Abstract

Flexible textile heating systems present great advantage due to their ability to bend and hence could ensure uniform heating for irregular geometries. In cooler outer environment, the user requires his/her body to be kept warm for monitoring vital body functions within realistic thermal body balance constraints. In this chapter, heated vest with controllable e-textile-based thermal panel has been studied. Several e-textile-based thermal panels with different conductive yarns were produced using hot air welding technology under different manufacturing parameters. E-textile-based thermal panels were tested for their heating behaviors at varying direct current (DC) power levels. Based on the experimental results, the optimum e-textile-based thermal panel design was chosen considering its flexibility and uniform heating behavior. Moreover, a control algorithm with electrical circuit and electrical connection network was designed and assembled in an electronic control module. Finally, the electronic module consisting of power control and management system was integrated to attachable e-textile-based thermal panel in order to form a wearable heating vest.

Highlights

  • The rapid interest on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies together with electronics has brought up new, interesting and challenging fields of crossover electronics researches to our work, homes and daily life with an abundance of new viewpoints

  • In the mid1990s, mobile phones and internet technologies penetrated into human life with a dramatic increase and the mobile devices became smaller, more portable and affordable

  • Some wearable electronics require the user interface to be present and available all the time which makes them very obtrusive compared to other wearable devices such as wrist belt for healthcare

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Summary

Introduction

The rapid interest on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies together with electronics has brought up new, interesting and challenging fields of crossover electronics researches to our work, homes and daily life with an abundance of new viewpoints. The integration of wearable technology is expected to set and enhance the design concept of apparel sector in the near future; the functioning alone is not enough in the global market to sell a kind of “wearable electronic” product. An intelligent garment presents functioning unlike traditional garment, such as health monitoring, detection of fall, identification of emergency, etc It collects the data and transmits the data either wirelessly or wired solutions to an external computing unit, where the data is processed and interpreted; results in a response or feedback to a wearer/ external center. A design of an intelligent garment with a controllable e-textile (electronic textile)-based thermal panel for heating purpose is presented. The chapter goes on the integration of electronic control module to textile structure and describes the development of a whole wearable heating vest system. Throughout this chapter, the development stage of a kind of intelligent garment ; “wearable heating vest” from design concept to prototyping will be understood

Principle of electrical resistance heating in textiles
Textile-based heating systems
A wearable heating system with controllable e-textile-based thermal panel
Design of e-textile-based thermal panel
Production process
Real-time monitoring of the heating vest performance
Future trends
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