An embroidery machine with on-board electronics executing layout and alignment software provides for automated thread installation to establish textile-to-pad contact through the use of anisotropic conductive threads characterized by electrically conductive segments alternating with electrically insulating segments. Present embodiments provide for garments or other fabrics and textiles having flexible circuits integrated on a flexible substrate that bends and moves with the garment in a way not seen with stiff printed circuit boards, which may include multiple textile circuits attached to fabric to impart desired electronic features including connectivity to a printed circuit board external to a garment formed according to the present embodiments, as well as imparting electrical conductivity across seams of a garment sewn together from fabric, while maintaining electrical integrity of neighboring circuits on the same garment.

A needle clamp (1) for sewing machine (100) is provided. The needle clamp (1) comprises a body (2) at least partially made of a thermally conductive material and having retaining means (3) for constraining at least one needle (10). The needle clamp comprises a thermoelectric cooling device (5) directly or indirectly constrained to a portion of said body (2).

A seat heater includes a substrate. A formed heating wire is disposed on the substrate. A sewing thread attaches the formed heating wire to the substrate. A method of fabricating the seat heater includes forming a straight heating wire into a formed heating wire having miniature wave shape, feeding the formed heating wire onto a substrate, and attaching the formed heating wire onto the substrate by sewing a thread.

A system for electrically coupling a garment to a mating object and manufacture method thereof, the system comprising: a fabric interlayer of the garment including a set of ports; an electronics substrate having a first surface adjacent to a second side of the fabric interlayer and including a set of vias through a thickness of the electronics substrate, aligned with the set of ports, and a set of contacts at a second surface opposing the first surface; a mount assembly having a third surface adjacent to the second surface of the electronics substrate and including a set of holes aligned with the set of vias and the set of ports, as well as a set of openings that correspond to and receive portions of the set of contacts, and a fourth surface opposing the third surface and defining a cavity configured to receive and electrically interface the mating object to the electronics substrate; and a set of fasteners that 1) compress the backing plate, the fabric interlayer, the electronics substrate, and the mount assembly by way of the set of ports, the set of vias, and the set of holes in supporting a waterproof seal, and 2) electrically couple the set of embedded ports to the set of vias.

A light-emitting pad structure and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The light-emitting pad structure includes: a pad unit, including a main pad body and a light-emitting module, and the main pad body has a top wall, a bottom wall and a lateral annular wall; a light-guiding strip, bent for being surrounded at a periphery of the lateral annular wall and arranged corresponding to the light-emitting module; a light-pervious fabric member having a middle segment and an outer segment, the middle segment is adhered to the top wall, the outer segment is adhered to the bottom wall, so that the light-pervious fabric member is formed with an accommodation bag arranged to cross the lateral annular wall and enclose the light-guiding strip; and a bottom plate adhered to and covering the bottom wall and the outer segment.

An apparatus for feeding plate-shaped functional elements to a sewing or stitching machine comprises a first guide rail which extends in a longitudinal direction between a first end and a second end and which has a first delimiting surface and a first guide surface extending transversely with respect to the first delimiting surface, a second guide rail which extends in the longitudinal direction between a first end and a second end and which has a second delimiting surface, facing the first delimiting surface and extending parallel to the first delimiting surface, and a second guide surface extending transversely with respect to the second delimiting surface in the direction of the first guide rail; and a transporting device configured to move a functional element resting on the first and the second guide surface from the first end of the guide rails in the direction of the second end of the guide rails.

A buttonhole sewing guiding device of a sewing machine includes a buttonhole presser foot unit disposed on a presser foot holder of the sewing machine, and a sensing unit disposed on the buttonhole presser foot unit. A presser frame of the foot unit is movable relative to a sliding member between first and second sewing positions set in accordance with an operating distance that corresponds to a size of a button to allow first and second triggering members to initiate a sensing module for controlling operation of a sewing needle.

A system for electrically coupling a garment to a mating object and manufacture method thereof, the system comprising: a fabric interlayer of the garment including a set of ports; an electronics substrate having a first surface adjacent to a second side of the fabric interlayer and including a set of vias through a thickness of the electronics substrate, aligned with the set of ports, and a set of contacts at a second surface opposing the first surface; a mount assembly having a third surface adjacent to the second surface of the electronics substrate and including a set of holes aligned with the set of vias and the set of ports, as well as a set of openings that correspond to and receive portions of the set of contacts, and a fourth surface opposing the third surface and defining a cavity configured to receive and electrically interface the mating object to the electronics substrate; and a set of fasteners that 1) compress the backing plate, the fabric interlayer, the electronics substrate, and the mount assembly by way of the set of ports, the set of vias, and the set of holes in supporting a waterproof seal, and 2) electrically couple the set of embedded ports to the set of vias.

An embroidery machine with on-board electronics executing layout and alignment software provides for automated thread installation to establish textile-to-pad contact through the use of anisotropic conductive threads characterized by electrically conductive segments alternating with electrically insulating segments. Present embodiments provide for garments or other fabrics and textiles having flexible circuits integrated on a flexible substrate that bends and moves with the garment in a way not seen with stiff printed circuit boards, which may include multiple textile circuits attached to fabric to impart desired electronic features including connectivity to a printed circuit board external to a garment formed according to the present embodiments, as well as imparting electrical conductivity across seams of a garment sewn together from fabric, while maintaining electrical integrity of neighboring circuits on the same garment.

A system of fabric-based devices designed as transistors with tri-state behavior that can measure any geometries on 2D and 3D surfaces. The devices are constructed from layers of conductive materials and flexible sheets that allow signals to selectively cross between layers. Multiple layers of conductive signals can be achieved by controlling the tension of the top and bottom thread, and interlayering conductive, semiconductive, insulating, and semi-porous materials around a sensing layer. The layers can be further modified to include folds and cuts that allow for 2D and 3D bending, stretching, twisting, and curves. Large sheets of devices can be organized into grid-like matrixes, with signal wires connected in a multiplexed fashion to minimize the amount of threads to simplify construction and device communication to a central processing unit.