PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11535963-B2
Application Number: US-202016953117-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Robotic weaving equipment

Abstract:
Weaving equipment may include warp strand positioning equipment that positions warp strands and weft strand positioning equipment that inserts weft strands among the warp strands to form fabric. The fabric may include insulating strands and conductive strands. The conductive strands may be coupled to electrical components. The warp strand positioning equipment may position the warp strands to form a shed. Component insertion equipment may be used to insert electrical components into the shed. The weaving equipment may have a reed. The reed may be used to help position an electrical component in the fabric. The weaving equipment may have take-down equipment and individually controllable warp fiber positioning and tensioning devices.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for weaving warp strands and weft strands to form fabric, comprising:
 with warp strand positioning equipment, positioning the warp strands to create a shed; 
 with control circuitry, pausing motion of a reed while the warp strand positioning equipment remains in motion; and 
 with component insertion equipment, inserting an electrical component in the shed while the motion of the reed is paused. 
 
     
     
       2. The method defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 coupling the electrical component to a given one of the warp strands. 
 
     
     
       3. The method defined in  claim 2  wherein coupling the electrical component to the given one of the warp strands comprises electrically coupling the electrical component to the given one of the warp strands. 
     
     
       4. The method defined in  claim 3  wherein electrically coupling the electrical component to the given one of the warp strands comprises soldering the electrical component to the given one of the warp strands. 
     
     
       5. The method defined in  claim 4  further comprising:
 while the motion of the reed is paused, removing insulation from the given one of the warp strands to expose a conductive segment. 
 
     
     
       6. The method defined in  claim 5  wherein soldering the electrical component to the given one of the warp strands comprises soldering the electrical component to the exposed conductive segment. 
     
     
       7. The method defined in  claim 6  wherein removing the insulation from the given one of the warp strands comprises removing the insulation with a laser. 
     
     
       8. The method defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 forming a pocket in the fabric. 
 
     
     
       9. The method defined in  claim 8  further comprising:
 with the component insertion equipment, inserting the electrical component into the pocket. 
 
     
     
       10. The method defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 with the control circuitry, pausing motion of weft strand positioning equipment while inserting the electrical component in the shed. 
 
     
     
       11. Equipment for weaving warp strands and weft strands to form fabric, comprising:
 warp strand positioning equipment that positions the warp strands to create a shed; 
 a reed through which the warp strands pass, wherein the reed moves toward and away from the fabric; 
 component insertion equipment that inserts an electrical component into the fabric; and 
 control circuitry that temporarily reduces a speed of motion of the reed while the electrical component is inserted into the fabric and while the warp strand positioning equipment remains in motion. 
 
     
     
       12. The equipment defined in  claim 11  further comprising a laser that removes insulation from a given one of the warp strands before the electrical component is inserted into the fabric. 
     
     
       13. The equipment defined in  claim 12  further comprising equipment that solders the electrical component to the given one of the warp strands. 
     
     
       14. The equipment defined in  claim 11  further comprising weft strand positioning equipment, wherein the control circuitry temporarily pauses motion of the weft strand positioning equipment while the electrical component is inserted into the fabric. 
     
     
       15. The equipment defined in  claim 11  wherein the component insertion equipment inserts the electrical component into a pocket in the fabric. 
     
     
       16. A method for weaving warp strands and weft strands to form fabric, comprising:
 with warp strand positioning equipment, positioning the warp strands to create a shed; 
 with control circuitry, reducing a speed of motion of a reed; and 
 while the speed of motion of the reed is reduced, removing insulation from a given one of the warp strands to expose a conductive segment, inserting an electrical component into the shed, and attaching the electrical component to the conductive segment. 
 
     
     
       17. The method defined in  claim 16  further comprising:
 with the control circuitry, pausing motion of weft strand positioning equipment while the insulation is removed from the given one of the warp strands and while the electrical component is electrically attached to the conductive segment. 
 
     
     
       18. The method defined in  claim 16  further comprising:
 forming a pocket in the fabric; and 
 inserting the electrical component into the pocket. 
 
     
     
       19. The method defined in  claim 16  wherein removing the insulation from the given one of the warp strands comprises removing the insulation from the given one of the warp strands with a laser. 
     
