Patent Publication Number: US-2022232314-A1

Title: Textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/138,280, filed Jan. 15, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Textile coverings for speakers may provide a cosmetic surface that blends into surrounding aesthetics, protects the speaker driver of the speaker from ingress of blunt objects, and enables an opportunity for brand expression. However, attaching textiles to rigid assemblies in a reversible and serviceable way can be challenging, particularly in a mass production setting. Common techniques laminate the textile with adhesive to bond the textile to a plastic housing part for subsequent manipulation and assembly. This adhesive approach is difficult to rework because the adhesive, in some cases, cannot be cleanly delaminated for rework or recycling at end of product life. Further, using adhesive makes it difficult to isolate the textile&#39;s contribution from contributions by the assembly processes to a defect in the system&#39;s response (e.g., acoustics or light transmission). In some cases, this may result in the entire subassembly being identified as problematic and the textile, adhesive, and plastic housing part being scrapped. Consequently, simply bonding textiles to plastic housing parts can be monetarily costly and lead to large quantities of material waste. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present document describes a textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device. The toolkit includes multiple attachment features, including rigid features with matched purposefully-designed knit types that can be combined to enable a repeatable, mass-producible, and reversible assembly of the textile to the electronic-speaker device. The techniques described herein enable accurate alignment of the textile on the electronic-speaker device to achieve a controlled stretch of the textile across the assembly and in a manner that results in no visible edges of the textile or visible attachment features on the exterior of the electronic-speaker device. Such techniques also enable the textile&#39;s cosmetic pattern to be distorted in a controlled manner that is the same across a plurality of different devices and harmonious to the human eye. Further, the textile-assembly toolkit includes attachment features that secure the textile with sufficient tension to avoid acoustic distortion such as rub and buzz. 
     In some aspects, an electronic-speaker device is disclosed. The electronic-speaker device includes a housing part, a textile a plurality of mechanical attachment features, and a plurality of textile features. The housing part forms a shell having opposing exterior and interior surfaces and at least one opening. The textile is reversibly assembled to the housing part effective to cover the exterior surface of the housing part and wrap around edges of the at least one opening. The plurality of mechanical attachment features are configured for reversible assembly of the textile to the housing part, and the type of attachment feature is selected based on other parts to be assembled or constraints to the assembly near that attachment feature. The plurality of textile features are configured to removably attach the textile to the plurality of mechanical attachment features to align and secure the textile to the housing part with a tension force sufficient to reduce acoustic distortion resulting from a vibration of the textile when exposed to acoustic pressure. 
     In other aspects, a textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device is disclosed. The textile-assembly toolkit includes a plurality of mechanical attachment features and a plurality of textile features. The plurality of textile features may be formed in the textile and include knit types configured to connect to one or more of the plurality of mechanical attachment features to enable repeatable and reversible assembly of the textile to the electronic-speaker device in a manner that hides the plurality of textile features and the plurality of mechanical attachment features and leaves no visible edges or visible attachment features on an exterior of the electronic-speaker device. 
     This summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of a textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device, which is further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The details of one or more aspects of a textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device are described in this document with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example electronic-speaker device in which an assembly toolkit may be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example housing part of an electronic-speaker device; 
         FIG. 3A  illustrates an example implementation of the pins from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3B  illustrates another example implementation of the pins from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a sectional view, taken along the line A-A in  FIG. 2 , of an example implementation of the textile features from  FIG. 1  in combination with the pins from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an example implementation of the hook and loop from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example implementation of the buttons from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate sectional views of an example implementation of the button from  FIG. 1  implemented on the base of the housing part from  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a sectional view of an example implementation of the retention rod from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an example implementation of the I/O-port ring from  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10A  illustrates a bottom view of the I/O-port ring from  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 10B  illustrates a top view of the I/O-port ring from  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a sectional view of the I/O-port ring assembled to the housing part, taken from line B-B in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a front view of an example implementation of the textile from  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a back view of an example implementation of the textile from  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present document describes a textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device. The textile-assembly toolkit described herein includes various features that may be combined for removably attaching a textile to rigid parts of an electronic-speaker device in a manner that visually and tactilely appears to a user to have high quality. The textile-assembly toolkit includes several attachment feature options that can be selected by product design engineers to fit different system requirements. For example, hook and loop may be used for areas of a device that require low thickness, experience high vibration, or are relatively broad. In contrast, buttons may be used for areas that are thicker but require a high accuracy for alignment or blind assembly. Any suitable combination of the features in the textile-assembly toolkit can be implemented for reversible assembly of the textile to the electronic-speaker device. 
