Apple patents fabric machinery that detects and places electronic parts
Apple describes a system for making fabric that automatically detects when an electronic component is attached to a wire. Once the sensor spots the component, the machine adjusts its needles or threads to weave the part into the material at the right spot.
In the filing’s own words
Interlacing equipment may be used to form fabric. A component detector may be used to feed strands such as a conductive strand to the interlacing equipment. One or more electrical components may be mounted to the conductive strand. The component detector may have a sensor configured to detect the presence of the electrical component as the conductive strand is fed to the interlacing equipment through the component detector. In response to detecting the component with the sensor, the interlacing equipment may automatically adjust interlacing operations in preparation for receiving the electrical component. For example, needles may be lowered in a knitting system, select warp strands may be raised and lowered in a weaving system, or a carrier may follow a modified path in a braiding system in response to detecting the electrical component. The fabric may have a different construction in regions where the electrical component is received.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. Equipment for forming fabric, the equipment comprising: interlacing equipment selected from the group consisting of: knitting equipment, weaving equipment, and braiding equipment; and a component detector configured to feed a conductive strand to the interlacing equipment, wherein an electrical component is mounted to the conductive strand, wherein the component detector comprises a sensor configured to detect the electrical component on the conductive strand, and wherein the interlacing equipment comprises at least one adjustable member that is adjusted in response to the sensor detecting the electrical component.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Fabric with electrical components
- Patent number
- US12723331B2
- Application number
- 18735935
- Filed
- Jun 6, 2024
- Granted
- Sep 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 9
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
D03D 1/0088 Textiles & paperD03D 13/00 Textiles & paperD03D 25/00 Textiles & paperD04B 21/202 Textiles & paperD04C 3/00 Textiles & paperD10B 2401/16 Textiles & paperMore from Apple in Materials & manufacturing
- Apple patents knitting machines that weave electronics into fabric Sep 29, 2026
- Apple patents metal housings that stop rust by bonding two different metals Oct 13, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.