PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11124904-B2
Application Number: US-201916719770-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Conductive signal paths in woven fabrics

Abstract:
Weaving equipment may include strand positioning equipment that positions warp strands and that inserts weft strands among the warp strands to form fabric. The weaving equipment may include one or more guide arms that pushes warp strands in the weft direction during weaving. Fabrics having warp strands that extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction may be used in forming circuitry in fabrics such as touch sensor circuitry. For example, a touch sensor in a fabric may be formed using first conductive warp strands that form first touch sensor electrodes and second conductive warp strands that form second touch sensor electrodes that overlap with the first touch sensor electrodes. The second conductive warp strands may each have a first portion that extends in the warp direction and a second portion that extends in the weft direction across the first touch sensor electrodes.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A woven fabric, comprising:
 first and second conductive warp strands oriented in a first direction; 
 a third conductive warp strand that has a first portion oriented in the first direction and a second portion oriented in a second direction, wherein the third conductive warp strand overlaps the first and second conductive warp strands; and 
 non-conductive weft strands oriented in the second direction, wherein the non-conductive weft strands are interwoven with the first, second, and third conductive strands. 
 
     
     
       2. The woven fabric defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first, second, and third conductive warp strands form touch sensor electrodes. 
     
     
       3. The woven fabric defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first conductive warp strand is interposed between the second conductive warp strand and the first portion of the second conductive warp strand. 
     
     
       4. The woven fabric defined in  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a fourth conductive warp strand having a first portion oriented in the first direction and a second portion oriented in the second direction. 
 
     
     
       5. The woven fabric defined in  claim 4 , wherein the first portion of the fourth conductive warp strand is interposed between the first conductive warp strand and the first portion of the third conductive warp strand. 
     
     
       6. The woven fabric defined in  claim 5 , wherein the first portion of the third conductive warp strand and the first portion of the fourth conductive warp strand are located in an edge region of the fabric. 
     
     
       7. The woven fabric defined in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an upper fabric layer and a lower fabric layer, wherein the first, second, and third conductive warp strands are interposed between the upper and lower fabric layers. 
 
     
     
       8. The woven fabric defined in  claim 7 , wherein the upper and lower fabric layers are insulating. 
     
     
       9. The woven fabric defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the third conductive warp strand and the first conductive strand are located in a first fabric layer, the second portion of the third conductive warp strand is located in a second fabric layer, and the second fabric layer overlaps the first fabric layer. 
     
     
       10. A touch-sensitive textile, comprising:
 first warp strands that form first capacitive touch sensor electrodes; 
 second warp strands that form second capacitive touch sensor electrodes and that extend perpendicular to the first warp strands, wherein the first touch sensor electrodes overlap the second touch sensor electrodes to form a touch sensor; and 
 non-conductive weft strands interwoven with the first warp strands and second warp strands. 
 
     
     
       11. The touch-sensitive textile defined in  claim 10 , wherein the touch sensor comprises a plurality of discrete touch sensor regions. 
     
     
       12. The touch-sensitive textile defined in  claim 11 , wherein each discrete touch sensor region is separated from adjacent discrete touch sensor regions by non-conductive warp strands. 
     
     
       13. The touch-sensitive textile defined in  claim 10 , wherein the first warp strands convey first signals to an edge of the touch-sensitive textile and the second warp strands convey second signals to the edge of the touch-sensitive textile. 
     
     
       14. The touch-sensitive textile defined in  claim 13 , wherein the touch-sensitive textile is configured to be electrically coupled to an electronic device that receives the first and second signals. 
     
     
       15. The touch-sensitive textile defined in  claim 13 , wherein the second warp strands each have a portion that extends in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the touch-sensitive textile. 
     
     
       16. The touch-sensitive textile defined in  claim 13 , wherein the first warp strands each have a first portion that extends perpendicular to the edge of the touch-sensitive textile and a second portion that extends parallel to the edge of the touch-sensitive textile. 
     
     
       17. A fabric-based device having a width and a length, comprising:
 a first conductive strand that extends along the length of the fabric; 
 a second conductive strand that has a first portion that extends along the length of the fabric and a second portion that extends along the width of the fabric to overlap the first conductive strand; 
 non-conductive strands interwoven with the first and second conductive strands; and 
 control circuitry that applies a drive signal to the first conductive strand and a sense signal to the second conductive strand. 
 
     
     
       18. The fabric-based device defined in  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a third conductive strand that extends along the length of the fabric, wherein a non-conductive strand in the non-conductive strands is interposed between the first and third conductive strands. 
 