     The textile-assembly toolkit enables a textile to be reversibly assembled to the electronic-speaker device in a manner that wraps at least some of the edges (including all) of a particular housing part of the electronic-speaker device in fabric and leaves no edge of the fabric on the exterior of the housing part. The textile-assembly toolkit also enables the textile to be secured to the housing part with a tension force sufficient to reduce acoustic distortion resulting from vibration of the textile when exposed to acoustic pressure. 
     While features and concepts of the described textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device can be implemented in any number of different environments, aspects are described in the context of the following examples. 
     Example Device 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example electronic-speaker device  100  in which a textile-assembly toolkit  102  for reversible assembly of a textile  104  to the electronic-speaker device  100  can be implemented. The electronic-speaker device  100  can be any suitable speaker device, which is configured to generate audio output and/or receive audio input. The electronic-speaker device  100  may include one or more speaker-driver components for generating audio output and/or one or more audio sensors for receiving audio input. Some example electronic-speaker devices include speaker devices  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 ,  100 - 3 ,  100 - 4 ,  100 - 5 , and  100 - 6 . The textile  104  may be mounted to the electronic-speaker device  100  in any suitable manner, including a manner in which the textile  104  covers a face of the electronic-speaker device  100  and/or the speaker-driver component(s). The part on which the textile  104  is assembled may have a substantially symmetric geometry or a substantially asymmetric geometry relative to one or more axes. As described herein, different geometries may utilize different combinations of attachment features of the textile-assembly toolkit  102 . 
     The textile-assembly toolkit  102  may include mechanical attachment features  106  matched to carefully chosen knit features (e.g., textile features  108 ) to produce an assembly suitable for reversibility and mass manufacturing. In aspects, the textile features  108  include purposefully-designed knit types configured to connect to one or more of the mechanical attachment features  106  to enable repeatable and reversible assembly of the textile  104  to the electronic-speaker device  100  in a manner that hides the textile features  108  and the mechanical attachment features  106 . In some instances, implementation of such features leaves no visible seam, textile edge, or attachment feature on an exterior of the electronic-speaker device  100 . 
     The mechanical attachment features  106  may include one or more of pins  110 , buttons  112 , hook and loop  114  material, retention rods  116 , an input/output (I/O)-port ring  118 , and a plastic sheet  120 , or any combination thereof. The textile features  108  may include one or more of holes  122  (e.g., knit holes, cut holes) and knit structure changes  124  (e.g., different yarn, different knit stitch, different number of knitting rows), or any combination thereof. The attachment features (e.g., the mechanical attachment features  106  and the textile features  108 ) are selected for (i) the geometry of a rigid part onto which the textile  104  is to be assembled and (ii) the geometry of the assembly around the rigid part. Further, depending on available clearance and symmetry versus non-symmetry of the rigid part and the device assembly, different features of the textile-assembly toolkit  102  may be combined to provide appropriate attachment strength for the textile  104  to the rigid part. 
     For purposes of discussion, the examples described herein are directed to an electronic-speaker device  100  having a non-symmetric (about at least one axis) housing part (e.g., “neck”) on which the textile  104  is mounted using the textile-assembly toolkit  102 . These and other capabilities and configurations, as well as ways in which entities of  FIG. 1  act and interact, are set forth in greater detail below. These entities may be further divided, combined, and so on. The electronic-speaker device  100  of  FIG. 1  and the detailed illustrations of  FIG. 2  through  FIG. 13  illustrate some of many possible environments, devices, and components capable of employing the described techniques. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a housing part  200  of an electronic-speaker device  100  (e.g., the electronic-speaker device  100 - 6  in  FIG. 1 ). The housing part  200  illustrated in  FIG. 2  is a shell having a base  202  for resting on a surface. In some aspects, the housing part  200  may not include the base  202  but may form a tube with two opposing openings. The housing part  200  includes walls  204  extending from the base  202  to a top  206  defining an opening opposite the base  202 . In the illustrated example, the walls  204  around the opening form a frame on which a display subassembly (not shown in  FIG. 2 ) may be mounted. The frame is formed to enable the display subassembly to be mounted at an angle in a range between 30 degrees and 90 degrees relative to a plane defined by the base  202 . For example, a first side (e.g., a back wall  208 ) may have a greater height than an opposing second side (e.g., a front wall  210 ), while connecting sides (e.g., side walls  212 ) may have a height that transitions from the first side to the second side. Further, the walls  204  in the illustrated example include straight regions  214  and curved regions  216  (e.g., corners). Some devices may only include curved regions or only straight regions. 
