. The first light-reflecting fiber units 11 can have any gloss value between grade three and grade ten. Along with different shapes of cross-section, different types of light-reflecting fiber units 11 can be used for the luminous fabric 1. For this embodiment, the gloss value of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 is preferably to be at grade six.

Each light-guiding fiber unit 12 may comprise 1˜7 light-guiding fiber(s) arranged in a bundle, with 3˜5 being the preferable number. Each light-guiding fiber unit 12 can have at least one lateral light-guiding portion (not shown). A fluorocarbon layer is coated on the lateral light-guiding portion. Small scratches are then formed on the side emitting portion. When one end of each light-guiding fiber unit 12 receives light from an external light source (not shown), the light would travel throughout the lengths of the light-guiding fiber unit 12 and emit through the small scratches. Thus, the light-guiding fiber units 12 are illuminated.

The light-accumulating fiber units 13 can be made of composite light-accumulating fibers. For example, light-accumulating materials can be mixed with polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyolefin resin, or polyester resin. By mixing, melting, extruding, quenching, elongating, and spinning, light-accumulating threads can be produced. Some examples of the light-accumulating threads are aluminate yarns, metal sulfides yarns, phosphorescent yarns, luminous yarns, etc. In particular, the yarns fabricated of metal sulfides can be achieved by mixing zinc sulfide with polypropylene. Meanwhile, the luminous yarn can be produced by mixing a homogeneous or heterogeneous metal oxide (e.g. strontium oxide and/or aluminum oxide) with europium (Eu) and/or dysprosium (Dy) rare earth element. Then, the mixture is added to the polyolefin or polyester resin to obtain the final product. Notably, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 can first absorb light, whether from an artificial light source or natural light (ultraviolet light), and emit light afterwards. The emitted light is often referred to as the afterglow. Even after the light source is removed, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 can maintain its illumination for a period of time, known as the “emitting time”. Moreover, the thickness of each light-accumulating fiber unit 13 is usually less than 40 μm, giving a soft feel. The soft feeling renders the light-accumulating fiber units 13 a favorable choice for embroidery and other clothing applications. The cross-section of each light-accumulating fiber unit 13 can be circular, triangular, hollowed, etc. The denier of these light-accumulating fiber units 13 is not restricted either. Along with excellent flexibility of the light-accumulating fiber units 13, the luminous fabric 1 is an ideal choice for luminous clothing and decorations to be used in dark conditions or areas that are not well-lit.

The luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure has between 50 to 210 threads per square inch.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a cross-sectional view of the luminous fabric 1 in FIG. 1 taken along a cutting plane A-A. The circles shown in the figure represent the cross-sections 12a of the light-guiding fiber units 12 or the cross-sections 13a of the light-accumulating fiber units 13. In other words, the light-guiding fiber units 12 or the light-accumulating fiber units 13 are circular threads. The interweaving line that is adjacent to the circles is one of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11. For explaining purpose, the portion where light-guiding fiber units 12 are not interwoven with the first light-reflecting fiber unit 11 is denoted as a first region R1, while the interwoven region is defined as a second region R2. The artificial light emitted by the lateral light-guiding portion (not shown) of each light-guiding fiber unit 12 is denoted as a first light L1. The incoming light (e.g. sunlight) that is not emitted by the light-guiding fiber units 12 is denoted as a second light L2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the first light L1 and the second light L2 are reflected by the first light-reflecting fiber unit 11 over the first region R1 and the second region R2. In other words, the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 can reflect both artificial and natural light. Through the light reflecting characteristic of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11, the first light L1 and the second light L2 are reflected from the same side of the luminous fabric 1. Thus, the reflected light is concentrated on one side of the luminous fabric 1 and uniform illumination is accomplished. The first light-reflecting fiber units 11 provide passive illumination for the luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure.

As already set forth in FIG. 1, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 interweave with the light-guiding fiber units 12 or the first light-reflecting fiber units 11. The light-accumulating fiber units 13 can first accumulate light from the ambient light source, the first light L1, or the second light L2. Then, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 can stay luminous for a period of time. Therefore, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 provide active illumination for the luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure.

In summary, the luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure possesses passive/active illumination and light reflecting characteristic. Therefore, the luminous fabric 1 can be used in many applications. For example, during daylight, the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 can directly reflect the natural light from the ambient or reflect the artificial light emitted by the light-guiding fiber units 12. Concurrently, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 can absorb the natural or artificial light to produce afterglow. In this scenario, the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 play the primary role for illumination, while the light-accumulating fiber units 13 play a more minor role. At night time, the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 can reflect the artificial light off the light-guiding fiber units 12, while the light-accumulating fiber units 13 provide afterglow. For this second scenario, both the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 and the light-accumulating fiber units 13 play major roles for illumination. Please note, the above discussed scenarios are only presented for explaining purposes and are not intended to restrict the scope of the instant disclosure. The luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure can be used with any light source to produce different illuminating conditions.

