Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONDUCTIVE YARN AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING THE
SAME
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a conductive yam and an apparatus
for making the same. More particularly, a fine metal thread is perfectly
wound around a core thread in a spiral form via an apparatus to form a
it) conductive yarn capable of generating heat.
Description of Related Art
The conventional heating equipment generates heat by electricity
or gas. Then, the warm air is delivered to each corner of a room by each
is vent. Hot or warm air is light, so it moves upward and fills the upper
space in the beginning of heating. After the upper space is filled with hot
air, hot air falls to gradually fill the lower space. In addition, hot air
moves upward so people could not feel warm immediately, which result
in taking larger amount of electricity and time to raise the temperature of
20 the air in the space to a certain degree. Moreover, the air in the space
is
dry, accompanying with thundering noises, due to blowing and flowing
of hot air.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a conductive yarn
and an
apparatus for making the same. A fine metal thread is perfectly wound around a
core thread
in a spiral form via an apparatus to form a conductive yarn capable of
generating heat.
For the above, a conductive yarn comprises a non-conductive core thread and a
fine
metal thread wound around the surface of the non-conductive core thread. The
fine metal
thread is guided by an apparatus to wind around the surface of the non-
conductive core
thread in a spiral form so as to form an elastic and flexible conductive yarn.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for
making a
conductive yarn, comprising: abase station; an axle seat, set on the base
station; an axle
having a hole along its center, embedded on the axle seat; a base, mounted on
the axle;
a turning wheel, set underneath the base; a spool for twisting a fine metal
thread, embedded
on the base; a first power source, set on the base station for driving a
driving wheel, which is
engaged with the turning wheel; a spindle for twisting a core thread, set
under the base
station, wherein the core thread is through the hole of the axle and then the
fine metal
thread is wound around the surface of the core thread to form a conductive
yarn; and a
second power source, set above the base station for driving a take-up spool
for twisting the
conductive yarn.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a conductive
yarn,
made by the apparatus as described herein, the conductive yarn comprising: a
non-
conductive core thread, made of a plurality of fibers; and a fine metal
thread, wound around
the surface of the non-conductive core thread, wherein the fine metal thread
is guided by the
apparatus to wind around the surface of the core thread in a spiral form to
form the
conductive yarn.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the conductive yarn is
used for
manufacturing a fabric and the fabric is made of a plurality of conductive
metal wires in a
warp direction, which are limited to two sides of the fabric, a plurality of
non-conductive
threads in the warp direction, which are limited to the middle part of the
fabric, and a plurality
of conductive yarns in a weft direction, whereby interlacing the fine metal
threads of the
conductive yam with the conductive metal wires of the warp direction so as to
form a well-
conductive fabric.
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According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
diameter of the conductive metal wire ranges from 0.05 to 0.12 m/m.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
diameter of the fine metal thread ranges from 0.02 to 0.12 in/m.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fine
metal thread wound around the non-conductive core thread is wound at
70 to 125 coli per centimeter of the non-conductive core thread.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a power
supply unit provides 0 to 24 Volts direct current when the fabric is
conducted.
, 15 For the above, an apparatus for making a conductive yarn
comprises a base station, an axle seat, an axle, a base, a turning wheel, a
spool, a first power source, a spindle, and a second power source. The
axle seat is set on the base station, and the axle having a hole along its
center is embedded on the axle seat. The base is mounted on the axle,
and the turning wheel is set underneath the base. The spool is twisted
around by a fine metal thread and is embedded on the base. The first
power source is set on the base station for driving a driving wheel and
the driving wheel is engaged with the turning wheel. The spindle is
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twisted around by a core thread and is set under the base station. The
core thread is through the hole of the axle and then the fine metal thread
is wound around the core thread to form a conductive yarn. The second
power source is set above the base station for driving a take-up spool.
Therefore, by switching on the power sources and the take-up spool, the
axle is rotated by power to drive the spool to rotate; meanwhile the
take-up spool is rotated for pulling the core thread so as to parabolically
wind the fine metal thread around the core thread in a spiral form
according to the rotation speed of the spool.
io
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
apparatus further comprises a controller for controlling the power switch
and the rotation speed.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
apparatus further comprises a plurality of guide pulleys, set on the base
station for guiding the core thread through the hole of the axle and
guiding the conductive yam to wind around the take-up spool.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
apparatus further comprises a limiting column set on the base for
positioning the spool.