     
     
       19. The fabric-based device defined in  claim 18 , wherein the first, second, and third conductive strands form a capacitive touch sensor array that detects the location of a touch based on the drive and sense signals. 
     
     
       20. The fabric-based device defined in  claim 17 , further comprising:
 additional non-conductive strands, wherein the non-conductive strands form a first fabric layer and the additional non-conductive strands form a second fabric layer that overlaps the first fabric layer, wherein the first portion of the second conductive strand is in the first fabric layer, and wherein the second portion of the second conductive strand is in the second fabric layer.

Description:
This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 15/537,848, filed Jun. 19, 2017, which is a national stage application, filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371, of international patent application No. PCT/US2015/063257, filed Dec. 1, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/095,668, filed on Dec. 22, 2014, all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices that include fabrics having conductive signal paths. 
     In traditional woven fabrics, warp and weft threads are orthogonal to one another, with the warp threads extending along the length of the fabric and the weft threads weaving back and forth across the warp threads. In needle weaving, weft threads are fed from one or both sides of the warp threads and are inserted into the fabric using a guide arm that guides the weft thread across the warp threads. 
     It can be challenging to form conductive signal paths in woven fabrics. Having warp threads restricted to one direction and weft threads restricted to a different direction can place undesirable limitations on the layout of conductive signal paths formed by conductive threads in the fabric. For example, to form a conductive signal path that changes from a warp direction to a weft direction, a conductive warp thread would need to be electrically connected to a conductive weft thread. This type of connection may be difficult to maintain and can lead to undesirable breaks in the signal path if the fabric is stressed. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to form woven fabrics with improved conductive signal paths. 
     SUMMARY 
     Fabric may be formed by weaving warp strands and weft strands together using weaving equipment. The weaving equipment may include strand positioning equipment that positions the warp strands to produce a shed and that inserts weft strands into the shed between the warp strands to form the fabric. 
     The weaving equipment may include one or more guide arms that pushes warp strands in the weft direction during weaving. Fabrics having warp strands that extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction may be used in forming circuitry in fabrics such as touch sensor circuitry. For example, a touch sensor in a fabric may be formed using first conductive warp strands that form first touch sensor electrodes and second conductive warp strands that form second touch sensor electrodes that overlap with the first touch sensor electrodes. The second conductive warp strands may each have a first portion that extends in the warp direction and a second portion that extends in the weft direction across the first touch sensor electrodes. 
     Fabrics having warp strands that extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction may be used in forming fabric-based items such as touch-sensitive wrist bands. For example, a fabric-based wrist band may be coupled to an electronic device such as an electronic wrist-watch. The wrist band may have touch-sensitive regions capable of detecting touch input from a user. The touch-sensitive regions may be formed from an overlapping region of conductive warp threads extending in the warp direction and conductive warp threads extending in the weft direction. 
     The wrist band may have an end region that is attached to the electronic device. Touch sensor signals may be conveyed between the electronic device and the wrist band via the end region. Conductive warp strands that form horizontal touch sensor electrodes in the wrist band and conductive warp strands that form vertical touch sensor electrodes in the wrist band may be routed to the end region of the wrist band to electrically connect to one or more terminals in the electronic device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative strand-based item in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of illustrative weaving equipment that may be used to form fabric in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6  show illustrative steps involved in using weaving equipment of the type shown in  FIG. 2  to manipulate warp strands such that the warp strands extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of an illustrative woven fabric in which warp strands on one side of the fabric extend in the weft direction in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of an illustrative woven fabric in which warp strands on opposing sides of the fabric extend in the weft direction in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of an illustrative strand-based item such as a wrist band having touch-sensitive regions formed from conductive signal paths in woven fabric in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram of the wrist band of  FIG. 9  showing how touch-sensitive regions can be formed from warp strands that extend in the weft direction to form horizontal electrodes and warp strands that extend in the warp direction to form vertical electrodes in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of a first section of the wrist band of  FIGS. 9 and 10  showing how exposed conductive signal paths can be formed from warp strands that extend in the weft direction