Textile articles and systems for liquid detection
First Claim
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1. A system configured to detect liquid in a bed, the system comprising:
- at least one textile article configured to be positioned on a bed, the textile article having;
a face;
a back opposite to the face;
a textile material that extends from the face to the back;
a barrier component that defines at least a portion of the back, wherein the barrier component is configured to inhibit moisture from traveling through the back of the textile article;
at least one flexible sensor that includes a conductive element that is integrated with the textile material so that the conductive element is disposed at least partially on the face of the textile article; and
an interface element that is electrically connected to the at least one flexible sensor, wherein
1) the at least one flexible sensor obtains sensor data that is indicative of liquid in the textile material that is in contact with the at least one flexible sensor, and
2) the interface element is configured to forward the sensor data provided by the at least one flexible sensor; and
at least one software application configured for execution by a computer processor that is in electronic communication with the interface element of each of the at least one textile article, wherein the at least one software application is configured to, in response to receiving sensor data from the plurality of textile articles, a) determine if the sensor data indicates that a criterion is met for one or more of the plurality of textile articles, b) based on the determination that the criterion is met for the one or more of the plurality of textile articles, determine if a respective one of the at least one flexible sensors is in contact with liquid, and c) identify a pattern among occurrences where the criterion is met, wherein the pattern includes a predicted time that the at least one flexible sensor is likely to be in contact with liquid.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for detecting liquid in a textile article using one or more flexible sensors integrated in the textile article. The sensor data is forwarded to a computing device via a communication link by an interface element associated with the textile article. The computing device detects a location of liquid in the textile article proximate to the one or more flexible sensors based on a determination that a criterion is met.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system configured to detect liquid in a bed, the system comprising:
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at least one textile article configured to be positioned on a bed, the textile article having; a face; a back opposite to the face; a textile material that extends from the face to the back; a barrier component that defines at least a portion of the back, wherein the barrier component is configured to inhibit moisture from traveling through the back of the textile article; at least one flexible sensor that includes a conductive element that is integrated with the textile material so that the conductive element is disposed at least partially on the face of the textile article; and an interface element that is electrically connected to the at least one flexible sensor, wherein
1) the at least one flexible sensor obtains sensor data that is indicative of liquid in the textile material that is in contact with the at least one flexible sensor, and
2) the interface element is configured to forward the sensor data provided by the at least one flexible sensor; andat least one software application configured for execution by a computer processor that is in electronic communication with the interface element of each of the at least one textile article, wherein the at least one software application is configured to, in response to receiving sensor data from the plurality of textile articles, a) determine if the sensor data indicates that a criterion is met for one or more of the plurality of textile articles, b) based on the determination that the criterion is met for the one or more of the plurality of textile articles, determine if a respective one of the at least one flexible sensors is in contact with liquid, and c) identify a pattern among occurrences where the criterion is met, wherein the pattern includes a predicted time that the at least one flexible sensor is likely to be in contact with liquid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 7, 8)
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5. A system configured to detect liquid, the system comprising:
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a textile article having a face, a back opposite to the face, and a textile material that includes at least one textile layer that extends along the face; at least one flexible sensor that obtains sensor data that is indicative of liquid in the textile material that is in contact with the at least one flexible sensor, wherein the at least one flexible sensor includes a conductive element that is integrated into the textile material so that the conductive element is disposed at least partially along the face of the textile article; an interface element coupled to the textile article that is electrically connected to the at least one flexible sensor, the interface element comprising a first connector defining a first plurality of contacts, wherein the interface element is configured to forward the sensor data provided by the at least one flexible sensor to a computer processor; a second connector defining a second plurality of contacts, wherein the second plurality of contacts of the second connector are configured to mate with the first plurality of contacts of the first connector and; at least one software application configured for execution by the computer processor that is in electronic communication with the interface element, the at least one software application being configured to instruct the interface element to feed an excitation signal to the at least one flexible sensor, such that the excitation signal travels through the at least one flexible sensor, wherein the at least one software application is configured to, in response to receiving the sensor data from the at least one flexible sensor, a) determine if the sensor data indicates that a criterion is met, b) based on the determination that the criterion is met, determine if a respective one of the at least one flexible sensor is in contact with liquid, c) identify a pattern among occurrences where the criterion is met, wherein the pattern includes a predicted time that the at least one flexible sensor is likely to be in contact with liquid. - View Dependent Claims (6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system configured to detect liquid, the system comprising:
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a textile article having a face, a back opposite to the face, and a textile material that defines the face; at least one flexible sensor that obtains sensor data that is indicative of liquid in the textile material that is in contact with the at least one flexible sensor, wherein the at least one flexible sensor includes a conductive element that is integrated into the textile material so that the conductive element is disposed at least partially along the face of the textile article; an interface element coupled to the textile article and that is electrically connected to the at least one flexible sensor; and at least one software application configured for execution by a computer processor that is in electronic communication with the interface element, the at least one software application being configured to, in response to receiving sensor data from the textile article, a) determine if the sensor data indicates that a criterion is met, b) based on the determination that the criterion is met, determine if a respective one of the at least one flexible sensor is in contact with liquid, c) identify a pattern among occurrences that the criterion is met, wherein the pattern is a range of times that the at least one flexible sensor is likely to be in contact with liquid, and d) initiate an alert previous to one of the range of times that the at least one flexible sensor will likely be in contact with liquid. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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16. The system of 15, wherein the at least one software application is configured to store in a computer memory the occurrences that the criterion is met.
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19. A system configured to detect liquid in a bed, the system comprising:
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at least one textile article configured to be positioned on a bed, the textile article having; a face; a back opposite to the face; a textile material that extends from the face to the back; a barrier component that defines at least a portion of the back, wherein the barrier component is configured to inhibit moisture from traveling through the back of the textile article; at least one flexible sensor that includes a conductive element that is integrated with the textile material so that the conductive element is disposed at least partially on the face of the textile article; and an interface element that is electrically connected to the at least one flexible sensor, wherein
1) the at least one flexible sensor obtains sensor data that is indicative of liquid in the textile material that is in contact with the at least one flexible sensor, and
2) the interface element is configured to forward the sensor data provided by the at least one flexible sensor; andat least one software application configured for execution by a computer processor that is in electronic communication with the interface element of each of the at least one textile article, wherein the at least one software application is configured to, in response to receiving sensor data from the plurality of textile articles, a) determine if the sensor data indicates that a criterion is met for one or more of the plurality of textile articles, b) based on the determination that the criterion is met for the one or more of the plurality of textile articles, determine if a respective one of the at least one flexible sensors is in contact with liquid, and c) identify a pattern among occurrences where the criterion is met, wherein the pattern includes a range of times, and d) initiate an alert previous to one of the range of times that the at least one flexible sensor will likely be in contact with liquid. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification