Plural layer woven electronic textile, article and method

Abstract

A woven article having plural weave layers comprises a plurality of electrically insulating and/or electrically conductive yarn in the warp and a plurality of electrically insulating and/or electrically conductive yarn in the weft interwoven with the yarn in the warp. An electrical function is provided by one or more circuit carriers disposed in cavities in the plural layer woven article and/or one or more functional yarn in the warp and/or the weft, wherein the circuit carrier and/or functional yarn include an electrical contact for connecting to the electrically conductive yarn in the warp and/or weft.

1 . A woven article for supporting a load, comprising:
 a. a plurality of vertically stacked layers, each having a warp and a weft;   b. at least one of said warps having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the warp;   c. at least one of said wefts having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the weft;   d. the electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft being sufficiently close at one position as to form an electric circuit by connection of the yarns to an electrical device at the position.   
   
   
       2 . The article of  claim 1  in which the electrically conductive yarns are electrically insulated. 
   
   
       3 . The article of  claim 1  in which the warp and the weft of each layer are vertically aligned. 
   
   
       4 . The article of  claim 1  in which at least one of the warp and one of the weft of the layers are vertically misaligned. 
   
   
       5 . The article of  claim 2  wherein the warp and the weft are each comprised substantially of electrically insulative yarns. 
   
   
       6 . The article of  claim 4  in which a plurality of the electrically conductive yarns and other yarns which together constitute the warp are interwoven with a plurality of the electrically conductive yarns and other yarns which together constitute the weft to define the plurality of vertically stacked layers of the article. 
   
   
       7 . The article of  claim 1  further comprising at least two electrically conductive insulated yarns running through at least some of the stacked layers to connect with an electrically conductive device supported by the article. 
   
   
       8 . The article of  claim 7  wherein the two electrically conductive insulated yarns run upwardly through at least some of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       9 . The article of  claim 1  wherein the warp having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the warp and the weft having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the weft are in the uppermost of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       10 . The article of  claim 1  wherein the warp having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the warp and the wefts having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the weft are in a layer that is immediately beneath and contiguous with the uppermost of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       11 . The article of  claim 1  wherein the electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft are in the uppermost layer and are sufficiently close at one position as to form an electric circuit by connection of the yarns to a circuit carrier at the position. 
   
   
       12 . The article of  claim 1  wherein the electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft are in the uppermost layer and are sufficiently close at one position as to form an electric circuit by connection of the yarns to a functional yarn at the position. 
   
   
       13 . A woven support article, comprising:
 a. a plurality of vertically stacked layers, each having a warp and a weft;   b. electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft of at least one of the layers being sufficiently close to form an electric circuit by connection of the yarns to an electrical device.   
   
   
       14 . The article of  claim 13  wherein the there are at least two electrically conductive insulated yarns running through at least two of the stacked layers to connect with an electrically conductive device supported by the article. 
   
   
       15 . A woven fabric support article, comprising
 a. a plurality of vertically stacked layers, each having a warp and a weft;   b. at least one of said warps and wefts having electrically conductive yarns running along at least a part thereof with the electrically conductive yarns being sufficiently close as to form an electric circuit by connection of the yarns to an electrical device.   
   
   
       16 . The article of  claim 15  wherein the warp and/or weft having electrically conductive yarn running therealong are in the uppermost of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       17 . The article of  claim 15  wherein the warp and/or weft having electrically conductive yarn running therealong are in a layer that is immediately beneath and contiguous with the uppermost of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       18 . A method for weaving a fabric or textile article having a plurality of vertically stacked layers capable of supporting a load, each layer having a warp and a weft, comprising:
 a. providing a first group of yarns including at least one electrically conductive yarn in a plurality of warps;   b. providing a second group of yarns including at least one electrically conductive yarn, in a plurality of wefts;   c. weaving the first group of yarns in the warps with the second group of yarns in the wefts to create the plurality of vertically stacked layers of the article, with the electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft being sufficiently close as to form an electric circuit by connection of a warp and a weft electrically conductive yarn to an electrical device.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein weaving the first group of yarns in the warps with the second group of yarns in the wefts includes controlling tightness of the weave to inherently impart strength to the article. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 18  wherein weaving the first group of yarns in the warps with the second group of yarns in the wefts includes controlling tightness of the weave to inherently impart stiffness and resistance to lateral bending to the article. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 18  wherein weaving the first group of yarns in the warp with the second group of yarns in the weft to create the plurality of vertically stacked layers of the article is performed by including the electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft that are woven to create the top layer of the article. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 18  wherein weaving the first group of yarns in the warp with the second group of yarns in the weft to create the plurality of vertically stacked layers of the article is performed by including the electrically conductive yarns in the warp and the weft that are woven to create a layer under the top layer. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22  wherein the layer woven from the warp and weft having the electrically conductive yarns is immediately under the top layer and contiguous therewith. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising raising and lowering of the warp yarn of a layer while weaving the weft yarn of the layer therethrough to produce a cavity in at least one layer of the article. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 24  wherein a layer adjacent to the layer(s) having the cavity therein is woven separately from the cavity layer(s) in the region defining the cavity but is interwoven with the cavity layer(s) in the region around the cavity. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the layer adjacent to the layer(s) having the cavity is interwoven with a cavity layer in the region surrounding the cavity. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the layer(s) having the cavity therein is/are above the adjacent layer. 
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the layer(s) having the cavity therein is/are below the adjacent layer. 
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 24  wherein a layer having the cavity therein is the top layer of the article. 
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 18  wherein weaving is performed so that a circuit carrier is present in the top layer of the article. 
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 18  wherein weaving is performed so that a functional yarn forms a part of the warp or weft of the top layer of the article. 
   