     
       20. The method defined in  claim 16  wherein attaching the electrical component to the conductive segment comprises soldering the electrical component to the conductive segment.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/803,144, filed Nov. 3, 2017, which claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/427,729, filed Nov. 29, 2016, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to weaving and, more particularly, to equipment for creating woven fabric. 
     It may be desirable to form electrical devices, enclosures, and other items from fabric. The fabric may contain strands of insulating material and strands of conductive material. In some situations, it may be desirable to form signal paths and other circuitry using the conductive strands and it may be desirable to couple electrical components to the signal paths. It can be challenging, however, to create desired signal paths in woven fabric and to incorporate electrical components into the woven fabric. If care is not taken, strands of material will not be routed along desired paths and components will not be interconnected as desired. 
     SUMMARY 
     Weaving equipment may include warp strand positioning equipment that positions warp strands and weft strand positioning equipment that inserts weft strands among the warp strands to form fabric. The fabric may include insulating strands and conductive strands. The conductive strands may be coupled to electrical components. 
     The warp strand positioning equipment may position the warp strands to form a shed. Component insertion equipment may be used to insert electrical components into the shed so that the electrical components can be incorporated into the fabric. The electrical components may be coupled to the conductive strands using solder or other conductive attachment mechanisms. 
     A reed may be used to help position an electrical component in the fabric. The reed may have a linear actuator controlled by control circuitry. During component insertion, movement of the reed may be temporarily paused. 
     The weaving equipment may have take-down equipment and individually controllable warp fiber positioning and tensioning devices. During weaving, the control circuitry may independently control the operation of the warp strand positioning equipment, the weft strand positioning equipment, the electrical component insertion equipment, the reed, the take-down equipment, and the warp tensioning equipment. As a result, these devices will not necessarily be simultaneously moving in synchronization but rather may be individually paused and restarted as desired to accommodate component insertion operations and other operations. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a side view of illustrative weaving equipment that may be used to form fabric in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a diagram of illustrative individually controllable warp strand flow and tensioning devices for controlling the flow and tension of warp strands during weaving in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a top view of illustrative weft strand insertion equipment in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  4    is a top view of an illustrative electrically controlled device for inserting electrical components and processing strands during weaving in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is a top view of an illustrative reed and associated fabric during weaving in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a side view of an illustrative reed being used to assist in the insertion of a component into a fabric pocket in fabric during weaving in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7    is a perspective view of illustrative heated bars that may be used to heat fabric during weaving in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in using weaving equipment in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices, enclosures, and other items may be formed from fabric such as woven fabric. The woven fabric may include strands of insulating and conductive material. Conductive strands may form signal paths through the fabric and may be coupled to electrical components such as light-emitting diodes and other light-emitting devices, integrated circuits, sensors, haptic output devices, and other circuitry. 
     Weaving equipment may be provided with individually adjustable components such as heddles (warp strand positioning equipment), weft strand positioning equipment, a reed, take down equipment, let off equipment (e.g., devices for individually dispensing and tensioning warp strands), strand processing and component insertion equipment, and other components for forming fabric items. The individual adjustability of these devices may allow weaving operations to be performed without requiring continuous lock-step synchronization of each of these devices, thereby allowing fabric with desired properties to be woven. As an example, normal reed movement and other weaving operations may be periodically suspended to accommodate component insertion operations. 
     Illustrative weaving equipment is shown in  FIG.  1   . Weaving equipment  22  may be used to form fabric  60 . The strands of material used in forming fabric  60  may be single-filament strands (sometimes referred to as fibers) or may be threads, yarns, or other strands that have been formed by intertwining multiple filaments of material together. Strands may be formed from polymer, metal, glass, graphite, ceramic, natural materials such as cotton or bamboo, or other organic and/or inorganic materials and combinations of these materials. Conductive coatings such as metal coatings may be formed on non-conductive strands (e.g., plastic cores) to make them conductive. Reflective coatings such as metal coatings may be applied to strands to make them reflective. Strands may also be formed from single-filament metal wire (e.g., bare metal wire), multifilament wire, or combinations of different materials. Strands may be insulating or conductive. 
