Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl
Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl
Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl
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2.1.5.4 Patents published<br />
2.1.6 Applications in the technical textile sector<br />
Technical textiles are a fairly fragmented domain with 3 important areas: protective textiles, transport<br />
textiles (automotive, railway…) and textiles for construction. The technicality of the products is very<br />
high as they are expected to meet very high performance requirements. Because they are used in<br />
many different applications they combine functional properties with structural properties.<br />
In the technical textile sector smart textiles are used for resistive heating in car seats and composites.<br />
In the following two examples are given.<br />
The British company Terram is producing spun bond nonwoven geotextiles with built-in conductors<br />
and radiofrequency transducers for use under railway tracks, called PW 5. These are designed to<br />
show the strain being experienced by geotextiles [58]. They compose of a mixture of polypropylene<br />
and polyethylene with detectable metallic strips. Each conductive strip must contrast with essentially<br />
non-conductive material surrounding it [133].<br />
Woven and knitted meshes, either of carbon fibre or carbonised polyacrylonitrile (PAN), incorporating<br />
electrodes attached to the vehicle’s power supply, are used in vehicles to provide heat to a car seat<br />
squab. The meshes are laminated to or between conventional fabric layers. Thus, there is a trend<br />
visible from wire-based systems to fibre based systems. However, due to current prices of textile<br />
based heating systems, the application of such is still restricted to top-end application, such as<br />
aircrafts, racing yachts and Formula 1 racing cars. The British company Gorix can be exemplarily<br />
pointed out as a licenser of PAN-based woven meshed technology.<br />
The Gorix PAN mesh is further used in an airbag deployment sensor; the mesh combines heating<br />
functions with a pre-warning system based on filed interference (Daimler-Chrysler).<br />
Further, pressure sensors are applied in the interior of automotives. For instance, the ElekTex ® fabric<br />
touchpad by Eleksen is utilised by the supplier of seating and interior systems Johnson Controls in its<br />
controls for car interiors [38].<br />
Additionally, Eleksen Ltd. designs and manufactures the peripherals for Microsoft’s Origami Ultra-<br />
Mobile PCs, which were presented at the CeBit exhibition in Hannover /Germany in March 2006.<br />
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