Apple patents knitting machines that weave electronics into fabric
Apple describes machinery that braids threads around small electronic parts while they are being inserted. The equipment uses tools to hold the parts in place and heat them to create electrical connections with the woven threads.
In the filing’s own words
Knitting equipment may be used to form warp knit fabric. The warp knit fabric may be a spacer fabric having a spacer strand that travels back and forth between outer warp knit layers. The spacer fabric may include a pocket for receiving an electrical component. The electrical component may be mounted to an inlaid conductive strand that floats between the outer warp knit layers and that is held in place by the spacer strand. The pocket may be one of multiple pockets in the spacer fabric that are separated from one another by the spacer strand. Braiding equipment may include carriers that braid strands around an electrical component while a tool holds the electrical component in place. A ring may be used to isolate the braiding angle from the carriers to accommodate component insertion. The electrical component may be mounted to an inlaid conductive strand in the braid.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. Braiding equipment, comprising: carriers having bobbins configured to dispense strands, wherein the carriers move the strands over and under one another to create a braid with the strands; an insertion tool configured to insert an electrical component into the braid and to apply a force on the electrical component while the strands are braided around the electrical component, wherein the braid comprises a conductive strand; and a heating tool configured to reflow solder on the electrical component to form a solder connection between the electrical component and the conductive strand.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Warp knit and braided fabrics with electrical components
- Patent number
- US12747525B2
- Application number
- 18734475
- Filed
- Jun 5, 2024
- Granted
- Sep 29, 2026
- Inventors
- 6
- Claims
- 15
Classified under
D04C 1/02 Textiles & paperD04C 3/14 Textiles & paperD04C 3/48 Textiles & paperD10B 2401/16 Textiles & paperD10B 2401/18 Textiles & paperMore from Apple in Materials & manufacturing
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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.