     Strands in fabric  60  may be conductive along their entire length or may have conductive segments. Strands may have metal portions that are selectively exposed by locally removing insulation (e.g., to form connections with other conductive strand portions). Strands may also be formed by selectively adding a conductive layer to a portion of a non-conductive strand.). Threads and other multifilament yarns that have been formed from intertwined filaments may contain mixtures of conductive strands and insulating strands (e.g., metal strands or metal coated strands with or without exterior insulating layers may be used in combination with solid plastic strands or natural strands that are insulating). 
     In general, the strands of material that are intertwined to form fabric  60  may be single filaments of material or may be threads, yarns, or other multifilament strands that have been formed by intertwining multiple single-filament strands. Strands may be formed from insulating materials, conductive materials, and combinations of insulating and conductive materials. The strands that are used in forming fabric  60  may include warp strands  28  and weft strands  64 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , weaving equipment  22  includes a warp strand source such as warp strand source  24 . Source  24  may supply warp strands  28  from a warp beam or other strand dispensing structure. Source  24  may, for example, dispense warp strands  28  through electrically controlled dispensing rollers or other warp strand dispensing and tensioning equipment  26  as drum  80  rotates about rotational axis  78  in direction  76 . Equipment  26  may contain sensors that measure strand flow and tension and electrically controlled actuators that allow flow and tension to be adjusted. 
     Control circuitry  90  may control the operation of equipment  26  and other electrically controllable components in equipment  22 . Control circuitry  90  may include storage and processing circuitry for implementing control functions during weaving operations. The storage may include, for example, random-access memory, non-volatile memory such as read-only memory, hard disk storage, etc. The processing circuitry may include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, and other circuits for executing software instructions obtained from storage. 
     Warp strands  28  may be positioned using warp strand positioning equipment  74 . Equipment  74  may include heddles  36 . Heddles  36  may each include an eye  30  mounted on a wire or other support structure that extends between respective positioners  42  (or a positioner  42  and an associated spring or other tensioner). Positioners  42  may be motors (e.g., stepper motors) or other electromechanical actuators. Positioners  42  may be controlled by control circuitry  90  during weaving operations so that warp strands  28  are placed in desired positions during weaving. In particular, control circuitry  90  may supply control signals that move each heddle  36  by a desired amount up or down in directions  32 . By raising and lowering heddles  36  in various patterns in response to control signals from the control circuitry, different patterns of gaps (sheds)  66  between warp strands  28  may be created to adjust the characteristics of the fabric produced by equipment  22 . 
     Weft strands such as weft strand  64  may be inserted into shed  66  during weaving to form fabric  60 . Weft strand positioning equipment  62  may be used to place one or more weft strands  64  between the warp strands forming each shed  66 . Weft strand positioning equipment  62  for equipment  22  may include one or more shuttles and/or may include shuttleless weft strand positioning equipment (e.g., needle weft strand positioning equipment, rapier weft strand positioning equipment, or other weft strand positioning equipment such as equipment based on projectiles, air or water jets, etc.). For example, the weft strand positioning equipment of equipment  22  may include an electrically controllable rapier weft strand device or other weft strand insertion equipment that is controlled by control circuitry  90 . Weft strand positioning equipment  62  can be controlled independently of other components in equipment  22 . For example, weft strand insertion operations may be temporarily suspended with or without suspending other weaving operations. 
     After each pass of weft strand  64  is made through shed  66 , reed  48  (e.g., a reed member with slots or other openings through which respective warp strands  28  pass) may be moved in direction  50  by reed positioner  38  to push the weft strand that has just been inserted into the shed between respective warp strands  28  against previously woven fabric  60 , thereby ensuring that a satisfactorily tight weave is produced. Reed  48  may be moved linearly (e.g., parallel to dimension Y) or may rotate back and forth about a shaft to approximate linear reciprocating movement. The positioner for the reed (positioner  38 ) may be, for example, a linear actuator that is controlled by control signals from control circuitry  90  and that moves the reed towards and away from the edge of fabric  60 . 
     Fabric  60  that has been woven may be gathered on fabric collection equipment such as take-down roller  82  or other take-down equipment. Roller  82  may collect woven fabric  60  as roller  82  rotates in direction  86  about rotational axis  84 . Warp strand dispensing and tensioning equipment  26 , heddles  36 , reed  48  (including positioner  38 ), weft strand insertion equipment  62 , and take-down (take-off) equipment such as roller  82  may each be independently controlled by control circuitry  90 . At the same time, and in coordination with the control of these components, control circuitry  90  may control component insertion and strand processing equipment in equipment  22  (e.g., so that light-emitting diodes, integrated circuits, sensors, and other electrical components can be inserted into fabric  60 ). 