     Due to the complex geometry of the housing part  200 , a combination of different features in the textile-assembly toolkit  102  may be used to assemble the textile  104  to an interior surface  218  (and the base  202 ) of the housing part  200  to cover an exterior surface  220  of the housing part  200  in a way that hides the attachment features (the mechanical attachment features  106  and the textile features  108 ) and that maintains appropriate tension on the yarn of the textile  104  for preventing acoustic distortion caused by, e.g., rub and buzz. The housing part  200  may also include an I/O-port opening  222  for providing access to an I/O port on the electronic-speaker device  100  to connect a cable (e.g., power cable, headphone cable) to the electronic-speaker device  100 . 
     In aspects, the textile  104  may be formed (e.g., knit) into a sleeve that can be pulled over the housing part  200 , from the base  202  to the top  206  or from the top  206  to the base  202 . The sleeve may have no visible seams along its body and may have an opening at one or both opposing ends of the textile sleeve. The sleeve may also have an opening for the I/O port, if present, or such an opening may be cut after textile formation. The edges of each opening may be wrapped around edges of the openings of the housing part  200  and fastened to the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200  and, in some instances, to the base  202  of the housing part  200 . Covering the housing part  200  in this way leaves no visible seam or fabric edge on the exterior of the housing part  200 . 
     Accordingly, when covering the housing part  200  with the textile  104 , any suitable area(s) on the housing part  200  may be used for attachment. In this example, the primary areas for attachment include the top  206 , the base  202 , and the I/O-port opening  222 . Various parts of the housing part  200  may be referred in  FIGS. 3A-13 . An example region  224  is used in some of  FIGS. 3A-13  to describe different examples of attachment features in the textile-assembly toolkit  102 , any of which may be combined with one or more of the others. 
     Example Toolkit 
       FIGS. 3A-13  illustrate various example attachment features (e.g., mechanical attachment features  106  and textile features  108 ) of the textile-assembly toolkit  102  from  FIG. 1 , any of which may be combined to enable reversible assembly of the textile  104  to the electronic-speaker device  100  in manner that is scalable to mass production. 
       FIG. 3A  illustrates an example implementation  300  of the pins  110  from  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3B  illustrates another example implementation  310  of the pins  110  from  FIG. 1 . The example implementation  300  in  FIG. 3A  includes an instance  224 - 1  of the region  224  from  FIG. 2  in which a series of pins  110  are located along the interior surface  218  of a rigid part (e.g., the housing part  200 ). The pins  110  are configured to pierce the textile  104  or protrude through holes intentionally formed in the textile  104  and thereby secure the textile  104 . Each pin  110  may be equipped with a leading pointed end (e.g., insertion feature  302 ), which can pierce the textile  104  or be pushed through a preformed hole (e.g., hole  122 ) in the textile  104  for alignment. The preformed hole  122  may be knit into the textile  104  using any suitable stitch technique, including a pointelle hole. The hole  122  may instead be a location indicated by colored yarn where the pin  110  can pierce the textile  104 . 
     The pin  110  may also include a retention feature  304  (e.g., barb) positioned opposite the insertion feature  302 . The retention feature  304  retains the textile  104  and provides an opportunity for disassembly of the textile  104  from the housing part  200 . During assembly, the retention feature  304  may hook over and subsequently pierce into the textile  104  to resist textile extraction. In this way, the textile  104  may be stretched over the edge (e.g., at the top  206 ) of the housing part  200  and latched onto the retention features  304  by using the insertion features  302  of the pins  110  to guide the textile  104  onto the retention features  304  (e.g., by piercing the textile  104  or using the preformed holes  122 ). 
     In one example, the pins  110 , including the retention features  304  and the insertion features  302 , may be molded on the rigid housing part  200 . Alternatively, the pins  110  may be part of a separate component that is assembled to the rigid housing part  200  or a main housing of the electronic-speaker device  100 . Using the pins  110  enables alignment control of the textile  104  via designed part features, in contrast to conventional methods of using assembly fixture features, and may improve assembly repeatability in mass production. 