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According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
apparatus further comprises a flange set on the top of the axle for
positioning the spool while rotation.
5 According to the
above description and embodiments, the
conductive yam and the apparatus for making the same of the present
invention have the advantages as following:
1. The apparatus for making a conductive yam of the present
invention exerts an upward pull on the non-conductive core thread for
winding the fine metal thread around the non-conductive core thread to
form the conductive yarn of the present invention. The conductive yarn
of the present is not easy to be broken and is soft and flexible.
2. When the fine metal thread wound around the core thread in
the spiral form is conducted with electricity to generate heat, the
conductive yarn of the present invention has well elasticity for thermal
expansion and contraction.
3. The conductive yarn of the present invention is blended with
other yarn and woven into the fabrics with different uses and the fabrics
could be dyed, printed, washed, and cutting. The fabrics could be made
into mattress, curtains, textile wall, oversleeves, knee braces, waist
supports, foot pads, seat cushions, and carpets etc for generating heat
while being conducted with electricity and replacing various heating
equipment in winter.
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4. Compared with conventional heaters, the power consumption
of the conductive yarn of the present invention is reduced by more than
45%.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for making a
conductive yarn according to the embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a core thread according to the
m embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a fine metal thread according to the
embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a conductive yarn according to the
embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a metal conductive wire according to
the embodiment of the present invention; and
Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a cloth according to the embodiment
of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Fig. 2 to Fig. 4 show schematic views of a core thread, a fine
metal thread, and a conductive yarn respectively according to the
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embodiment of the present invention. A conductive yarn comprises a
non-conductive core thread 1 and a fine metal thread 2 wound around the
surface of the core thread 1. The non-conductive core thread 1 is made of
a plurality of fibers. The fine metal thread 2 is conductive and made of
gold, silver, copper, tungsten, and molybdenum microfilament etc, for
example. The diameter of the fine metal thread 2 ranges from 0.02 to
0.12 m/m. The fine metal thread 2 is guided by an apparatus to wind
around the surface of the core thread 1 in a spiral form so as to form an
elastic and flexible conductive yarn 3.
io
The apparatus for making the conductive yarn according to the
embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. The apparatus
comprises a base station 7, an axle seat 70, an axle 71, a base 72, a
turning wheel 721, a spool 73, a first power source 74, a spindle 75, and
a second power source 76.
The axle seat 70 is set on the base station 7, and the axle 71 has a
hole 711 along its center and is embedded on the axle seat 70. The base
72 is mounted on the axle 71, and the turning wheel 721 is set
zo underneath the base 72. The spool 73 is twisted around by the fme metal
thread 2 and is embedded on the base 72. A flange 4 is set on the axle 71 =
for positioning the spool 73. The first power source 74 is set on the base
station 7 for driving a driving wheel 741 and the driving wheel 741 is
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engaged with the turning wheel 721. The spindle 75 is twisted around by
the core thread 1 and is set under the base station 7. The core thread 1 is
through the hole 711 of the axle 71 and then the fine metal thread 2 is
wound around the surface of the core thread 1 to form a conductive yam.
The second power source 76 is set above the base station 7 for driving a
take-up spool 77 for twisting the conductive yam.
Please refer to Fig. 1. When the apparatus is actually used to
making the conductive yarn, the non-conductive thread 1 is wound
io around the spindle 75 and is guided by several guide pulleys 78 to pass
through the hole 711 of the axle 71 and to wind around the take-up spool
77. Next, the spool 73 twisted around by the fine metal thread 2 is
embedded on the base 72, and a limiting column 720 is set on the base
72 for positioning the spool 73. The flange 4 set on the axle 71 is used to
is position the spool 73. In the beginning, the fine metal thread 2 is
wound
around the core thread 1. A controller 8 is used to control the first power
source 74, the second power sources 76, and the take-up spool 77 and to
set the rotation speed ranging from 0 to 4800 rpm. The axle 71 is driven
by the first power source 74 to drive the spool 73 to rotate, meanwhile
20 the second power source 76 drives the take-up spool 77 to rotate for
pulling the core thread 1, thereby parabolically winding the fine metal
thread 2 around the surface of the core thread 1 in a spiral form
according to the rotation speed of the apparatus. When the
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non-conductive core thread is moved up per centimeter, the fine metal is
wound around the surface of the non-conductive core thread at 70 to 125
coli so as to form the conductive yam 3 capable of generating heat.
