KR20220147313A - Gas sensor module for base gas, method for preparing the same, and clothing with gas sensing function using the gas sensor module - Google Patents

Abstract

A basic gas sensor module, a manufacturing method thereof, and clothes having a gas sensing function using the same are provided. The gas sensor module may include a coating layer disposed on a fiber base; A sensing pad disposed on the coating layer, the sensing pad having a change in electrical resistance when in contact with a base gas; and a conductive pattern at least partially disposed on the coating layer and electrically connected to the sensing pad.

Description

Basic gas sensor module, manufacturing method thereof, and clothing having gas sensing function using the same

The present invention relates to a basic gas sensor module, a manufacturing method thereof, and clothes having a gas sensing function using the same. In detail, it relates to a gas sensor module for sensing a basic gas such as ammonia using a fiber base, and functional clothing including the same.

In general, protective clothing refers to clothing worn by workers in various industrial environments to protect the body of workers from harmful substances, heat, or the like, or to maintain a clean working environment. As used herein, the term 'protective clothing' is not interpreted as being limited to a meaning defined in any law, etc., and refers to clothing worn according to industrial needs to protect workers and/or work environments. In addition, protective clothing may be used interchangeably with terms such as protective clothing and safety clothing.

For example, protective clothing should be worn when there is a need to protect workers from chemical substances such as pollutants, pathogens, and harmful gases generated during work at industrial sites.

As such, protective clothing is required to protect the body and health of workers, so performance standards related to the safety of protective equipment such as protective clothing and protective equipment are classified and regulated by country.

On the other hand, the work space may be changed to a harmful environment due to reasons that the worker cannot recognize by himself/herself, and in this case, it may lead to a human accident.

For example, even if a high-concentration noxious gas is accumulated in a certain work space, when the worker is introduced into the work environment without recognizing it in advance, the worker is exposed to the noxious gas as it is, and problems such as suffocation may occur.

For another example, it may be assumed that the concentration of harmful gas was at a level that can be protected by the protective clothing, that is, an acceptable level, but leakage of the harmful gas occurs during the first operation. In particular, when the noxious gas is colorless and odorless, the concentration of the noxious gas in the surrounding atmosphere gradually increases while the operator is not aware of it, so that a human accident may occur.

In the case of the prior art, in order to prevent this, an operator may have a separately provided instrument such as a gas sensor. However, since it is cumbersome for the operator to individually check the gas sensors provided separately, there is a limit in that safety accidents cannot be sufficiently prevented.

In addition, in order to force the operator to possess the gas sensor, the gas sensor may be fixedly attached to clothing such as protective clothing and configured as a wearable device. However, since the conventional gas sensor does not have flexibility, discomfort is caused when wearing clothes to which the gas sensor is attached, and activity is restricted, and it cannot be utilized as a wearable device in the true sense.

Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a gas sensor module in which a feeling of foreign body is minimized to a wearer with excellent flexibility and weight reduction using a fiber base. Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas sensor module capable of ensuring excellent reliability even after repeated use, for example, repeated bending or bending.

Another object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing the above gas sensor module.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a functional garment to which the above gas sensor module is applied.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

Gas sensor module according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is a coating layer disposed on the fiber base; A sensing pad disposed on the coating layer, the sensing pad having a change in electrical resistance when in contact with a base gas; and a conductive pattern at least partially disposed on the coating layer and electrically connected to the sensing pad.

The sensing pad may include polyaniline and carbon nanotubes, and a weight ratio of the polyaniline to carbon nanotubes may be 1:1 or more and 1:2 or less.

In addition, the coating layer may include a urethane-based polymer or a silicone-based polymer, and the conductive pattern may include a urethane-based polymer containing a conductive material.

In a plan view, the coating layer has an opening, and the conductive pattern can partially contact the fiber base through the opening.

The conductive pattern may be at least partially interposed between the coating layer and the sensing pad.

In some embodiments, the gas sensor module may further include a protective layer disposed directly on the upper surface of the conductive pattern.

In this case, the conductive pattern may be disposed between the fiber base and the sensing pad, and the protective layer may cover a portion of the sensing pad and expose a portion.

Furthermore, the protective layer may be in contact with the coating layer.

The fiber base may include an upper fiber base and a lower fiber base, and the conductive pattern may penetrate the coating layer and the upper fiber base, and may be partially interposed between the upper fiber base and the lower fiber base.

A method of manufacturing a gas sensor module according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above another problem comprises: forming a coating layer on a fiber base; forming a conductive pattern on the coating layer; and forming a sensing pad on the conductive pattern.

Functional clothing according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the another problem, a coating layer disposed only partially on the outer skin of the clothing; a sensing pad disposed on the coating layer, the sensing pad having an electrical resistance changed when in contact with a gas; and a conductive pattern at least partially disposed on the coating layer, in electrical connection with the sensing pad, and providing a conductive path along any portion of the garment.

The functional clothing may have a gas sensing function.

Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description.

According to embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a gas sensor module having excellent flexibility by using a fiber base as a substrate.

In addition, in the conventional case, it was not possible to maintain sufficient durability and sensing characteristics due to problems such as lifting of the sensing pad for performing gas sensing. However, the gas sensor module according to the present invention can improve the durability of the sensing pad by providing a coating layer having excellent adhesion to the sensing pad on the fiber base.

In addition, when the gas sensor module is disposed on the outer skin of clothing and used as a wearable device, repeated bending or bending may occur. The gas sensor module according to the present invention can maintain the gas detection capability as in the initial state even after bending 100 times or more, thereby exhibiting high reliability.

Effects according to the embodiments of the present invention are not limited by the contents exemplified above, and more various effects are included in the present specification.

1 is a perspective view of a sensor module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' of FIG. 1 .
3 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor module according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor module according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of a sensor module according to still other embodiments of the present invention, respectively.
7 is a schematic diagram of functional clothing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 10 are images showing results according to Experimental Examples 3-1 to 3-3, respectively.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. That is, various changes may be made to the embodiments presented by the present invention. It should be understood that the embodiments described below are not intended to limit the embodiments, and include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions thereto.

The size, thickness, width, length, etc. of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated or reduced for convenience and clarity of description, so that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated form.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used with the meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly defined in particular.

Spatially relative terms 'above', 'upper', 'on', 'below', 'beneath', 'lower', etc. As shown, it can be used to easily describe the correlation between one element or elements and another element or elements. Spatially relative terms should be understood as terms including different orientations of the device when used in addition to the orientations shown in the drawings. For example, when an element shown in the drawing is turned over, an element described as 'below or beneath' of another element may be placed 'above' of the other element. Accordingly, the exemplary term 'below' may include both the downward and upward directions.

In this specification, 'and/or' includes each and every combination of one or more of the mentioned items. The singular also includes the plural, unless the phrase specifically states otherwise. As used herein, 'comprises' and/or 'comprising' does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the stated components. Numerical ranges indicated using 'to' indicate numerical ranges including the values stated before and after them as the lower and upper limits, respectively. 'About' or 'approximately' means a value or numerical range within 20% of the value or numerical range recited thereafter.

As used herein, the term 'fiber' or 'thread' or 'thread' refers to a natural or artificial long and thin fiber polymer object, and a filament (one strand or a plurality of continuous fibers) filament), short short fibers (單纖維) may be used in the meaning of including spun yarn or braided yarn made by twisting each other. In addition, the term 'fiber base' refers to a tissue fabric woven or knitted using fibers.

In addition, the first direction (X) means any one direction in the plane, and the second direction (Y) means another direction intersecting the first direction (X) in the plane. The third direction Z means another direction intersecting the plane. In this specification, unless otherwise defined, 'overlapping' means overlapping in the third direction (Z).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a sensor module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' of FIG. 1 .

1 and 2 , the gas sensor module 11 according to the present embodiment may include a base layer 100 , a conductive pattern 300 , and a sensing pad 200 .

The base layer 100 may be a part that provides a space in which the conductive pattern 300 and the sensing pad 200 to be described later are supported, and provides a conductive path electrically connected to the conductive pattern 300 . The base layer 100 may include a fiber base 110 and a coating layer 150 .