     Any suitable pitch may be used for the pins (e.g., 7 millimeters (mm), 10 mm). The pins  110  may extend from the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200  by any suitable length, including a length within a range of approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 2 mm. Additionally, the retention feature  304  may extend at any suitable angle relative to the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 , including an angle within a range from approximately 35 degrees to approximately 75 degrees. In some aspects, the holes  122  in the textile  104  may be reinforced by, for example, a hard plastic that lines the holes  122  or melted yarns in that area of the knit sleeve. 
     In another aspect, and as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , the pin  110  may include the retention feature  304  without the insertion feature  302 . For example,  FIG. 3B  illustrates an instance  224 - 2  of the region  224  from  FIG. 2 , in which a series of pins  110  are located along the interior surface  218  of the rigid housing part  200 . Here, the pins  110  include the retention feature  304 . The retention feature  304  may include any suitable shape, including the illustrated pointed shape, a hook shape, a box shape, a sphere shape, a partial sphere shape, and so forth. To help with assembly of the textile  104  when using pins  110  that do not include the insertion feature  302 , the textile  104  may be reinforced around the preformed holes  122 , e.g., with a plastic lining. 
     Using the preformed holes  122  in the textile  104 , the pins  110  enable control of wrapping tightness, which results in the amount of stretch imparted on the textile  104  being dependent on the part features instead of a highly-variable textile cutting process. Also, the pins  110  enable a high retention force on the textile  104 , without using a glue joint. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an example implementation of the hook and loop  114  from  FIG. 1 . For example,  FIG. 4  includes an instance  400  of the housing part  200  with multiple strips of hook and loop  114  material (e.g., Velcro®) positioned on the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200  around the opening at the top  206  and around the base  202 . In addition,  FIG. 4  shows a sectional view  402  of a portion of the housing part  200  assembled to the textile  104 . The hook and loop  114  material includes an array of micro-hook features (micro-hook array  404 ) attached to the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 . The micro-hook features pierce into and hook onto the knit structure of the textile  104 , which acts as the loop side of a hook-and-loop connection. Assembly includes placing the textile  104  over the micro-hook array  404  and applying pressure. 
     The micro-hook array  404  may be molded onto the housing part  200  or assembled as a separate component to the housing part  200 . For example, the micro-hook array  404  may be overmolded, assembled via pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), or retained with mechanical features. The hook and loop textile retention method allows for extreme ease in disassembly and reassembly with reasonable retention force, which may enable engineering teams to quickly swap textile types for testing or system debugging. 
     The matching knit feature may be a structure and yarn combination that provides high attachment strength to the micro-hook features. In addition, holes (e.g., pointelle holes) may be included to loop over temporary pins in a fixture that aligns the textile  104  to the housing part  200  during assembly. 
     The hook and loop  114  features may be useful for attaching the textile  104  to the housing part  200  in areas of the assembly that have a low profile. Further, the hook and loop  114  features may be used for knit geometries (e.g., flat textiles) that are thin in profile (e.g., 0.65 mm or less). Also, the hook and loop  114  features enable easy disassembly for rework, such as quick swapping of textiles for rework. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a sectional view  500 , taken along the line A-A in  FIG. 2 , of an example implementation of some of the textile features  108  from  FIG. 1  in combination with the pins  110  from  FIG. 1 . The sectional view  500  is a view of the top  206  of the back wall  208  of the housing part  200  assembled to the textile  104 . As illustrated, the textile  104  is wrapped around the top  206  edge of the rigid housing part  200  from the exterior surface  220  toward the interior surface  218 . The textile  104  is latched onto one or more pins  110  (e.g., hooks) to retain the textile  104  to the housing part  200 . 
     To increase the stiffness of the textile  104  and assist with engaging the pin  110 , a rigid material (e.g., plastic sheet) may be welded to the textile  104  (e.g., melted together with the fabric of the textile  104  via a welding technique such as ultrasonic welding, laser welding, heat and pressure, etc.). For example, a plastic sheet  120  (e.g., a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet) is attached to the textile  104  proximate to the edges of the textile  104  and around the hole  122 . In one example, the plastic sheet  120  can be implemented in multiple separate pieces around the opening of the housing part  200 . In another example, the plastic sheet  120  can run continuously around the opening (e.g., on the walls  204  around the opening). The plastic sheet  120  may include a polymer resin to substantially match the material of the textile  104  to improve connection during welding and maintain a monomaterial assembly for later recycling. Similarly, another plastic sheet  120  and button  112  can also be welded to the bottom edge of the textile  104 . The plastic sheet  120  acts as a retention component to rigidize the textile  104  proximate to its edge and allow consistent alignment of a cosmetic pattern on the textile  104  to the housing part  200  and ease of assembly. Alternatively to the PET sheet, “low-melt” yarns may be included in the edges of the knit and used to partially fuse that area of the knit. 