in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of a second section of the wrist band of  FIGS. 9 and 10  showing warp strands that extend in the weft direction to form horizontal electrodes and warp strands that extend in the warp direction to form exposed vertical electrodes in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of a first section of the wrist band of  FIGS. 9 and 10  showing how covered conductive signal paths can be formed from warp strands that extend in the weft direction in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of a second section of the wrist band of  FIGS. 9 and 10  showing warp strands that extend in the weft direction to form horizontal electrodes and warp strands that extend in the warp direction to form covered vertical electrodes in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Conductive signal paths may be incorporated into strand-based items such as strand-based item  10  of  FIG. 1 . Item  10  may be an electronic device or an accessory for an electronic device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which fabric-based item  10  is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, other electronic equipment, or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. If desired, item  10  may be a removable external case for electronic equipment, may be a strap, may be a wrist band or head band, may be a removable cover for a device, may be a case or bag that has straps or that has other structures to receive and carry electronic equipment and other items, may be a necklace or arm band, may be a wallet, sleeve, pocket, or other structure into which electronic equipment or other items may be inserted, may be part of a chair, sofa, or other seating (e.g., cushions or other seating structures), may be part of an item of clothing or other wearable item (e.g., a hat, belt, wrist band, headband, etc.), or may be any other suitable fabric-based item. 
     Strands in strand-based item  10  may form all or part of a housing wall for an electronic device, may form internal structures in an electronic device, or may form other strand-based structures. Strand-based item  10  may be soft (e.g., item  10  may have a fabric surface that yields to a light touch), may have a rigid feel (e.g., the surface of item  10  may be formed from a stiff fabric), may be coarse, may be smooth, may have ribs or other patterned textures, and/or may be formed as part of a device that has portions formed from non-fabric structures of plastic, metal, glass, crystalline materials, ceramics, or other materials. 
     Item  10  may include intertwined strands  12 . The strands may be intertwined using strand intertwining equipment such as weaving equipment, knitting equipment, or braiding equipment. Intertwined strands  12  may, for example, form woven fabric. 
     Strands  12  may be single-filament strands 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 fibers 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, multifilament wire, or combinations of different materials. Strands may be insulating or conductive. Strands may be conductive along their entire length or may have conductive segments (e.g., metal portions that are exposed by locally removing insulation or that are formed by 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 fibers and insulating fibers (e.g., metal strands or metal coated strands with or without exterior insulating layers may be used in combination with solid plastic fibers or natural fibers that are insulating). 
     Item  10  may include additional mechanical structures  14  such as polymer binder to hold strands  12  together, support structures such as frame members, housing structures (e.g., an electronic device housing), and other mechanical structures. 
     Circuitry  16  may be included in item  10 . Circuitry  16  may include components that are coupled to strands  12 , components that are housed within an enclosure formed by strands  12 , components that are attached to strands  12  using welds, solder joints, adhesive bonds (e.g., conductive adhesive bonds), crimped connections, or other electrical and/or mechanical bonds. Circuitry  16  may include metal structures for carrying current, integrated circuits, discrete electrical components such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors, switches, connectors, light-emitting components such as light-emitting diodes, audio components such as microphones and speakers, vibrators, solenoids, piezoelectric devices, and other electromechanical devices, connectors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) devices, pressure sensors, light detectors, proximity sensors, force sensors, moisture sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, magnetic sensors, touch sensors, and other sensors, components that form displays, touch sensors arrays (e.g., arrays of capacitive touch sensor electrodes to form a touch sensor that detects touch events in two dimensions), and other input-output devices. Circuitry  16  may also include control circuitry such as non-volatile and volatile memory, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits, system-on-chip devices, baseband processors, wired and wireless communications circuitry, and other integrated circuits. 
     Item  10  may interact with electronic equipment or other additional items  18 . Items  18  may be attached to item  10  or item  10  and item  18  may be separate items that are configured to operate with each other (e.g., when one item is a case and the other is a device that fits within the case, etc.). 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , circuitry  16  may include antennas and other structures for supporting wireless communications with item  18 . Item  18  may also interact with strand-based item  10  using a wired communications link or other connection that allows information to be exchanged. 
