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substrate including at least one electrical conductor that provides an electrical contact to the electronic
devices.
In US patent 2004/0092186 a textile electronic connection system is claimed. The system comprises a
textile ribbon with integrated transmission lines running lengthwise in the ribbon. A fastener is used to
connect ribbons and thus the transmission lines to each other and to allow a quick connection and
disconnection.
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in Manchester, U.K., developed a
knitted transducer for monitoring vital signs of the wearer. The knitted resistive strain gauge comprises
a single knitted layer of a conductive electromeric yarn and a non-conductive elastomeric base yarn.
The non-conductive yarn is used for the base knitted structure in which the conductive yarn is laid in
course direction in a predefined e.g. rectangular shape. An increase in resistance will occur due to
stretching of the conductive yarn. The transduction zone is connected to the transducer device by
using conductive fibres in the first and last courses of the transduction zone (patent WO 2004100784).
Philip Leonard patented a textile thread with incorporated electronic elements in US patent
2004/0115430. The threads can be processed into a textile assembly so that the threads can form an
intercommunicating system used for instance in computer, transmitter and receiver, and radio
systems.
A Finnish consortium patented a sensor to be placed on the skin that can be integrated in a garment
and has a contact layer in contact with the skin containing conductive fibres for receiving signals (US
patent 2004/0138546).
Philips patented a wearable body-fat sensor under US 6718200. The sensor is made of a fabric
having an electrode and sensors. They developed for instance a pair of shoes with a weightmeasuring
sensor, a conductive textile and an impedance measuring circuit. The electronic
components are coupled so that the body-fat composition of a person can be measured based on the
data received from the weight sensor and the impedance measuring circuit.
2.1.5 Applications in the interior textile sector
There is also a lot of interest in integrating electronics with interior textiles. Although there are no
examples or products on the market by now, there are many activities going on in the research stage,
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