Please refer to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the luminous fabric 1 for a second embodiment of the instant disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along a cutting-plane B-B. In the second embodiment, the luminous fabric 1 further includes a plurality of second light-reflecting fiber units 14. The second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are directed toward the second direction as weft threads. Each of the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 is arranged in among with the light-guiding fiber units 12. The second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are interwoven with the first light-reflecting fiber units 11. Notably, the gloss values of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 and the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are between three and ten. The use of first light-reflecting fiber units 11 and the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 having different gloss values and cross-sectional shapes can produce various illuminating conditions for the luminous fabric 1. Like the first embodiment, the luminous fabric 1 of this embodiment also has 50 to 210 threads per square inch.

Please refer to FIG. 4. The circles shown in the figure represent the cross-sections 12a of the light-guiding fiber units 12 or the cross-sections 13a of the light-accumulating fiber units 13. In other words, the light-guiding fiber units 12 or the light-accumulating fiber units 13 are circular threads. The triangles represent the cross-sections 14a of the second light-reflecting fiber units 14. In other words, the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are substantially triangular threads. The interweaving line that is adjacent to the circles and triangles is the first light-reflecting fiber unit 11. Notably, the cross-sections of the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 and the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are substantially polygonal. The region where the light-guiding fiber units 12, the light-accumulating fiber units 13, and the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 do not interweave with the first light-reflecting fiber unit 11 is defined as region 3, or R3. Meanwhile, the region where the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 interweave with the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 is defined as region 4, or R4. The structural descriptions of the light-guiding fiber units 12 and its connection to the light source are the same as previous embodiment, therefore are not repeated herein. The first light L1 and the second light L2 are reflected by the first light-reflecting fiber units 11 and the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 of regions 3 and 4. The first light L1 and the second light L2 are reflected from the same side of the luminous fabric 1. Thus, the reflected light is concentrated on one side of the luminous fabric 1 and uniform illumination is accomplished. The numbers of the light-guiding fiber units 12 versus the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are between the ratios of 20:0 to 1:7. Please note, the ratio of 20:0 means all weft threads are light-guiding fiber units 12. Preferably, the numbers of the light-guiding fiber units 12 versus the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are between the ratios of 20:0 to 1:5.

For the instant embodiment, the numbers of the light-guiding fiber units 12, the light-accumulating fiber units 13, and the second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are defined by the ratio of 1:1:2. In other words, two second light-reflecting fiber units 14 are inserted between one light-guiding fiber unit 12 and one light-accumulating fiber unit 13. By varying the numbers of the light-guiding fiber units 12, the light-accumulating fiber units 13, and the second light-accumulating fiber units 14, different types of luminous fabric 1 can be foamed for the instant disclosure.

The following descriptions relate to a third embodiment of the instant disclosure. In comparing to the second embodiment, the third embodiment further comprises at least one polymer film 15. Please refer to FIG. 5, which shows a cross-sectional view of the luminous fabric 1 for the third embodiment of the instant disclosure. One side or opposite sides of the luminous fabric 1 is laminated with the polymer film 15. The polymer film 15 has a plurality of pores (not shown) formed thereon. The pores or any other type of water diffusing structure formed on the polymer film 15 allow the luminous fabric 1 to possess water permeability. The polymer film 15 can be made of polyamino ethyl formate, polyester, polyether, polyamide, polyacrylate, copolyether, or copolyetheramide. For example, the polymer film 15 having a plurality of micro pores formed thereon can be fabricated of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or better known as Teflon. In particular, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or ePTFE, can be used. ePTFE is more commonly known by the brand name Gore-Tex, which is a registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates in Elkton, Md. in USA.