     In some situations, item  18  may be an electronic device such as a cellular telephone, computer, or other portable electronic device and strand-based item  10  may form a case or other structure that receives the electronic device in a pocket, an interior cavity, or other portion of item  10 . In other situations, item  18  may be a wrist-watch device or other electronic device and item  10  may be a strap of other strand-based item that is attached to item  18 . In still other situations, item  10  may be an electronic device, strands  12  may be used in forming the electronic device, and additional items  18  may include accessories or other devices that interact with item  10 . 
     If desired, magnets and other structures in items  10  and/or  18  may allow items  10  and  18  to interact wirelessly. One item may, for example, include a magnet that produces a magnetic field and the other item may include a magnetic switch or magnetic sensor that responds in the presence of the magnetic field. Items  10  and  18  may also interact with themselves or each other using pressure-sensitive switches, pressure sensors, force sensors, proximity sensors, light-based sensors, interlocking electrical connectors, etc. 
     The strands that make up item  10  may be intertwined using any suitable strand intertwining equipment. With one suitable arrangement, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, strands  12  may be woven together to form a fabric. The fabric may have a plain weave, a satin weave, a twill weave, or variations of these weaves, may be a three-dimensional woven fabric, or may be other suitable fabric. 
     Illustrative weaving equipment for forming woven fabric for items such as item  10  of  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , weaving equipment  30  may be provided with strands such as strands  12  of  FIG. 1  from strand source  70 . The strands provided by strand source  70  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. 
     Source  70  may supply warp strands  40  from warp beam  42 . Warp beam  42  may be implemented using a drum or other structure that rotates about rotational axis  44  in direction  46 . Warp strands  40  may be dispensed between rollers  82  as the drum rotates. 
     Warp strands  40  may be positioned using warp strand positioning equipment  98 . Equipment  98  may include strand positioning structures such as harness  102 . Harness  102  may be controlled using control circuitry  90  to control the positions of strands  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , harness  102  may include heddles  96 . Heddles  96  may each include an eye  48  mounted on a wire that extends between a respective one of springs  86  and a respective one of wire positioners  84  or may use other structures for positioning warp strands  40 . Each warp strand may pass through a respective one of heddles  96 . Wire positioners  84  may be motors (e.g., stepper motors) or other electromechanical actuators. Some or all of heddles  96  may be independently positioned. During operation, control circuitry  90  may supply control signals on outputs  92  that move each heddle by a desired amount (e.g., up or down in directions  32 ). If desired, heddles  96  may be raised and lowered in various patterns in response to control signals from control circuitry  90  to create different patterns of gaps (sheds)  36  between warp strands  40 . 
     Weft strand  60  may be inserted into sheds  36  during weaving to form fabric  62 . Weft strand positioning equipment  58  may be used to place weft strand  60  between the warp strands that form each shed  36 . Weft strand positioning equipment  58  may include one or more shuttles 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.). 
     After each pass of weft strand  60  through shed(s)  36 , reed  55  may be moved in direction  56  (e.g., reed  55  may be rotated about axis  38 ) to push the weft strand that has just been inserted into the shed between respective warp strands  40  against previously woven fabric  62 , thereby ensuring that a satisfactorily tight weave is produced. Fabric  62  that has been woven in this way may be gathered on take-down roller  66  as roller  66  rotates in direction  64  about rotational axis  68 . Reed  55  and weft strand positioning equipment  58  may be controlled by control signals from control outputs  92 . 
     Weaving equipment  30  may be used to push warp strands in the weft direction to form continuous conductive signal paths that extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction.  FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6  show illustrative steps involved in using equipment  30  to manipulate warp strands such that the warp strands extend in both the warp direction (e.g., direction  104 ) and the weft direction (e.g., direction  106 ) 
     At step  200  of  FIG. 3 , shed  36  ( FIG. 2 ) is closed and warp strands  40  are level with one another as heddles  96  change the positions of warp strands  40 . At this stage, some of heddles  96  may be in the process of raising warp strands  40  (e.g., warp strands  40 - 1 ) while other heddles  96  may be in the process of lowering warp strands  40  (e.g., warp strands  40 - 2 ). Reed  55  may be in an upright position after having pushed weft strands  60  against previously woven fabric  62 . 
     At step  202  of  FIG. 4 , shed  36  is opened as warp strands  40 - 1  are raised by heddles  96  and as warp strands  40 - 2  are lowered by heddles  96 . When shed  36  is open, strand positioning equipment  72  may be used to push warp strand  40 - 3  in direction  76  to insert warp strand  40 - 3  between warp strands  40 - 1  and  40 - 2  that form shed  36 . Strand positioning equipment  72  may be the same positioning equipment that inserts weft strands  60  into shed  36  (e.g., a shuttle or shuttleless weft strand positioning equipment) or strand positioning equipment  72  may include a separate guide arm that is designated for moving warp strands  40  in weft direction  106 . 