The fiber base 110 may include a woven or knitted fabric of fibers. The material of the fiber base 110 is not particularly limited as long as it has excellent flexibility, but polymer-based synthesis such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethyleneterephthalate, polyester, etc. It may be prepared using fibers. The fiber base 110 may have excellent flexibility or flexible properties. In addition, despite bending or folding, the original shape can be maintained.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the tissue constituting the fibrous base 110 may include a conductive yarn. The term 'conductive fiber' or 'conductive yarn' collectively refers to fibers that are electrically conductive or thermally conductive. It may be used in a meaning including a dosa and the like.

A coating layer 150 may be disposed on the fiber base 110 . For example, the coating layer 150 may be disposed directly on the fiber base 110 . The coating layer 150 may be disposed on at least a portion of the fiber base 110 rather than the entire surface, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The coating layer 150 may function to improve durability of the sensing pad 200 to be described later. If the sensing pad 200 is disposed directly on the fiber base 110 without the coating layer 150 unlike the present embodiment, the sensing pad 200 may lift from the fiber base 110 during repeated bending or the sensing pad The present invention was completed by paying attention to the occurrence of problems such as cracks occurring in (200).

In an exemplary embodiment, the coating layer 150 may include a urethane-based polymer, a silicone-based polymer, or a combination thereof. The urethane-based polymer and the silicone-based polymer may have excellent adhesion to the fiber base 110 made of synthetic resin fibers and the like, and may be applied uniformly. The coating layer 150 may not have substantially electrical conductivity.

A conductive pattern 300 may be disposed on the coating layer 150 . The conductive pattern 300 may be electrically connected to a sensing pad 200 to be described later, and may provide a conductive path for measuring a change in resistance of the sensing pad 200 .

1 illustrates a case in which the conductive pattern 300 extends in the second direction Y, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As a non-limiting example, the conductive pattern 300 includes a first conductive pattern 310 and a second conductive pattern 320 , and the first conductive pattern 310 and the second conductive pattern 320 are mutually first It may be spaced apart in the direction (X) and extend in the second direction (Y), respectively.

One end of the first conductive pattern 310 and one end of the second conductive pattern 320 may be electrically connected to the sensing pad 200 , respectively. In addition, the other end of the first conductive pattern 310 and the second conductive pattern 320 may be directly or indirectly electrically connected to the processor 30 . The processor 30 may mean a means for measuring, recognizing, or recording a change in resistance of the sensing pad 200 to be described later, and calculating or processing the presence or absence and concentration of a gas to be measured through the change in resistance. For example, the processor 30 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processor unit (MPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), or any type of processor known in the art. That is, the processor 30 is a component that performs a function such as determining, calculating, estimating, or deriving a gas concentration from a signal such as a change in resistance generated when the gas sensor module 11 is exposed to a specific gas. means

Although the present invention is not limited thereto, in some embodiments, the processor 30 resists a resistance value in a state in which the sensing pad 200 is not exposed to the measurement target gas, that is, an initial state, and a predetermined concentration of the measurement target gas It is possible to store the resistance value in the state exposed to . And using this as a reference value, the presence or concentration of the measurement target gas, or the elapsed time after exposure to the gas, etc. may be calculated based on the resistance value that the sensing pad 200 is exposed to and changed to the measurement target gas.

In addition, the processor 30 may generate an alarm when a gas concentration greater than or equal to the reference value is detected, or may cause a change in any component of the clothing, ie, functional protective clothing, through a conductive path, which will be described later. The wearer may be informed of the presence of harmful gases.

The conductive pattern 300 may have relatively good electrical conductivity. In an exemplary embodiment, the conductive pattern 300 may include a urethane-based polymer containing a conductive material. The conductive material may be metallic particles such as silver (Ag), gold (Au), or copper (Cu). The metallic particles may be uniformly dispersed in the urethane-based polymer.

As will be described later, the sensing pad 200 may be disposed on the coating layer 150 and the conductive pattern 300 . Therefore, the conductive pattern 300 is made of substantially the same material as the coating layer 150, or includes at least the same type of polymer to improve the interfacial bonding force between the coating layer 150 and the conductive pattern 300 and at the same time, the sensing pad ( 200) can be improved.