     In some aspects, a strip of hook material  502  (e.g., portion of hook and loop  114  having the micro-hook array  404 ) can be used to help secure the textile  104  in place. For example, the strip of hook material  502  can be cut to fit the features of the housing part  200  and attached to the housing part  200  via a PSA  504 . The textile  104  with the plastic sheet  120  is assembled to the pins  110  on the housing part  200  and pressed onto the hook material  502  to interlock the hook material  502  with the fibers of the textile  104 . In this way, the rigid pins  110  provide alignment in combination with retention via the hook material  502 , particularly in areas with limited space between other parts that assemble to the housing part  200  and necessitate a low-profile attachment as well as accurate alignment of textile pattern to long edges of the electronic speaker device  100  that are visible to a user. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an example implementation  600  of the buttons  112  from  FIG. 1 . In particular,  FIG. 6  shows a sectional view of an instance  224 - 3  of the region  224  from  FIG. 2 , in which buttons are used to secure the textile  104  to the rigid housing part  200 . Any suitable button  112  can be used, including a metal button or a plastic button that matches the fabric chemistry of the textile  104 . In one example, the buttons  112  are overmolded. In another example, the buttons  112  are welded to the textile  104  via laser welding or ultrasonic welding. The button  112  may include a single element that is press fit into a hole or recess in the rigid housing part  200 . The button  112  may alternatively include two elements (e.g., male and female) that fit (e.g., snap) together, with one element attached to the housing part  200  and the other element attached to the textile  104 . Any combination of different buttons  112  may be used. Similar to the pins  110  described above, the buttons  112  may be located along the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 , including proximate to the top  206  edge (e.g., opening) and/or proximate the base  202  (e.g., around the bottom of the walls  204 ). In some aspects, one or more of the buttons  112  may be located on a bottom surface of the base  202  (e.g., a base plate) that connects or assembles to the bottom of the walls  204 . 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate sectional views  700  and  710 , respectively, of an example implementation of the button  112  from  FIG. 1  implemented on the base  202 . The sectional view  700 , shown in  FIG. 7A , applies the button  112  on the interior of the base  202 . The sectional view  710 , shown in  FIG. 7B , applies the button  112  on the exterior of the base  202 . In either case, the button  112  may be any suitable button. The textile  104  is wrapped onto the base  202  (e.g., a flat base plate) in the illustrated example due to limited space under a front grille of the electronic-speaker device  100  that prevents the textile  104  from being easily wrapped inside, as on the top. In some aspects, the button  112  may be attached to a bottom surface of a speaker driver assembled within the housing part  200 , rather than to the base  202  of the housing part  200 . 
     The bottom area of the textile  104  may likely be under significant tension. Accordingly, buttons  112  may be used instead of, or in addition to, hook and loop  114 . In one example, the button  112  is ultrasonically welded onto the textile  104  together with a PET sheet, where the PET sheet provides stress distribution (similar to the description of  FIG. 4 ) and maintains equal stretching of the textile  104  along the racetrack-like geometry of the textile  104 . In this example, when assembled, the button  112  may rely on hoop stress in the hole and friction to remain in position and retain the textile  104  to the base  202 . 
     In one example, the button  112  may have a ring or disk with one or more pointed extensions (e.g., spikes) (not shown) that pierce through the textile  104  and into the hole  122 . The pointed extensions may then fit in compression against the walls of the hole  122  in the housing part  200  or a hole in the base  202 . In this way, the button  112  is not permanently attached to the textile  104 . For example, the button  112  passes partially through the textile  104  and uses friction to remain in the hole  122  but the button  112  is still removable with sufficient force without causing damage to the textile  104 , the base  202 , or the housing part  200 . When assembled, the pointed extensions may slightly deform as they bias against the sides of the hole to help secure the button  112  in place. 
     The buttons  112  in  FIGS. 7A and 7B  may be attached (e.g., welded) to the textile  104 . Alternatively, the button  112  in  FIG. 7B  may pierce the textile  104  and then fit into the hole in the base  202 . The textile  104  may, in some cases, also include a PET sheet (not shown) positioned between the textile  104  and the base  202  (or on an opposing side of the textile  104  from the base  202 ) to reinforce the connection and help maintain the desired tension on the textile  104 . 