     At step  204  of  FIG. 5 , strand positioning equipment  72  hooks onto warp strand  40 - 3  and pushes warp strand  40 - 3  through shed  36 . After passing warp strand  40 - 3  through shed  36 , strand positioning equipment  72  may hook warp strand  40 - 3  onto a hook member such as hook member  74  (e.g., a needle, wire, or other strand holding member). 
     At step  206  of  FIG. 6 , after guide arm  72  has passed warp strand  40 - 3  through shed  36  and hooked warp strand  40 - 3  onto hook member  74 , reed  55  may be moved in direction  80  to push warp strand  40 - 3  against previously woven fabric  62 , thereby ensuring that a satisfactorily tight weave is produced. Following step  206 , warp strand  40 - 3  may extend in both warp direction  104  (e.g., parallel to other warp strands  40 ) and weft direction  106  (e.g., parallel to other weft strands  60 ). In arrangements where warp strand  40 - 3  is conductive, warp strand  40 - 3  may form a continuous conductive signal path in fabric  62  that extends in two different directions without requiring a physical and electrical connection between two distinct strands. 
     The example of  FIGS. 3-6  where weft strands  60  are inserted from one side of shed  36  is merely illustrative. If desired, weaving equipment  30  may include strand positioning equipment (e.g., guide arms  72 , shuttle  58 , etc.) on both sides of shed  36  so that one guide arm can insert strands in the weft direction from one side of shed  36  and another guide arm can insert strands in the weft direction from an opposing side of shed  36 . 
       FIG. 7  is a top view of illustrative fabric  62  having warp strands  40  that are altered to extend in the weft direction. As shown in  FIG. 7 , altered warp strands such as warp strands  40 - 3  may each have a first portion such as portion  110  extending parallel to warp strands  40  in direction  104  and a second portion such as portion  108  extending parallel to weft strands  60  in direction  106 . This allows continuous conductive signal paths in fabric  62  to change direction without requiring a connection between a warp strand  40  and a weft strand  60 . This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, conductive signal paths may be formed using single strands that extend in both warp direction  104  and weft direction  106  (e.g., as shown by warp strands  40 - 3 ) and/or may be formed using multiple strands such as a first strand that extends in warp direction  104  and a second strand that extends in weft direction  106 . 
       FIG. 8  is a top view of another illustrative configuration for fabric  62 . Fabric  62  of  FIG. 8  may be formed using weaving equipment having multiple strand positioning arms (e.g., multiple guide arms such as guide arms  72  of  FIGS. 3-6 ). The use of multiple guide arms  72  allows more flexibility in determining the locations at which warp strands  40  change direction in fabric  62 . In the example of  FIG. 8 , warp strand  40 - 3  extends in warp direction  104  in middle region  114  of fabric  62  and extends in weft direction  106  in region  116  of fabric  62 . This allows conductive signal paths in fabric  62  to change direction in any desired location in fabric  62 . In general, conductive signal paths formed by warp strands that extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction may change direction in any suitable location of fabric  62  (e.g., at the edges of fabric  62  as shown in the example of  FIG. 7 , in a middle region of fabric  62  as shown in the example of  FIG. 8 , etc.). If desired, strands  112  may be intertwined with fabric  62  on opposing sides of fabric  62  to hold weft strands  60  (and warp strands  40 - 3  that form weft strands) in place. 
     Conductive strands that change from warp direction to weft direction in a woven fabric may be used to form electrical circuits in fabric-based items.  FIG. 9  shows an illustrative strand-based item  10  that may include circuitry formed from conductive strands that extend in both the warp direction and the weft direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , strand-based item  10  may include woven fabric  62  that forms a wrist band. Wrist band  10  may be used to hold a device such as device  130  (e.g., an electronic wrist-watch or other device such as device  18  of  FIG. 1 ) against a user&#39;s wrist or wrist band  10  may be worn by itself on a user&#39;s wrist. Wrist band  10  may include circuitry such as touch sensor  118  formed from conductive strands in fabric  62 . Touch sensor  118  may include touch-sensitive regions such as touch-sensitive regions  116 . If desired, the entirety of wrist band  10  may be touch-sensitive, only a portion of wrist band  10  may be touch-sensitive, or wrist band  10  may include discrete regions that form touch-sensitive buttons for performing particular types of user input operations. For example, touch-sensitive regions  116  may form power buttons, telephone call control buttons, volume control buttons, menu buttons, and/or other suitable buttons. If desired, touch-sensitive regions  116  may be used to provide input to electronic device  130 . 
     The touch sensor elements that form touch sensor  118  may be based on any suitable touch sensor technology such as capacitive touch technology, resistive touch technology, acoustic touch technology, or force-sensor-based touch technology (as examples). In capacitive touch sensors, capacitive electrodes may be formed from a conductive material. For example, in fabric-based items where the touch sensor is formed in fabric, the touch sensor electrodes may be formed from conductive strands (e.g., a group of conductive strands that together form a conductive pad or strip) that are intertwined in the fabric. Configurations in which touch sensor  118  is a capacitive touch sensor and in which touch sensor electrodes for touch sensor  118  are formed from conductive strands in fabric  62  are sometimes described herein as an example. Other types of arrangements may be used for touch sensor  118  if desired (e.g., arrangements with non-capacitive touch sensors, etc.). 
