Patent US11890850B2
01Title
Additive Manufacturing of Highly Flexible Electrophoretic Film and Textile Composites
02Abstract
In Plain Terms
A stretch fabric laminated with a clear flexible film, topped with a color-changing electrophoretic layer — the same technology behind e-ink displays. That top layer is normally rigid, so it’s scored with a pattern of small relief cuts that let it flex and stretch along with the textile underneath instead of cracking. The result is a color-changing surface that moves the way fabric moves.
Legal abstract
Embodiments of the disclosure provide a flexible and stretchable textile composite including an electrophoretic film. According to one embodiment, a textile composite material can comprise a textile base layer, a first flexible, optically transparent film layer deposited onto and affixed to the textile base layer, and an electrophoretic film layer disposed onto the first flexible, optically transparent film layer on a side of the first flexible, optically transparent film layer opposite the textile base layer. The electrophoretic film layer can comprise a plurality of relief cuts therein. The plurality of relief cuts can allow the electrophoretic film layer to flex or stretch in at least one direction.