The descriptions below relate to a fourth embodiment of the instant disclosure. In comparing to the second embodiment, the luminous fabric 1 of the fourth embodiment further comprises a plurality of electrical conducting units 16. Please refer to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a plan-view of the fabric 1 for the fourth embodiment of the instant disclosure. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the luminous fabric 1 in FIG. 6 taken along a cutting-plane C-C. As shown in FIG. 6, some electrical conducting units 16 are drawn through the first light-reflecting fiber units 11. Meanwhile, some other electrical conducting units 16 are interwoven/mixed with the light-guiding fiber units 12. Each electrical conducting unit 16 is formed by interweaving an insulated thread 161 with an electrical resistance heating wire 162. Like previous embodiments, the luminous fabric 1 has 50 to 210 threads per square inch. The electrical conducting units 16 are lightweight, mechanically flexible, have excellent tensile strength, and are waterproof. The above characteristics allow the luminous fabric 1 to have a broad range of applications. The luminous fabric 1 may be used for hiking apparels, protective gears, women's apparels (for menstrual cycle), thermally insulated baby bottles, hiking boots, medicines (heating pads), soft heaters, and can even be used on rooftops for melting ice/snow.

Furthermore, the heating capacity of the electrical conducting units 16 depends on several contributing factors, which can be adjusted during the fabrication process of the luminous fabric 1. The contributing factors include: the total number of electrical conducting units 16 for the luminous fabric 1; the twisting angles of the electrical resistance heating wires 162; the number of electrical resistance heating wires 162 for each electrical conducting unit 16; the wire gauge and material of the electrical resistance heating wires 162; and the interweaving pattern of the electrical conducting units 16 for the luminous fabric 1.

The luminous fabric 1 of the instant disclosure has several advantages. Namely, the light-accumulating fiber units 13 can provide active illumination in areas that are not well-lit. The light reflecting characteristics of the first and second light-reflecting fiber units 11 and 14 provide passive illumination by reflecting emitted light from the light-guiding fiber units 12 and incoming natural light. The reflected light is concentrated and uniformly distributed on one side of the luminous fabric 1. Based on numerous trials and experiments, the light reflecting ability and active illumination of the luminous fabric 1 are most effective when the numbers of the light-guiding fiber units 12 and second light-reflecting fiber units 14 fall between the ratios of 20:0 to 1:5. Meanwhile, the addition of the first and second light-reflecting fiber units 11 and 14 soften the luminous fabric 1. Thereby, the luminous fabric 1 can be easily processed and is lightweight. The luminous fabric 1 has enhanced portability and is very suitable in using for luminous apparel and decorations. The presence of the polymer film 15 allows the luminous fabric 1 to be waterproof and being water permeable. Moreover, the electrical conducting units 16 enable the luminous fabric 1 to have thermal management ability.

The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics of the instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instant disclosure delineated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A luminous fabric, comprising:

a plurality of first light-reflecting fiber units arranged substantially parallelly in a first direction at intervals;

a plurality of light-guiding fiber units arranged substantially parallelly directed toward a second direction at intervals, each light-guiding fiber unit having at least one side emitting portion,

wherein the light-reflecting fiber units and the light-guiding fiber units are crossingly arranged; and

a plurality of light-accumulating fiber units arranged along the first and the second directions, wherein a portion of the light-accumulating fiber units are interwoven with the first light-reflecting fiber units in the first direction, and wherein a portion of the light-accumulating fiber units are interwoven with the light-guiding fiber units.

2. The luminous fabric of claim 1, wherein the first direction and the second direction are substantially perpendicular.

3. The luminous fabric of claim 1, wherein the light-guiding fiber units are interwoven with some first light-reflecting fiber units.

4. The luminous fabric of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of second light-reflecting fiber units directed toward the second direction, wherein the second light-reflecting fiber units are inserted between the light-guiding fiber units and drawn through the first light-reflecting fiber units.

5. The luminous fabric of claim 4, wherein the second light-reflecting fiber units are interwoven with some first light-reflecting fiber units.

6. The luminous fabric of claim 4, wherein the light-guiding fiber units are interwoven with some first light-reflecting fiber units.

7. The luminous fabric of claim 4, wherein the cross-sections of the first light-reflecting fiber units and the second light-reflecting fiber units are polygonal.

8. The luminous fabric of claim 1, wherein the numbers of the light-guiding fiber units and the second light-reflecting fiber units are between the ratios of 20:0 and 1:5.

9. The luminous fabric of claim 1, wherein the gloss value of the first light-reflecting fiber units is between grade 3 and grade 10 based on the gloss standard of CNS (Chinese National Standards)-7773.

10. The luminous fabric of claim 1, wherein the luminous fabric has 50 to 210 threads per square inch.

11. The luminous fabric of claim 1, further comprising at least one polymer film coated onto the external surface of the luminous fabric, wherein the polymer film has a plurality of pores formed thereon.

12. The luminous fabric of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of electrical conducting units, wherein some electrical conducting units are drawn through the first light-reflecting fiber units, wherein some electrical conducting units are drawn through the light-guiding fiber units, and wherein each electrical conducting unit is formed by an insulated thread and an electrical resistance heating wire.