Embodiments disclosed herein provide approaches for attaching scan control and other electronic chips to textiles, e.g., on a loom as part of a real-time manufacturing process.

A fabric-based item may include fabric such as woven fabric having insulating and conductive yarns or other strands of material. The conductive yarns may form signal paths. Electrical components can be embedded within pockets in the fabric. Each electrical component may have an electrical device such as a semiconductor die that is mounted on an interposer substrate. The electrical device may be a light-emitting diode, a sensor, an actuator, or other electrical device. The electrical device may have contacts that are soldered to contacts on the interposer. The interposer may have additional contacts that are soldered to the signal paths. The fabric may have portions that form transparent windows overlapping the electrical components or that have other desired attributes.

A textile fabric is used to make a textile moisture sensor. The textile fabric has a top side facing away from the skin and/or a wound, and an underside that faces the skin and/or the wound and on which the textile fabric has a moisture-impermeable barrier. The textile fabric is formed from non-conductive warp threads, non-conductive weft threads, and conductive warp threads and/or conductive weft threads that are arranged such that an electrically conductive structure is formed in the textile fabric. The moisture-impermeable barrier on the underside of the textile fabric has at least one opening and conductive warp and/or conductive weft threads arranged in the region of the opening such that the conductive threads can come into contact with moisture from the skin and/or wound in the region of the opening.

A smart patch including multi-component strands integrated into clothing or other textiles where the strands of the smart patch include sensory elements that can simultaneously measure tactile forces, moisture/wetness, and other signals, such as biopotentials. A sensing system comprising: a first set of strands including a plurality of first multi-component strands, each of the first multi-component strands including a conductive portion and a non-conductive portion; and a second set of strands including a plurality of second multi-component strands, each of the second multicomponent strands including a conductive portion and a non-conductive portion, and a plurality of third multi-component strands, each of the third multicomponent strands including a conductive portion and a non-conductive portion, the third multi-component strands being different than the first multi-component strands and the second multi-component strands.

A woven fabric having at least three layers disposed on top of one another. One layer forms a lowermost woven fabric layer and another layer forms an uppermost woven fabric layer. A first and a second woven layer have electrically conductive warp threads and/or electrically conductive weft threads. An intermediate layer is disposed between the first woven fabric layer and the second woven fabric layer. The first woven fabric layer, the second woven fabric layer, and the intermediate layer form a sensor arrangement which has an electrical property that varies while a force acts on the layers. Each of the uppermost and lowermost woven fabric layer in terms of weaving technology is connected to one of the other woven fabric layers present.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fibrous piezoelectric element which enables a large electric signal to be drawn out by stress produced by relatively small deformation. A piezoelectric element includes a braid composed of a conductive fiber and a piezoelectric fiber. In the braid, the conductive fiber is a core, and the piezoelectric fiber is a covering fiber that covers the periphery of the conductive fiber.

A fabric-based item may include a housing that is covered in fabric. Areas of the fabric may overlap input circuitry such as button switches, touch sensors, force sensors, proximity sensors, and other sensing circuitry and may overlap other components such as light-emitting components and haptic output devices. The fabric-based item may include control circuitry that gathers user input from the input circuitry and wireless communications circuitry that the control circuitry uses to transmit remote control commands and other wireless signals in response information from the input circuitry. The fabric-based item may have a weight that is located in the housing to orient the housing in a desired direction when the housing rests on a surface. A movable weight may tilt the housing in response to proximity sensor signals or other input. Portions of the fabric may overlap light-emitting components and optical fiber configured to emit light.

A fabric-based item may be provide with a stretchable band. The stretchable band may be formed from a ring-shaped strip of stretchable fabric having an opening configured to fit around a body part of a user. Circuitry may be coupled to strands of material in the stretchable band. The circuitry may include sensor circuitry for making measurements on the body part such as electrocardiogram measurements, blood pressure measurements, and respiration rate measurements. Wireless communications circuitry in the fabric-based item may be used to communicate wirelessly with external electronic equipment. A wireless power transmitting device may transmit wireless power. A coil formed from conductive strands in the fabric-based item may be used by wireless power receiving circuitry in the fabric-based item to receive the wireless power. The coil may have one or more turns that run around the ring-shaped strip of stretchable fabric.

A piezoelectric fiber composite that includes a substrate having a first expansion and contraction rate, a piezoelectric fiber assembly having piezoelectric fibers that generate electrical charges upon application of external energy and has a second expansion and contraction rate different from the first expansion and contraction rate of the substrate, and a joint portion that joins the substrate and the piezoelectric fiber assembly.

A shuttleless weaving loom with a weft insertion device. A transfer device and retaining disc are connected to the weft insertion device such that the retaining disc holds the weft fiber in a fixed orientation as it traverses through the shed of the loom. A plurality of sensors which are part of a microcircuit are mounted on the retaining disc for measurement of the weft fiber's position. A signaling circuit is mounted on the shuttleless loom and an electrical connector is connected to the signaling circuit to allow for external monitoring or display of the weft fiber's position. The measurements from the plurality of sensors are communicated through the electrical connector to an external device such that the position and orientation of the weft fiber can be monitored or displayed as the weft insertion device travels through the shuttleless loom.