A sensing pad 200 (or a sensing pattern, or a sensing electrode) may be disposed on the conductive pattern 300 . Also, the sensing pad 200 may be at least partially disposed on the coating layer 150 . For example, the sensing pad 200 may be disposed in contact with the coating layer 150 and the conductive pattern 300 .

The sensing pad 200 may be a part directly exposed to a surrounding gas atmosphere in order to measure the presence or absence of a gas or a concentration of the gas. That is, the sensing pad 200 may come into contact with gas molecules to cause a predetermined reaction or may have a change in resistance. In an exemplary embodiment, the sensing pad 200 may include a conductive polymer having a specific functional group. A functional group of the conductive polymer may react with a harmful gas, for example, a basic functional group of a basic gas molecule, and a change in resistance may be induced. Examples of the conductive polymer include polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and polyindole. As a non-limiting example, the sensing pad 200 may include polyaniline. When the urethane-based polymer or silicone-based polymer is applied as the above-described coating layer 150, it was confirmed that polyaniline has excellent adhesion to them and has excellent reliability despite repeated bending.

In some embodiments, the sensing pad 200 may further include a cellulose or urethane-based polymer. When the content of the aforementioned conductive polymer is too large, a problem such as cracks may occur as the sensing pad 200 is repeatedly bent. Therefore, durability can be further improved by mixing a reinforcing material such as cellulose or urethane-based polymer.

As described above, the gas sensor module 11 according to the present embodiment includes the coating layer 150 disposed on the fiber base 110 to provide a gas sensor having excellent durability. A problem that arises when using the fiber base 110 as a base material to provide flexibility to the gas sensor is the lifting problem of the sensing pad 200 caused by repeated bending and bending.

The inventors of the present invention have confirmed that the durability of the sensing pad 200 including a large amount of conductive polymer can be improved when the coating layer 150 is formed on the fiber base 110, and thus the present invention has been completed. In addition, when the gas sensor module 11 according to the present invention is used in an industrial environment, it may be used in a harsh environment such as high humidity and high temperature. At this time, humidity and temperature cause the sensing pad 200 to swell and cause a lifting problem, and at the same time, the sensing pad 200 that is not in an intact state causes noise other than the resistance change caused by the presence of gas. can do. Therefore, the gas sensor module 11 according to the present embodiment may have an effect of improving the precision of gas characteristics.

Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. However, a description of the same or extremely similar configuration to the gas sensor module according to the above-described embodiment will be omitted, and this will be easily understood by those skilled in the art from the accompanying drawings.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor module according to another embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing a position corresponding to that of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the gas sensor module 12 according to the present embodiment includes a base layer 100 , a sensing pad 202 , and a conductive pattern 300 , but the sensing pad 202 includes carbon-based particles 210 . ) is different from the gas sensor module 11 according to the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that it further includes.

In an exemplary embodiment, the carbon-based particles 210 may include carbon nanotubes. As described above, the sensing pad 202 includes a conductive polymer that chemically reacts with gas molecules, for example, basic gas molecules, and may measure the concentration of the gas by changing the resistance of the conductive polymer. At this time, the carbon-based particles 210 may be used to maintain excellent electrical conductivity and to control the sensitivity of resistance change.

If the sensing pad 202 is made of only a conductive polymer, it is difficult to calculate an intended level of gas concentration due to an excessive reaction with basic gas molecules, and a large number of noises may be recognized. However, it is possible to achieve an intended level of gas concentration calculation without noise by including the carbon-based particles 210 as in the present embodiment.

For example, the sensing pad 202 may include a conductive polymer, such as polyaniline, and carbon-based particles 210 , such as carbon nanotubes, in a weight ratio of about 1:1 to 1:2. That is, the weight of the carbon-based particles 210 may be greater than the weight of the conductive polymer. If the content of the carbon-based particles 210 is greater than the above range, it may be difficult for the sensing pad 202 to be used as a sensing electrode of the basic gas.