     The buttons  112  provide a reliable attachment and retention mechanism, with high alignment accuracy. The buttons  112  can be used with minimal distortion to the textile  104 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an example sectional view  800  of the retention rod  116  from  FIG. 1 . In particular, the example sectional view  800  in  FIG. 8  includes an instance  224 - 4  of the region  224  from  FIG. 2 , in which the retention rod  116  is used to secure the textile  104  to the rigid housing part  200 . The edges of the opening in the textile  104  may be rolled down and stitched or bonded to form a tube (e.g., tube  802 ) or a series of close-spaced holes formed along the edge of the textile sleeve. The tube  802  may be formed in sections separated by one or more gaps (e.g., gap  804 ). The tube  802  is configured to support a rigid bar (e.g., the retention rod  116 ) positioned within the tube  802 . For example, the retention rod  116  may be inserted into the tube  802  to enable the retention rod  116  to exert an evenly-distributed tension force (e.g., pull) on the edge of the textile sleeve. In another example, a thin plastic sheet with holes or a rod can be molded or welded onto the edge of the textile sleeve. 
     The retention rod  116  (or the thin plastic sheet) may then be captured by hook features (e.g., hooks  806  or pins  110  from  FIGS. 3A and 3B ) attached to the interior surface of the housing part  200 . The hooks  806  capture the retention rod  116  where the retention rod  116  is exposed in the gap  804 . In the illustrated example, the hooks  806  are upward-facing hooks. Alternatively, downward-facing hooks may be implemented. The textile  104  is stretched over the edge of the housing part  200  and the hooks  806  capture the retention rod  116  to secure the textile  104  in place. 
     Due to the retention rod  116  being a rigid feature, the retention rod  116  may provide highly accurate alignment in areas where the textile  104  is to be constrained in multiple directions simultaneously, including in non-straight areas (e.g., corners and curved areas). Further, the retention rod  116  enables a connection with a predictable strain on the textile  104  and ease of aligning the textile  104  to a long edge of the housing part  200 , with substantially no bowing between attachment points due to the retention rod  116  distributing stress evenly into the textile  104 . To reduce production costs, the retention rod  116  may be implemented in the corner areas of the housing part  200  while the hook and loop  114  material may be implemented in the flat straight areas. 
     In an example, the textile  104  can be rigidized through selection of special yarns and structure at the edges (e.g., around the opening of the sleeve) of the textile  104 . For example, fusible yarns may be inlaid in the terminal courses (e.g., end rows of knitting) and then heated to make a less-flexible area that distributes stress more evenly. In another example, the last several courses may carry inlaid high-diameter monofilament yarns to similarly rigidize the textile  104 . In yet another example, smaller monofilaments may be twisted with fusible yarns to make a heavy bundle and then inlaid in the last several courses, which may result in the structure being more flexible than the equivalent monofilament to ease knitting. After completion, the fusible yarn can be melted to hold the smaller filaments together and effectively make a single filament that behaves like a rigid rod in the edge of the textile sleeve and can be hooked onto or pulled by a fixture during assembly. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an example implementation  900  of the I/O-port ring  118  from  FIG. 1 . An enlarged view  902  of the I/O-port opening  222  is illustrated with the I/O-port ring  118  assembled to the housing part  200 . The opening (e.g., the I/O-port opening  222 ) in the housing part  200  may be used for providing access for a connector to connect a cable (e.g., power cable, headphone cable) to an I/O port of the electronic-speaker device  100 . As described in further detail below, the I/O-port ring  118  overlaps a portion (e.g., edges) of the textile  104 , presses the edges of the textile  104  into slots  904  in the housing part  200 , and snaps or press fits into the housing part  200  to retain the textile  104  in position around the I/O-port opening  222 . 
     The I/O-port ring  118  enables quick assembly and disassembly, due to its friction-fit method of assembly. As mentioned, the I/O-port ring  118  enables a high fabric-retaining force to retain the textile  104  in its position proximate to the I/O-port opening  222 . For example, a portion of the textile  104  is extended through the I/O-port opening  222  from the exterior of the housing part  200 , such that the portion of the textile  104  wraps around the edge of the I/O-port opening  222  toward the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 . The housing part  200  includes several recesses (e.g., the slots  904 ), over which the edges of the textile  104  are placed. The slots  904  are configured to receive extensions on the I/O-port ring  118 , which force the edges of the textile  104  into the slots  904  to retain the textile  104  in position. In this way, the edges of the I/O-port opening  222  are wrapped in fabric, leaving no visible fabric edge or attachment feature on the exterior on the electronic speaker device  100 . 