Finally, the conductive yam 3 is wound around the take-up spool 77.
Next, please refer Fig.2 to Fig.6. While manufacturing plain or
blended fabric, the conductive yarn 3 is utilized to be weft yarn and the
warp yarn is a regular non-conductive yam 5 with different colors. The
well yam and the warp yam are interlaced with each other to
io manufacture various types of clothes and carpets with conductivity
and
well flexibility, and the clothes and carpets could be dyed, printed, or
figured damask. In addition, the conductive yam 3 could be made into
fiber with different diameter for a wide range of applications. For
example, a fine conductive yarn 3 could be made into regular fabric, bed
is sheets, coverlets, curtains, or various kinds of conductive clothes
capable
of generating heat for keep warming. Or, a thicker conductive yam 3
could be woven with general thicker yarn to produce various kinds of
electro-heating blankets, carpets, or mat for melting snow.
20 The principle
and function of the conductive yam and the
apparatus for making the same are described below.
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When producing or weaving various fabrics, a plurality of
conductive metal wires 6 limited to two sides of the fabric in 0.5 to 0.6
centimeters are disposed in the warp direction of fabric A to be
conductive yarns, and the general non-conductive yarns 5 are limited in
5 the middle part of the fabric A in the warp direction. The conductive
metal wires 6 are fine copper wires or sliver wires with diameter ranging
from 0.05 to 0.12 ni/m, and the non-conductive yams 5 could be
different color or made of different materials. The conductive yarns 3
that include the core threads 1 made of a plurality of fibers and the fine
10 metal threads 2 wound around the core threads 1 are disposed in the weft
direction. The fine metal threads 2 wound around the surface of the core
threads 1 in the weft direction are interlaced and woven with the
conductive metal wires 6 (fme copper wires or silver wires) on two sides
of the fabric in the warp direction so as to form a conductive path. A
rs power supply unit 9 provides alternating current (AC) or direct current
(DC) power, OV to 24V, to the conductive metal wires 6 disposed on the
two sides of the fabric A for generating heat. Moreover, the voltage (V),
current (A), temperate (T), and time could be fine tuned by a computer,
so the fabric could generate heat to provide desired temperature ranging
from 0 C to 65 C. Therefore, a required uniform temperature is
generated among yarns of the fabric A. Therefore, the fabric A saves
power and there is no risk of electric shock and electromagnetic wave.
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In use, when a fixed or moveable carpet is placed on the ground
indoors for providing warmth, each small unit in one plane within the
same unit area generates uniform heat. Because the hot air rises naturally,
there is not necessary to deliver hot air by blowers. Therefore, the heat
from electric carpets produced by fabric containing conductive yarns of
the present invention naurally rises from the floor or the bottom of the
carpet to each corner of the space until the temperature is raised to a
uniform value. There is no dryness, noises or other uncomfortable
feelings caused by hot air.
Moreover, the fabric containing the conductive yarn of the present
invention could be cut along the weft direction. The cutting length and
size are determined according to the requirements. The conductive metal
wires 6 on the two sides of the cut fabric are connected in parallel or in
is series and conducted with electricity so as to form another piece of
fabric
capable of generating heat. The fabric capable of generating heat could
be utilized to make the article of daily use for resisting cold, such as bed
sheets, mattress, coverlets, cushion, curtains, and wall covering, or be
woven into different size of blanket, carpet, or mat for melting snow
which is laid on the floor without construction and is very safety and
convenient to provide heat indoor. The foregoing fabric could be also
made into tent or diving suit.
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The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred
embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest
interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