In some embodiments, the sensing pad 202 may include a conductive polymer, but as described above, include a first conductive polymer having a reactive functional group with a basic gas and a second conductive polymer having no reactive functional group with a basic gas. can Examples of the first conductive polymer include polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polythiophene as described above. The second conductive polymer does not have a reactive functional group with the gas to be measured and is not particularly limited as long as it has excellent compatibility with the first conductive polymer, but examples include doped polyacetylene, doped polyethylene, and polystyrene sulfonate. have.

Like the carbon-based particles, the second conductive polymer provides excellent electrical conductivity to the sensing pad 202 and may function to minimize a noise signal. When the sensing pad 202 includes the second conductive polymer, the content of the first conductive polymer and the second conductive polymer may be about 1:0.3 to 1:0.8 by weight. In addition, the content ratio of the first conductive polymer to the carbon-based particles 210 is the same as described above.

Meanwhile, in the present specification, the second conductive polymer does not include urethane-based polymer and cellulose mixed to improve durability of the sensing pad 202 .

4 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor module according to another embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing a position corresponding to that of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the gas sensor module 13 according to the present embodiment includes a base layer 103 including a coating layer 153 , a sensing pad 202 and a conductive pattern 303 , but a coating layer 153 . It differs from the gas sensor module 12 according to the embodiment of FIG. 3 in that it has a partial opening in this plane.

In a plan view, the coating layer 153 may have an opening. The opening has a shape substantially corresponding to the conductive pattern 303 , and the conductive pattern 303 may directly contact the fiber base 110 through the opening. On the other hand, the sensing pad 202 may be disposed to directly contact the conductive pattern 303 and the coating layer 153 without directly contacting the fiber base 110 .

Although not shown in the drawings, one end of the conductive pattern 303 may be electrically connected to the sensing pad 202 , and the other end may be electrically connected to a processor (not shown). The conductive pattern 303 and the processor may be connected in direct contact with each other, embedded in the fiber base 110, or connected along a conductive path formed above and/or below the fiber base 110 . For this purpose, the conductive pattern 303 may be configured to contact the fiber base 110 .

In addition, when the conductive pattern 303 includes a urethane-based polymer, bonding strength with the fiber base 110 may be excellent. Therefore, compared to the case where the coating layer 153 does not have an opening and the conductive pattern 303 is disposed thereon, the conductive pattern 303 is in contact with both the coating layer 153 and the fiber base 110 as in this embodiment. The interface length may be increased. Therefore, not only the bonding strength can be improved, but also the length of the path through which external moisture or the like penetrates along the interface can be increased, which can contribute to the improvement of durability.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor module according to another embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing a position corresponding to that of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the gas sensor module 14 according to the present embodiment includes a base layer 103 , a sensing pad 202 and a conductive pattern 303 , but further includes a protective layer 400 . It is different from the gas sensor module 13 according to the fourth embodiment.

The protective layer 400 may be disposed on the sensing pad 202 . For example, the protective layer 400 may be disposed in contact with the coating layer 153 , the conductive pattern 303 , and the sensing pad 202 . The protective layer 400 may further suppress swelling of the sensing pad 202 due to moisture in an external atmosphere. To this end, the protective layer 400 covers the side surface of the sensing pad 202 and the side surface of the conductive pattern 303, and the interface between the coating layer 153 and the conductive pattern 303 and the conductive pattern 303 and the sensing pad ( 202) can all be sealed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 , the protective layer 400 may cover a portion of the upper surface of the sensing pad 202 , but expose the other portion of the upper surface. That is, the protective layer 400 may form a window through which the sensing pad 202 may come into contact with external gas molecules.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor module according to another embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing a position corresponding to that of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the gas sensor module 15 according to this embodiment includes a base layer 105 , a sensing pad 202 and a conductive pattern 305 , but the fiber base 110 of the base layer 105 . includes the first fiber base 110a and the second fiber base 110b, and the point where the conductive pattern 305 penetrates the first fiber base 110a is the gas sensor module 13 according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 . is different from

The base layer 105 may include a first fiber base 110a, a second fiber base 110b, and a coating layer 155 . The first fiber base 110a may be an upper base, and the second fiber base 110b may be a lower base, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The first fiber base 110a may be interposed in contact with the coating layer 155 and the second fiber base 110b.

