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Method For Limiting Elasticity Of Selected Regions In Knitted Fabrics

Abstract: A method for substantially reducing the elasticity of at least one selected textile region of a garment. The method includes producing the garment including a conductive textile electrode and rigidifying the at least one selected textile region. The rigidifying process includes applying rigidifying matter onto or into the at least one selected textile region. The at least one selected textile region is selected from the group consisting of a conductive textile electrode and a region of the garment situated between two adjacent textile electrodes. The invention further provides a garment having a tubular form , knitted by a seamless knitting machine with base- yarns. The garment includes at least one conductive textile electrode, composed of multiple knitted line segments , each knitted with a conductive yarn and a spandex yarn ,wherein the spandex yarn and at least one base- yarn are knitted continuously.

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Patent Information

Application #
Filing Date
27 March 2015
Publication Number
37/2015
Publication Type
INA
Invention Field
TEXTILE
Status
Email
Parent Application

Applicants

HEALTHWATCH LTD.
34 Hazeitim Street, 4630734 Herzliya

Inventors

1. SHOSHANI ,Boaz
53 Rambam Street, 4360138 Raanana
2. AMIR, Uri
6 Almog Street, 60405 Or Yehuda

Specification

METHOD FOR LIMITING ELASTICITY OF SELECTED REGIONS IN KNITTED FABRICS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) from US provisional application 61/763,963 filed Feb 13 , 2013, and from US provisional application 61/771,874 filed Mar 3rf, 2013, the disclosures of which are included herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to knitted fabrics and more particularly, the present invention relates to wearable health monitoring systems, having knitted electrodes, wherein the knitted electrodes and the knitted fabric in the vicinity of the knitted electrodes are devised to maintain substantially steady dimensions and a substantially steady distance from each other, in particular, between horizontally adjacent electrodes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART Knitted electrodes in the garment are made of conductive yarn, which conductive yarn is knitted together with other basic yarns such as Nylon, bare spandex, covered spandex and/or other types of yarn. The positioning of an electrode on a monitored living body is of critical importance for obtaining proper ECG signals, especially when the monitored living body is in motion. Moreover, the repeatability of the electrodes location on the body is of critical importance for comparing ECG signals in separate measurement sessions. When designing a knitted ECG garment, there is a need to ensure that the electrodes are repeatably positioned at the same respective pre-con figured positions with respect to the monitored living body, for a given garment size designated to be worn by a variety people. Usually, people of same size have different body structure, weight and high, which may affect the respective position of the electrodes on their body, although the garment is of the same size. Being knitted in a fabric, the electrodes gain a natural stretch, which stretch may affect the quality by introducing artifacts and damage the repeatability of the recorded ECG signals. These damaging artifacts may occur because of changes in the electrode 1 WO 2014/125476 PCT/IL2014/050134 electrical characteristics, and may cause unnecessary noises in the system during breathing and bodily motions, wherein the spatial positioning of an electrode, with respect to the monitored organ, may change. There is therefore a need and it would be advantageous to have methods for knitting a garment such that the elasticity of one or more selected regions is prevented or at least limited and thereby maintain original dimensions of these regions. Furthermore, there is a need for a stable and repeatable positioning of electrodes at respective preconfigured bodily location, which positioning is of extreme importance to obtain good ECG signals, facilitating clinical level ECG, while the monitored person is either in rest or is moving, jumping or walking. It should be noted that the term "ECG signals", as used herein, refers the any physiological signal of the monitored living being that can be sensed directly or indirectly by an electrode, including signals for ECG analysis. The terms "underwear" or "garment", as used herein with conjunction with wearable clothing items, refers to seamless wearable clothing items that preferably, can be tightly worn adjacently to the body of a monitored living being, typically adjacently to the skin, including undershirts, sport shirts, brassiere, underpants, special hospital shirt, socks and the like. Typically, the terms "underwear" or "garment" refer to a clothing item that is worn adjacently to the external surface of the user's body, under external clothing or as the only clothing, in such way that the fact that there are sensors embedded therein, is not seen by any other person in regular daily behavior. An underwear item may also include a clothing item that is not underwear per se, but still is in direct and preferably tight contact with the skin, such as a T-shirt, sleeveless or sleeved shirts, sport-bra, tights, dancing-wear, and pants. The sensors, in such a case, can be embedded in such a way that are still unseen by external people to comply with the "seamless" requirement. The phrase "clinical level ECG", as used herein with conjunction with ECG measurements, refers to the professionally acceptable number of leads, sensitivity and specificity needed for a definite conclusion by most cardiology physicians to suspect a risky cardiac problem (for example, arrhythmia, myocardial ischemia, heart failure) that require immediate further investigation or intervention. Currently, it is at least a 12-leads ECG and preferably 15-lead ECG, coupled with a motion/posture compensation element, and a real-time processor with adequate algorithms. 2 WO 2014/125476 PCT7IL2014/050134 The phrase "base-yarn", as used herein, refers to the yarn from which the fabric of the garment is knitted from. The fabric is typically knitted with Nylon, bare Spandex and covered spandex. In another example embodiment, the fabric is typically knitted with a base-yarn such as Nylon and covered spandex. It should be noted that such a garment can be knitted with any type of base-yarn including Nylon yarn textured or flat, selected types of Nylons, Polyester, Polypropylene, Acetate, manmade fibers, natural yarns like cotton, bamboo, wool, and blends of the mentioned raw materials. Selection of yam is also based on fabric weight, body size for men and women, fabric weight and design required. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an intention of the present invention to provide methods for knitting a garment such that the elasticity of one or more selected regions is prevented or at least limited and thereby substantially maintaining the original dimensions of these regions. It should be noted that the present invention will be described in terms of the regions, in which regions elasticity is substantially prevented or at least limited, being \ knitted electrodes, but these regions are not limited to being knitted electrodes, and may be any knitted region in a knitted fabric. Knitted electrodes in a garment are made of conductive yarn, which conductive yarn is knitted together with other basic yarns such as Nylon, bare spandex, covered spandex and/or other types of synthetic, manmade, or natural yarn. It is an intention of the present invention to provide methods for obtaining stable and repeatable positioning of electrodes at respective pre-configured bodily location, which positioning is of extreme importance to obtain good ECG signals, facilitating clinical level ECG, while the monitored person is either in rest or is moving, including running, jumping or walking. It is the intention of the present invention to ensure that the ECG signals are obtained from substantially the same location on the monitored body. Once the exact locations of electrodes: RA, LA, VI, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, RL and LL, and optionally, V7, V8 and V9, are selected for each garment size, the electrodes are knitted with their special knitting construction using a conductive yarn having a preconfigured distance from each other. 3 WO 2014/125476 PCT/IL2014/050134 It is an intention of the present invention to provide methods for maintaining this substantially fixed distance between each of the electrodes, even when the garment is stretched during wearing or the wearer is in motion. According to teachings of the present invention, there is provided a method for substantially reducing the elasticity of at least one selected textile region of a garment, the method including the steps of producing the garment including at least one conductive textile electrode, and rigidifying the at least one selected textile region. The rigidifying process includes applying rigidifying matter onto or into the at least one selected textile region. The at least one selected textile region is selected from the group consisting of a conductive textile electrode and a region of the garment situated between two adjacent textile electrodes. Typically, with no limitation, the garment and the at least one conductive textile electrode are produced by a knitting machine. Optionally, the rigidifying matter is thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), wherein the TPU is laminated over the external surface of the at least one selected textile region. I Optionally, the rigidifying matter is fusible knitting yarn having a low melting point, wherein the fusible yarn is knitted over the external surface of the at least one selected textile region. When the fabric of the garment is dyed, the fusible yarn melts and thereby creates a stable and rigidified area. Optionally, the rigidifying matter is a non-elastic knitting yarn having no or limited elasticity, wherein a frame, having a preconfigured width, is knitted around the at least one conductive textile electrode, using the non-elastic yarn. Optionally, the rigidifying matter is a non-elastic yam having no or limited elasticity, wherein the non-elastic yam is sewn over the at least one selected textile region. Optionally, the rigidifying matter is a non-elastic knitting yam having no or limited elasticity, wherein the non-elastic yarn is knitted in a region of the garment between two adjacent textile electrodes. Optionally, the rigidifying matter is a cross polymer lubricant, wherein the cross polymer lubricant is spayed over the at least one selected textile region. 4 WO 2014/125476 PCT/IL2014/050134 According to further teachings of the present invention, there is provided a method for knitting a garment having a tubular form being knitted with a base-yarn, including knitting at least one conductive textile electrode, using a knitting machine having N participating feeders and M needles. The method includes the steps of continuously knitting the tubular form with one or more flexible non-conductive baseyarns, and knitting the at least one textile electrode integrally within the tubular form, using a conductive yam, in addition to the non-conductive yarns. The conductive yarn is knitted in a float-loop form by knitting a stitch and skipping ovtry needles, as follows: a) continue knitting with at least one base-yarn, when start knitting a current line segment of a conductive textile electrode, preferably in a knit&miss knitting scheme. b) knitting a line segment Z& using feeder/7) and start stitching with needleDj. c) knitting line the next segment Z-t+j, using the next feeder Fi+! and start stitching the first float-loop with needle DJ+Si where 0ase-yarns, when completed knitting the current line segment. The knit&miss scheme is selected from the group of knitting schemes including: a) knit-one&miss-one knitting pattern. b) knit-two&miss-one knitting pattern. c) knit-one&miss-two knitting pattern. Optionally, a preconfigured region of the tubular form, disposed around and adjacently to the at least one textile electrode, is knitted with higher knitting density than the preconfigured knitting density of the tubular form. According to further teachings of the present invention, there is provided a garment having a tubular form, being knitted by a seamless knitting machine with baseyams, the garment including at least one conductive textile electrode, the at least one conductive textile electrode including a multiplicity of knitted line segments, each knitted with a conductive yarn and a spandex yam, wherein the spandex yarn is knitted continuously. 5 WO 2014/125476 PCT/IL2014/050134 At least one of the base-yarns continues knitting when the knitting a current line segment of a conductive textile electrode begins, preferably in a knit&miss knitting scheme. Preferably, the conductive yarn has a float-loop form, forming a multiplicity of the float-loops, wherein each of the float-loops is knitted by skipping over y needles between consecutive stitches. A given line segment starts stitching by needle Dj, and the next line segment starts stitching by needle Dj+Si where 0 using the next participating feeder and starting stitching the first float-loop with needle Dj+S> where 0