     Further, the FO-port ring  118  enables high design flexibility. For example, the geometry of the I/O-port ring  118  can be optimized for fit. Due to its low profile, the I/O-port ring  118  causes minimal impact to a barrel jack trim of the electronic-speaker device  100 . 
       FIG. 10A  illustrates a bottom view  1000  of the FO-port ring  118 .  FIG. 10B  illustrates a top view  1010  of the I/O-port ring  118 . In the illustrated example, the I/O-port ring  118  includes a body  1002  having a ring-like shape around a center axis  1004 . On one side (e.g., bottom side) of the body  1002 , the I/O-port ring  118  includes multiple extensions (e.g., extensions  1006 ), which may be ribs, rods, cones, or any other suitable structure. 
     Consider now  FIG. 11 , which illustrates a sectional view  1100  of the FO-port ring  118  assembled to the housing part  200 , taken from line B-B in  FIG. 9 . As illustrated, the FO-port ring  118  is aligned with the I/O-port opening  222  in the housing part  200 . The textile  104  is wrapped around the edges of the FO-port opening  222  from the exterior surface  220  of the housing part  200  to the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 . The textile  104  includes flaps (e.g., textile flaps  1102 ) that overlap the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 . The textile flaps  1102  are removably secured (e.g., pressed) in the slots  904  in the housing part  200  by the extensions  1006  on the I/O-port ring  118 . In addition, a portion of the textile flaps  1102  is compressed against the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200  by the body  1002  of the I/O-port ring  118 , which helps secure the textile  104  in position around the FO-port opening  222 . The I/O-port ring  118  snaps or press fits into the slots  904  to secure its position and retain the textile  104  in position. 
     The textile  104  may have a matching knit feature corresponding to the I/O-port ring  118 . For example, the textile feature  108  to match the I/O-port ring  118  may have a knit structure change  124  including a dimple (or bulge) made by “goring” or “partial knitting” to provide additional fabric locally to be wrapped inside the I/O-port opening  222 . Additionally, switching to a single jersey knit structure from the more complex (cosmetically-determined) knit structure on the main knit body of the textile  104  may be useful to provide a denser area of fabric. The denser single jersey may be more consistent to cut and then wrap than a structure with larger, more widely-spaced holes. The dimple (or bulge) made in the textile  104  may be cut to create a hole, which enables the textile flaps  1102  to be wrapped around the edges of the I/O-port opening  222  toward the interior surface  218  of the housing part  200 . 
     Although the examples described herein are directed to a neck topology of the housing part  200 , other topologies may also be used. For example, the housing part  200  may include a dish topology (e.g., essentially forming a substantially symmetric dish-like shape). For a dish-topology speaker, a different combination of the mechanical attachment features  106  and textile features  108  of the textile-assembly toolkit  102  may be implemented. For example, such a device may not include a port requiring the I/O-port opening  222  and the device may include a single edge around an opening that is radially symmetric. Accordingly, a single attachment type may be merited. If the device has a small form factor, the attachment type with the least surface area and volume may be selected and implemented. However, the textile  104  may experience greater strain in deeper curves of a dish-topology housing part than on a neck-topology housing part. Therefore, using a retention mechanism (e.g., retention rod  116  or a plastic sheet  120  welded to the textile  104 ) may help rigidize the edges of the textile  104  and evenly distribute the strain on the textile  104 . 
     In another example, rather than using a neck-topology housing part or a dish-topology housing part, the textile  104  and other cosmetic housing parts of the electronic-speaker device  100  may be attached directly to the speaker module of the electronic-speaker device  100 . Such an assembly may reduce material costs and increase an available volume usable as a speaker back volume. 