The first fiber base 110a may be made of a material having lower air permeability and moisture permeability than the second fiber base 110b. When the gas sensor module 15 according to the present embodiment is applied to functional clothing, for example, protective clothing, the fiber base 110 may correspond to the protective clothing fabric. In this case, the first fiber base 110a may form the outer skin of the protective suit. Although the present invention is not limited thereto, the second fiber base 110b may form the endothelium of the protective clothing. In another embodiment, an additional fiber base may be interposed between the first fiber base 110a and the second fiber base 110b, or an additional fiber base may be disposed under the second fiber base 110b.

The coating layer 155 and the first fiber base 110a may have openings. In addition, the conductive pattern 305 is inserted through the opening, so that a portion of the conductive pattern 305 may be interposed between the first fiber base 110a and the second fiber base 110b. An end of the interposed conductive pattern 305 may be electrically connected to a processor (not shown).

That is, as described above, a conductive path electrically connected to the sensing pad 202 and the conductive pattern 305 may be formed along the base layer 105 . At this time, by extending the conductive pattern 305 having excellent electrical conductivity along between the first fiber base 110a and the second fiber base 110b, the electrical characteristics of the gas sensor module 15 are further improved and the noise signal is minimized. can do.

In some embodiments, the sensing pad 202 may cover a side surface of the conductive pattern 305 disposed on the coating layer 155 . Furthermore, the conductive pattern 305 on the coating layer 155 may be configured so that it is not exposed and is not visually recognized. In this case, the conductive pattern 305, which is vulnerable to external moisture, may be protected using the sensing pad 202 . In addition, by bringing the coating layer 155 and the superior sensing pad 202 into contact with both the outside and the inside in the horizontal direction of the conductive pattern 305, lifting and swelling of the sensing pad 202 can be further prevented, and moisture permeation of the outside You can lengthen the path. Although not shown in the drawings, a protective layer (not shown) may be disposed on the coating layer 155 and the sensing pad 202 as shown in FIG. 5 .

Hereinafter, clothing to which the gas sensor module according to the above-described embodiments is applied, for example, protective clothing will be described. Although the gas sensor module 11 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described as an example, it goes without saying that a gas sensor module according to another embodiment may be applied.

7 is a schematic diagram of functional clothing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the functional garment 1 according to the present embodiment includes a gas sensor module 11 disposed on the outer garment 100 of the garment or organically coupled to the outer garment 100 of the garment.

The fiber base (eg, 110 in FIG. 2 ) of the above-described gas sensor module 11 or the base layer in which the fiber base and the coating layer are combined (eg, 100 in FIG. 2 ) may correspond to the outer skin 100 of clothing. . That is, the gas sensor module 11 may use the outer skin 100 of clothing as a base layer. In addition, it may be embedded in the outer skin 100 of the garment or configured to transmit an electrical signal along a conductive path disposed on the upper or lower portion of the outer skin 100 of the garment.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the functional clothing 1 in which the gas sensor module having excellent flexibility and gas sensing characteristics is embedded. A wearer who wears the functional clothing 1 can use the gas sensor module 11 at all times, so that it can be used as a wearable device. In addition, by using the outer garment 100 as a base material, it has excellent flexibility, and furthermore, there is an advantage in that durability deterioration can be minimized despite repeated bending and bending.

Hereinafter, experimental examples of the present invention will be described.

1. Examples

A coating layer was formed on a polyester fiber fabric base. As the coating layer, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was used. Then, a conductive pattern was formed using a polyurethane resin in which silver (Ag) particles were dispersed on the coating layer.

A sensing pad was formed to partially cover the conductive pattern. The sensing pad was formed by applying a coating solution containing about 10 wt% of polyaniline, about 18 wt% of carbon nanotubes, about 10 wt% of polyurethane, 4 wt% of cellulose, and 5 wt% of polystyrene sulfonate.

2. Comparative Example

It was prepared in the same manner as in Example, except that a conductive pattern and a sensing pad were formed on the polyester fiber fabric base without forming a coating layer.