       FIG. 10  is a diagram of wrist band  10  of  FIG. 9  showing how touch-sensitive regions  116  of touch sensor  118  may be formed from warp strands that extend in both the warp and weft directions (e.g., as described in connection with  FIGS. 3-8 ). As shown in  FIG. 10 , touch sensor  118  may include electrodes  124  and  126 . Electrodes  124  and  126  may have any suitable shape (e.g., square shape, diamond shape, rectangular shape, etc.). In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 10 , electrodes  124  and  126  have an elongated rectangular shape that runs across fabric  62 . Electrodes  126  run vertically between edge  128  and an opposing edge of fabric  62  (e.g., electrodes  126  may extend along the length of wrist band  10 ). Electrodes  124  run horizontally between the left and right edges of fabric  62  (e.g., electrodes  124  may extend along the width of wrist band  10 ). A layer of dielectric (e.g., one or more non-conductive strands in fabric  62 ) may be interposed between electrodes  124  and  126 . By monitoring capacitance changes associated with horizontal and vertical electrodes  124  and  126 , touch sensor  118  may be used to ascertain the location of an external object such as a user&#39;s finger during a touch event (e.g., when a user of device  10  brings his or her finger in contact with or in close proximity to touch sensor  118  of fabric  62 ). 
     Touch sensor  118  on wrist band  10  may communicate with electronic device  130  that is coupled to wrist band  10 . For example, touch sensor data gathered by touch sensor  118  may be conveyed from touch sensor  118  to electronic device  130 , and touch sensor control signals may be supplied from electronic device  130  to touch sensor  118 . Wrist band  10  may be mechanically and electrically coupled to device  130  at end region  128  of wrist band  10 . Because electrical signals are conveyed to and from device  130  at end region  128  of wrist band  10 , it may be desirable to use warp strands in fabric  62  to form the conductive signal paths of touch sensor  118  since warp strands are already routed to end region  128 . 
     Horizontal electrodes  124  and vertical electrodes  126  of touch sensor  118  may be formed from conductive strands in fabric  62 . For example, each vertical electrode  126  may be formed from a group  40 C of conductive warp strands. Each group  40 C may include a plurality of conductive warp strands (e.g., two, three, ten, more than ten, or less than ten conductive warp strands) arranged adjacent to one another in fabric  62 . In this way, individual conductive strands can be grouped with other conductive strands to form a larger conductive area that can be used as a capacitive touch sensor electrode. Groups  40 C of conductive warp strands may be separated from one another by nonconductive regions  132  (e.g., regions of fabric  62  that are formed using nonconductive strands or strands with nonconductive portions). As shown in  FIG. 10 , groups  40 C of conductive warp strands may be electrically coupled to device  130  at end region  128  of wrist band  10 . 
     Horizontal electrodes  124  may be formed using conductive strands that extend across electrodes  126  in weft direction  106 . For example, horizontal electrodes  124  may be formed from conductive weft strands and/or may be formed from conductive warp strands that extend in the weft direction (e.g., as described in connection with  FIGS. 3-8 ). This type of arrangement is shown in  FIG. 10 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , warp strands  40 - 3  extend in warp direction  104  in region  134 A of wrist band  10  (e.g., an edge region on one side of vertical electrodes  126 ). In regions where touch-sensitive buttons  116  are formed, one or more warp strands  40 - 3  extends across vertical electrodes  126  in weft direction  106  to form a horizontal electrode  126  that crisscrosses with vertical electrodes  124 . The example of  FIG. 10  in which warp strands  40 - 3  are located on side  134 A of vertical electrodes  126  is merely illustrative. If desired, warp strands  40 - 3  may be located on side  134 B of vertical electrodes  126  and may extend across electrodes  126  from side  134 B to side  134 A. In other arrangements, touch sensor  118  may include warp strands  40 - 3  on both side  134 A and side  134 B of vertical electrodes  126 . 
     Regions of overlap between electrodes  126  and  124  may form touch-sensitive buttons  116 . In the example of  FIG. 10 , each touch-sensitive button  116  is formed using multiple warp strands  40 C and a single warp-to-weft strand  40 - 3 . This is, however, merely illustrative. In general, each touch-sensitive button  116  may be formed using any number of strands extending in the warp direction (e.g., one, two, ten, more than ten, less than ten, etc.) and any number of strands extending in the weft direction (e.g., one, two, ten, more than ten, less than ten, etc.). 
     During operation, electrodes  126  may serve as drive electrodes and electrodes  124  may serve as sense electrodes. A signal such as an alternating current drive signal may be imposed on each drive electrode  126  using conductive signal paths  40 C. Conductive signal paths  40 C may each have one end that is connected to a terminal in device  130 . Sense signals on sense electrodes  126  may be conveyed to device  130  using conductive signal paths  40 - 3  in region  134 A. Conductive signal paths  40 - 3  may each have one end that is connected to a terminal in device  130 . 