       FIG.  2    shows how warp strand dispensing and tensioning equipment  26  may include multiple warp strand dispensing and tensioning devices such as warp strand dispensing and tensioning units  26 ′. There may be, for example, a respective individually controlled warp strand dispensing and tensioning unit  26 ′ associated with each warp strand  28 . Strand dispensing and tensioning units  26 ′ that each handle multiple warp strands  28  may also be included in equipment  22 . Units  26 ′ may have sensors that measure strand tension, strand dispensing speed, and how much of each strand has been dispensed (dispensed strand length). Units  26 ′ may also contain motors or other actuators for adjusting strand dispensing and for adjusting strand tension. Control circuitry  90  may dynamically control each unit  26 ′ to control how much of each respective warp strand  28  is dispensed and to control the tension of that strand  28 . 
       FIG.  3    is a top view of a portion of equipment  22  showing how weft strand insertion equipment  62  may be used to insert weft strands such as weft strand  64  into shed  66  of warp strands  28  to form fabric  60 . In the example of  FIG.  3   , weft strand insertion equipment  62  includes left rapier  94 L and right rapier  94 R, which move back and forth in synchronization to insert strand  64  into fabric  60 . Other types of weft strand insertion equipment (e.g., movable needles, air jet equipment, other moveable members for inserting strand  64 , etc.) may be used in equipment  22 , if desired. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , left rapier  94 L may be moved back and forth along dimension X by electrically controlled positioner (linear actuator)  92 L. Right rapier  94 R may likewise be moved back and forth along dimension X by electrically controlled positioner (linear actuator)  92 R. The positions of rapiers  94 L and  94 R may be controlled by control circuitry  90 . During use of equipment  22 , weft strand insertion operations may be controlled independently from the control of other weaving equipment components. For example, control circuitry  90  may direct weft strand insertion equipment  62  to momentarily pause weft strand insertion so that electrically controlled processing and component insertion equipment may perform processing operations on strands  28  and/or  64  while inserting electrical components into fabric  60  (e.g., by soldering contacts on electrical components to conductive strands in strands  28  and/or  64 ). 
     A top view of illustrative equipment for processing strands  28  and/or  64  and for inserting components into fabric  60  is shown in  FIG.  4   . As shown in  FIG.  4   , equipment  100  may be used for performing strand processing operations and/or electrical component insertion operations and may therefore sometimes be referred to as strand processing equipment, component insertion equipment and/or strand processing and component insertion equipment. Equipment  100  may have a movable structure such as processing and component dispensing head  102  and positioning equipment such as electrically controlled positioner  104  for positioning head  102  within shed  66 . During operation, positioner  104  may move head  102  into shed  66  along the X axis of  FIG.  4   . 
     Head  102  may be used to dispense components  106  (e.g., electrical components). For example, head  102  may place components  106  in shed  66  and may couple components  106  to conductive strands  28  and/or  64 . Components  106  may be provided to head  102  via tube  109  or other dispensing mechanism (a reel of tape, a hopper, etc.). Components  106  may include sensors, buttons, light-emitting diodes, integrated circuits, or other electrical components. 
     Head  102  may include one or more devices for mounting electrical components in fabric  60  and/or performing other processing operations on strands  28  and/or  64 . Devices  108  may include an electrically controlled actuator for regulating the dispensing of components  106  into fabric  60  (e.g., when head  102  is in shed  66 ), may include sensors for monitoring the positions of strands of material, sensors for monitoring the positions of components, sensors for measuring temperature, sensors for measuring resistance, or other devices for gathering user input and/or data on the environment surrounding head  102 . If desired, devices  108  may include heating elements, lasers, and/or other components that generate heat, light, and/or other energy for removing insulation from the exterior of insulated conductive strands, for melting solder so that contacts on components  106  and/or other conductive structures can be soldered to conductive strands of material, components for applying coatings to strands of material, and/or other equipment for modifying strands of material such as strands  28  and/or  64 , for coupling components such as electrical components  106  to conductive strands in strands  28  and/or  64 , and/or other electrically controllable devices for processing strands  28  and/or  64  and for soldering components such as components  106  to fabric  60  or otherwise mounting components  106  to strands  28  and/or  64 . 
       FIG.  5    is a top view of weaving equipment  22  in the vicinity of shed  66  showing how reed  48  may be moved linearly back and forth along the Y axis of  FIG.  5    using a linear actuator such as positioner  38  of  FIG.  5   . Positioner  38  may be electrically controlled by control circuitry  90 . Reed  48  may have openings (e.g., slots, etc.) such as openings  110  through which respective warp strands  28  may pass to fabric  60 . During operation, positioner  38  may adjust the distance of reed  48  from fabric  60 . The position of reed  48  may be represented in degrees (e.g., 0° to 180°). In the 0° position, reed  48  is at beat-up point  112  (also sometimes referred to as fell point  112 ) and is aligned with the exposed edge of fabric  60 . In the 180° position, reed  48  is at open shed position  114  and is at its maximum distance from the edge of fabric  60 . During operation, control circuitry  90  may supply control signals to positioner  38  to adjust the position of reed  48  (e.g., to place reed  48  at desired positions between maximum distance position  114  and minimum distance position  112 ). For example, control circuitry  90  may position reed  48  at N°, as shown in  FIG.  5   , where N is a value from 0 to 180. 