3-1. Experimental Example (1)

After manufacturing the gas sensors according to Comparative Examples and Examples, they were left at room temperature for one week, and surface images thereof are shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, respectively.

First, referring to FIG. 8A , it can be seen that the gas sensor according to the comparative example has cracks in the sensing pad even when stored at room temperature. This is a problem caused by the lifting of the sensing pad due to moisture absorption of the polyester fiber fabric. In addition, since the sensing pad itself has porosity, this problem may be exacerbated.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 8B , it can be seen that the gas sensor according to the embodiment does not generate cracks and exhibits an intact state substantially the same as the initial state.

3-2. Experimental Example (2)

The gas sensor according to the embodiment was exposed to an ammonia gas atmosphere to measure gas sensing characteristics, and the image is shown in FIG. 9 .

Referring to FIG. 9 , it can be seen that the gas sensor according to the present embodiment maintains a constant inclination as time elapses and the resistance increases linearly. That is, the gas sensor may exhibit excellent sensing characteristics according to the lapse of time of exposure to the surrounding harmful gas and the concentration of the gas.

3-3. Experimental Example (3)

The gas sensors manufactured according to Examples and Comparative Examples were repeatedly bent for 100 times. Then, the gas sensing characteristics were measured by exposure to an ammonia gas atmosphere, and the image is shown in FIG. 10 . The left side of FIG. 10 is a gas sensor according to the comparative example, and the right side of FIG. 10 is a gas sensor according to the embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 , it can be seen that the gas sensor according to the comparative example has reduced durability due to repeated bending, and thus exhibits non-uniform conductivity. On the other hand, the gas sensor according to the embodiment shows a uniform measurement result despite repeated bending, and may have excellent reliability. This difference is because a crack is generated in the sensing pad according to the comparative example and a noise signal is generated due to a defect that is lifted from the fiber base.

In the above, the embodiment of the present invention has been mainly described, but this is only an example and does not limit the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications not exemplified above are possible.

Therefore, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes changes, equivalents or substitutes of the technical ideas exemplified above. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by modification. And the differences related to these modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.

1: Functional clothing
11: Gas sensor module
30: processor
110: fiber base
150: coating layer
200: sensing pad
300: conductive pattern

Claims (10)

a coating layer disposed on the fiber base;
A sensing pad disposed on the coating layer, the sensing pad having a change in electrical resistance when in contact with a base gas; and
A gas sensor module comprising a conductive pattern at least partially disposed on the coating layer and electrically connected to the sensing pad. According to claim 1,
The sensing pad includes polyaniline and carbon nanotubes,
The weight ratio of the polyaniline to the carbon nanotubes is 1:1 or more and 1:2 or less. The method of claim 1,
The coating layer includes a urethane-based polymer or a silicone-based polymer,
The conductive pattern is a gas sensor module comprising a urethane-based polymer containing a conductive material. 3. The method of claim 2,
In a plan view, the coating layer has openings,
wherein the conductive pattern abuts the fiber base partially through the opening. 3. The method of claim 2,
The conductive pattern is at least partially interposed in contact between the coating layer and the sensing pad. 3. The method of claim 2,
The conductive pattern is disposed between the fiber base and the sensing pad,
The gas sensor module further includes a protective layer disposed directly on the upper surface of the conductive pattern, wherein the protective layer covers a portion of the sensing pad and exposes a portion. 7. The method of claim 6,
The protective layer is a gas sensor module in contact with the coating layer. According to claim 1,
The fiber base comprises an upper fiber base and a lower fiber base,
The conductive pattern penetrates through the coating layer and the upper fiber base, and is partially interposed between the upper fiber base and the lower fiber base. forming a coating layer on the fiber base;
forming a conductive pattern on the coating layer; and
and forming a sensing pad on the conductive pattern. a coating layer disposed only partially on the outer skin of the garment;
a sensing pad disposed on the coating layer, the sensing pad having an electrical resistance changed when in contact with a gas; and
and a conductive pattern at least partially disposed on the coating layer, in electrical communication with the sensing pad, and providing a conductive path along any portion of the garment.

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