     Example Textile Features 
       FIGS. 12 and 13  describe examples of the textile features  108  from  FIG. 1 . The examples described herein illustrate how system considerations (e.g., limited attachment area, alignment to long straight edges) can drive selection of particular attachment features from the textile-assembly toolkit  102  for specific areas of a device. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a front view  1200  of the example textile  104  from  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 13  illustrates a back view  1300  of the example textile  104  from  FIG. 12 . The textile  104  may be knit using any suitable knitting technique. For mass production, the textile  104  may be knit using a knitting machine. In the example shown in  FIG. 12 , the textile  104  is knit into a textile sleeve, having a top opening  1202  and a bottom opening  1204 . The textile sleeve may be knit on a flatbed knitting machine with alignment holes (e.g., holes  122 - 1  and  122 - 2 , which are instances of the holes  122  in  FIG. 1 ) made via a particular stitch type (e.g., pointelle stitch) proximate to the edges of the top and bottom openings  1202  and  1204 , respectively, of the sleeve. In this way, the sleeve comes off the knitting machine with the textile features  108  premade. 
     The holes  122 - 1  may be used to temporarily hook the textile sleeve to a fixture that secures the textile sleeve at the correct tension force before pressing the fabric onto hooks (e.g., the hook material  502 ) that are bonded to, welded to, or molded into a rigid housing (e.g., the housing part  200 ). Some of the holes  122 - 1  in the textile  104  may be used for direct assembly to the pins  110  on the housing part  200  or for aligning the textile  104  to a jig. Along the top opening of the textile sleeve, the knit structure of the textile  104  is selected to achieve high peel force from the hook material  502 . 
     A visual reference line (e.g., knit line  1206 ) may be knit into the textile  104  with a different color by, for example, changing the knit stitch at the boundary between an area  1208  designated to attach with the hook material  502  and an area  1210  designated to be the outside cosmetic surface of the electronic-speaker device  100 . In another example, the knit line  1206  may be printed on the textile  104 . The knit line  1206  may be used to determine whether the textile  104  has been assembled at the correct length and position. If the knit line  1206  is visible on the exterior of the electronic-speaker device  100 , then the textile  104  may require reassembly. 
     The holes  122 - 2  (e.g., pointelle holes) may be included along the edge of the bottom opening  1204  of the textile  104  to indicate where to assemble the buttons  112  to the textile  104 . In some cases, the holes  122 - 2  may be used to assemble the textile sleeve to a jig rather than the buttons  112 . As described herein, the buttons  112  may be injection molded plastic and molded directly onto the textile  104 , ultrasonically welded, or heat staked to the textile  104 . In an example, the holes  122 - 2  may hold the textile  104  in a proper position and orientation on a fixture as the buttons  112  are attached to the textile  104 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , the textile  104  includes an area  1302  corresponding to the I/O-port opening  222  in the housing part  200  shown in  FIG. 2 . This area  1302  may include a knit structure change (e.g., partial knitting or goring), which creates more fabric in a local area. One example includes changing the kit structure to a single jersey stitch and adding additional short rows of knitting to create a bulge of dense fabric. The bulge provides more fabric to push through the I/O-port opening  222  so the fabric can be anchored. The bulge may be hot cut or laser cut (e.g., in an X or cross cut) to result in four flaps of fabric that can be folded into the I/O-port opening  222  and captured with the extensions  1006  on the I/O-port ring  118  that is assembled inside the housing part  200 . Any suitable shape can be cut into the area  1302  to enable the textile  104  to wrap around the edges of the I/O-port opening  222 . The change in knit structure creates additional surface area that can be wrapped inside the I/O-port opening  222  without distorting the textile&#39;s cosmetic pattern on the exterior of the housing part  200  all while providing sufficient tension to retain the textile  104 . In another example, a finished buttonhole may be created in the area  1302  by the knitting machine. Creating a buttonhole may, however, increase knitting time and risk knitting defects, which result in higher mass-production costs. 
     In some cases, the textile  104  may be produced using an open-width knit material (from circular-knitting machines, warp-knitting machines, or weaving looms) that is cut to shape and then stitched, linked, bonded, or welded to itself, creating seams in the textile  104 . After an appropriate shape of the textile  104  is complete, edge treatments can be made as described above to removably attach the textile  104  to rigid parts. Using the techniques described herein, however, may produce a seamless textile assembly that is assembled to the housing part  200  with highly-accurate alignment in a way that is repeatable, mass-producible, and reversible. 
     CONCLUSION 
     Although aspects of the textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device have been described in language specific to features and/or methods, the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of the textile-assembly toolkit for reversible assembly of a textile to an electronic-speaker device, and other equivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims. Further, various different aspects are described, and it is to be appreciated that each described aspect can be implemented independently or in connection with one or more other described aspects.