Documents

Application Documents

# Name Date
1 2539-DELNP-2015-AbandonedLetter.pdf 2019-10-14
1 PCT IB 304.pdf 2015-03-28
2 2539-DELNP-2015-FER.pdf 2019-01-30
2 OTHER DOCUMENTS.pdf 2015-03-28
3 FORM 5.pdf 2015-03-28
3 2539-DELNP-2015-FORM 3 [28-08-2017(online)].pdf 2017-08-28
4 FORM 3.pdf 2015-03-28
4 Form 13 [07-07-2017(online)].pdf 2017-07-07
5 Other Document [07-07-2017(online)].pdf 2017-07-07
5 FORM 2 + SPECIFICATION.pdf 2015-03-28
6 2539-DELNP-2015.pdf 2015-05-21
6 2539-delnp-2015-Assignment-(03-02-2016).pdf 2016-02-03
7 Other Document [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
7 2539-delnp-2015-Correspondence Others-(03-02-2016).pdf 2016-02-03
8 Marked Copy [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
8 2539-delnp-2015-Form-3-(03-02-2016).pdf 2016-02-03
9 Description(Complete) [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
9 Form 13 [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
10 Description(Complete) [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
10 Form 13 [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
11 2539-delnp-2015-Form-3-(03-02-2016).pdf 2016-02-03
11 Marked Copy [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
12 2539-delnp-2015-Correspondence Others-(03-02-2016).pdf 2016-02-03
12 Other Document [21-12-2015(online)].pdf 2015-12-21
13 2539-delnp-2015-Assignment-(03-02-2016).pdf 2016-02-03
13 2539-DELNP-2015.pdf 2015-05-21
14 FORM 2 + SPECIFICATION.pdf 2015-03-28
14 Other Document [07-07-2017(online)].pdf 2017-07-07
15 Form 13 [07-07-2017(online)].pdf 2017-07-07
15 FORM 3.pdf 2015-03-28
16 2539-DELNP-2015-FORM 3 [28-08-2017(online)].pdf 2017-08-28
16 FORM 5.pdf 2015-03-28
17 2539-DELNP-2015-FER.pdf 2019-01-30
17 OTHER DOCUMENTS.pdf 2015-03-28
18 PCT IB 304.pdf 2015-03-28
18 2539-DELNP-2015-AbandonedLetter.pdf 2019-10-14

Search Strategy

1 Searchstrategy2121CHE2012_17-05-2018.pdf