     A cross-section of region A of wrist band  10  taken along line  122  and viewed in direction  120  is shown in  FIG. 11 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , fabric  62  may include multiple layers  136  of strands. Each layer may include intertwined warp strands  40  and weft strands  60 . Some of warp strands  40  and/or weft strands  60  may be conductive and some may be non-conductive. For example, warp strands  40 - 4  in groups  40 C extending in warp direction  104  may be conductive and may be used in forming touch sensor electrodes  126  of  FIG. 10 . Warp strands  40 - 3  extending in weft direction  106  may be conductive and may be used in forming touch sensor electrodes  124  of  FIG. 10 . 
     Non-conductive strands (e.g., non-conductive warp strands  40 - 5  and/or non-conductive weft strands  60 ) may be used to separate conductive strands to prevent short circuits between the conductive signal paths of touch sensor  118 . For example, one or more layers of non-conductive warp strands  40 - 5  may be interposed between warp strands  40 - 3  that form electrodes  124  of  FIG. 10  and warp strands  40 - 4  that form electrodes  126  of  FIG. 10 . Non-conductive warp strands  40 - 5  may also be used to separate adjacent groups  40 C of conductive warp strands  40 - 4  and to separate adjacent signal paths formed by warp strands  40 - 3  in region  134 . 
     The cross-section of region A of wrist band  10  shows how warp strand  40 - 3  in region  134  of fabric  62  changes from a warp direction (direction  104 ) to a weft direction (direction  106 ). The warp portion of strand  40 - 3  conveys electrical signals between electrodes  124  and device  130 . The weft portion of strand  40 - 3  forms a horizontal touch sensor electrode over conductive warp strands  40 - 4  to form touch-sensitive buttons  116  in touch sensor  118 . 
     A cross-section of region B of wrist band  10  taken along line  122  and viewed in direction  120  is shown in  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 12  shows how the weft portion of warp strand  40 - 3  extends across multiple discrete conductive regions  40 C formed by warp strands  40 - 4  to form a row of touch-sensitive buttons  116  in fabric  62 . 
     In the examples of  FIGS. 11 and 12 , some of the conductive strands of touch sensor  118  are formed on an outermost layer of fabric  62 . With this type of configuration, some conductive portions of touch sensor  118  are exposed to the exterior of fabric  62 . Exposing conductive portions of wrist band  10  may allow electrical connections to be formed directly with the circuitry of wrist band  10 . This type of arrangement may also allow a different type of cover layer to be used to cover the conductive portions of wrist band  10  (e.g., a material other than a layer of fabric such as plastic, metal, thin film, etc.). 
     In some embodiments, it may be desirable to cover the conductive portions of wrist band  10  with fabric such that the circuitry is completely contained within the wrist band and is not exposed to the exterior of fabric  62 . This type of arrangement is illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . 
       FIG. 13  shows a cross-section of region A of wrist band  10  taken along line  122  and viewed in direction  120 . The cross-section of region A of wrist band  10  shows how warp strand  40 - 3  in region  134  of fabric  62  changes from a warp direction (direction  104 ) to a weft direction (direction  106 ). The warp portion of strand  40 - 3  conveys electrical signals between electrodes  124  and device  130 . The weft portion of strand  40 - 3  forms a horizontal touch sensor electrode over conductive warp strands  40 - 4  to form touch-sensitive buttons  116  in touch sensor  118 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , at least one layer  136  of non-conductive strands  40 - 5  is formed on both sides of conductive strands  40 - 3  and  40 - 4 . This type of arrangement may be used to ensure that some or all of the conductive portions of fabric  62  are not exposed to the exterior of the fabric or viewable by a user wearing wrist band  10 . 
       FIG. 14  shows a cross-section of region B of wrist band  10  taken along line  122  and viewed in direction  120 .  FIG. 14  shows how the weft portion of warp strand  40 - 3  extends across multiple discrete conductive regions  40 C formed by warp strands  40 - 4  to form a row of touch-sensitive buttons  116  in fabric  62 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , at least one layer  136  of non-conductive strands  40 - 5  is formed on both sides of conductive strands  40 - 3  and  40 - 4 , ensuring that some or all of the conductive portions of fabric  62  are not exposed to the exterior of the fabric or viewable by a user wearing wrist band  10 . 