       FIG.  6    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of weaving equipment  22  in the vicinity of shed  66  in a scenario in which reed  48  is being used to help position an electrical component (component  106 ) within cavity  118  of fabric  60 . During component insertion operations, control circuitry  90  may temporarily suspend movement of weft insertion equipment  62  (e.g., rapiers  94 L and  94 R may be moved out of shed  66  and movement of rapiers  94 L and  94 R may be momentarily paused). While rapiers  94 L and  94 R are at rest and while heddles  36  are being used to create shed  66  of  FIG.  6   , reed  48  may be moved in direction  120  toward fabric  60 . This pushes components  106  in direction  120  towards fabric  60 . Component  106  may be a component that has been placed in shed  66  by equipment  100  of  FIG.  4    or other component placement equipment (as an example). Movement of reed  48  may continue until the 0° position or other suitable position (e.g., N°), as shown by reed location  48 ′. When reed  48  reaches location  48 ′, component  106  may be fully inserted into cavity  118 , as shown by illustrative component location  106 ′ in the example of  FIG.  6   . During insertion of component  106  into fabric  60 , reed  48  may be moved at a speed which is potentially different (faster or slower) than the speed at which reed  48  is moved back and forth between the 0° and 180° positions during normal weaving operations to weave fabric  60 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  7   , fabric  60  that has been woven by equipment  22  may pass through a slot such as slot  124  between a pair of opposing members such as metal bars  122 . Bars  122  may contain heating elements and/or may be controlled by positioners so that fabric  60  may be heated and/or pressed between bars  122  in response to control signals from control circuitry  90 . Bars  122  may have terminals such as terminals  124  to which control signals (e.g., current for heating ohmic heaters in bars  122 , etc.) may be applied by control circuitry  90  during operation. 
     Illustrative operations involved in using equipment  22  to form fabric  60  are shown in  FIG.  8   . During the operations of step  130 , equipment  22  may begin weaving fabric  60 . During weaving, control circuitry  90  may independently control weaving equipment components such as warp fiber dispensing and tensioning devices  26 ′, heddles  36 , reed  48 , weft fiber insertion equipment  62 , and fabric take-down equipment such as roller  82  to weave fabric with desired properties. For example, the position to which reed  48  is moved each weft insertion cycle may be adjusted dynamically to change the feel (the “hand”) of fabric  60  (e.g., to adjust the hand of fabric  60  as a function of position in fabric  60 ). 
     When it is desired to insert an electrical component into fabric  60 , control circuitry  90  may pause operation of weft strand insertion equipment  62 , may position reed  48  away from fabric  60  (e.g., at the 180° location of  FIG.  6   ) while momentarily pausing motion of reed  48 , and may direct heddles  36  to spread apart warp fibers  28  to form shed  66  (step  132 ). Control circuitry  90  may then use equipment  100  to process strands  28  and/or  64  and to optionally solder components such as electrical component  106  of  FIG.  4    to conductive strands (step  134 ). If desired, reed  48  may be moved towards fabric  60  during the operations of step  134  to help insert component  106  into cavity  118  in fabric  60  as shown in  FIG.  6    and/or equipment  100  may be used to apply hot air, heat from a heat lamp, or other energy to melt solder and thereby electrically mount component  106  to fabric  60 . Heated bars  122  of  FIG.  7    and/or other equipment (e.g., part of equipment  100 , external equipment, etc.) may also be used in performing soldering operations, etc. 
     Following attachment of one or more electrical components  106  to fabric  60  (e.g., using equipment  100  and/or reed  48 , etc.), motion of reed  48  and weft strand insertion equipment  62  may be resumed and normal weaving may continue (step  136 ). 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20201119
Publication Date: 20221227
Grant Date: 20221227
Priority Date: 20161129
Inventors: SUNSHINE, Daniel D.
PODHAJNY, DANIEL A.
Gomes, Didio V.
MAY, MAURICE PHILIP
KINDLON, DAVID M.
ROSENBERG, ANDREW L.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "D03D51/06", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2401/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2401/18", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03J1/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03C3/205", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B32B5/024", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D15/56", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D49/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D51/08", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G05B2219/49384", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D49/04", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D49/04", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B32B5/024", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D51/06", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G05B2219/49384", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D15/56", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 73554731