   
       32 . A woven article for supporting a load, comprising:
 a. a plurality of vertically stacked layers, each having a warp and a weft;   b. at least one of the layers having at least one electrically conductive yarn running though at least a part of the warp, the weft, or both;   
   
   
       33 . The article of  claim 32  in which the electrically conductive yarns are electrically insulated. 
   
   
       34 . The article of  claim 32  in which the warp and the weft of each layer are aligned. 
   
   
       35 . The article of  claim 32  in which at least one of the warp and/or weft of the layers is vertically misaligned. 
   
   
       36 . The article of  claim 32  wherein the warp and the weft are each electrically insulative. 
   
   
       37 . The article of  claim 32  in which a plurality of yarns constituting the warp are interwoven with a plurality of yarns which together and with at least one electronically conductive yarn constitute the weft to define the plurality of vertically stacked layers of the article. 
   
   
       38 . The article of  claim 32  further comprising at least two electrically conductive insulated members running through at least some of the stacked layers to connect with whatever is supported by the article. 
   
   
       39 . The article of  claim 38  wherein the electrically conductive members run upwardly through at least some of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       40 . The article of  claim 32  wherein the layer having at least one electrically conductive members running though at least a part of the warp, the weft or both is the uppermost of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       41 . The article of  claim 32  wherein the layer having at least one electrically conductive member running though at least a part of the warp, the weft or both is a layer that is immediately beneath and contiguous with the uppermost of the stacked layers. 
   
   
       42 . The article of  claim 40  wherein the electrically conductive member in the uppermost layer, sufficiently close to a load supporting surface of the article to form an electric circuit by connection of the member to a circuit carrier proximate the load supporting surface. 
   
   
       43 . The article of  claim 32  wherein there are at least two electrically conductive members run through at least one of the top two of the stacked layers to connect with an electrically conductive device supported by the article. 
   
   
       44 . A woven fabric support article, comprising:
 a. a plurality of vertically stacked layers, each having a warp and a weft;   b. at least one of said warps and wefts in the uppermost layers having electrically conductive members running along at least a part thereof with the electrically conductive members being sufficiently close to an upper surface of the highest layer to form an electric circuit by connection to a member supported by the article.   
   
   
       45 . A method for weaving a fabric or textile article having a plurality of vertically stacked layers capable of supporting a load, each layer having a warp and a weft, comprising:
 a. providing a first group of yarns including at least one electrically conductive member in a plurality of warps;   b. providing a second group of yarns including at least one electrically conductive member, in a plurality of wefts;   c. weaving at least some of the first group of yarns in at least some of the warps with at least some of the second group of yarns in at least some of the wefts to create the plurality of vertically stacked layers defining the article, with the electrically conductive members in the warps and the wefts being sufficiently close as to form an electric circuit by connection of a warp and a weft electrically conductive members to an electrically conductive device.   
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 45  further comprising raising and lowering of the warp yarn of a layer while weaving the weft yarn of the layer therethrough to produce a cavity in at least one layer of the article. 
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 46  wherein a layer adjacent to the layer(s) having the cavity therein is woven separately from the cavity layer(s) in the region defining the cavity but is interwoven with the cavity layer(s) in the region around the cavity. 
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 47  wherein the layer adjacent to the layer(s) having the cavity is interwoven with a cavity-deeming layer in the region surrounding the cavity. 
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 48  wherein weaving is performed so that a functional yarn forms a part of the warp or weft of the top layer.