     The example of  FIGS. 9-14  in which strand-based item  10  is a wrist band and electronic device  130  is an electronic wrist-watch device is merely illustrative. In general, fabrics  62  having strands that extend in both the warp and weft direction may be used to form any suitable type of strand-based item and may be coupled to any suitable type of electronic equipment. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, a fabric is provided that includes first conductive warp strands that form first touch sensor electrodes, second conductive warp strands that form second touch sensor electrodes, the first touch sensor electrodes overlap the second touch sensor electrodes to form a touch sensor in the fabric, and non-conductive weft strands woven together with the first and second conductive warp strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the first touch sensor electrodes are perpendicular to the second touch sensor electrodes. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the second conductive warp strands each have a portion that extends across the first touch sensor electrodes in a direction parallel to the non-conductive weft strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the second conductive warp strands each have a portion that extends parallel to the first conductive warp strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the first touch sensor electrodes have an elongated rectangular shape and are each formed from a group of the first conductive warp strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the fabric includes non-conductive warp strands that separate each group of the first conductive warp strands from an adjacent group of the first conductive warp strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the fabric includes non-conductive warp strands interposed between the first conductive warp strands and the second conductive warp strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the fabric includes first and second outer layers of non-conductive strands, the first conductive warp strands and the second conductive warp strands are both interposed between the first and second outer layers of non-conductive strands. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, one of the second conductive warp strands has a portion that extends across the first touch sensor electrodes in a first region to form a row of discrete touch-sensitive areas in the first region and another of the second conductive warp strands has a portion that extends across the first touch sensor electrodes in a second region to form a row of discrete touch-sensitive areas in the second region. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the first and second conductive warp strands form touch sensor signal paths that are routed to an end region of the fabric. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, apparatus is provided that includes an electronic device, and a wrist band coupled to the electronic device, the wrist band includes a touch sensor formed from first conductive warp threads, second conductive warp threads that overlap the first conductive warp threads, and non-conductive weft threads that are woven together with the first and second conductive warp threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the first conductive warp threads form first touch sensor electrodes, the second conductive warp threads form second touch sensor electrodes, and the first touch sensor electrodes are perpendicular to the second touch sensor electrodes. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the second conductive warp threads each have first portion that extends parallel to the first conductive warp threads and a second portion that extends across the first touch sensor electrodes in a direction parallel to the non-conductive weft threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the apparatus includes non-conductive warp threads interposed between the first conductive warp threads and the second conductive warp threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the apparatus includes first and second outer layers of non-conductive threads, the first conductive warp threads and the second conductive warp threads are both interposed between the first and second outer layers of non-conductive threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the wrist band has an end region that is attached to the electronic device and the first and second conductive warp threads form touch sensor signal paths in the wrist band that are routed to the electronic device via the end region of the wrist band. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, a fabric is provided that includes non-conductive warp threads, conductive warp threads, and non-conductive weft threads woven together with the non-conductive warp threads and the conductive warp threads, the conductive warp threads each have a first portion that extends parallel to the non-conductive warp threads and a second portion that extends parallel to the non-conductive weft threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the second portion of each conductive warp thread extends across and is woven together with the non-conductive warp threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the conductive warp threads convey electrical signals in the fabric. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the fabric includes additional conductive warp threads, the second portion of each conductive warp thread overlaps the additional conductive warp threads. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the fabric includes additional non-conductive warp threads that separate the conductive warp threads from the additional conductive warp threads. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20191218
Publication Date: 20210921
Grant Date: 20210921
Priority Date: 20141222
Inventors: PODHAJNY, DANIEL A.
HAMADA, Yohji
CREWS, KATHRYN P.
WALKER, JOSEPH B.
SUNSHINE, Daniel D.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "D03D13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2401/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04102", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D3/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2401/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D3/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2401/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D3/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D13/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2401/16", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D3/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04102", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 54851391