1. An article, comprising:

a first material layer;

a second material layer;

a first signal path portion on the first layer, the first signal path portion overlapping a first aperture in the first layer;

a second signal path portion on the second layer, the second signal path portion overlapping a second aperture in the second layer; and

a stitch coupling the first material layer and the second material layer and comprising a stitch formed by a strand of conductive material passing through the first aperture and the second aperture.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the first layer of material comprises a first knit fabric and the second layer of material comprises a second knit fabric.

3. The article of claim 2, wherein the first knit fabric comprises a flat knit fabric and the second knit fabric comprises a loop knit fabric.

4. The article of claim 3, wherein the flat knit fabric has a periphery and the loop knit fabric extends around the periphery.

5. The article of claim 1, wherein the first layer of material comprises a fabric.

6. The article of claim 1, wherein:

the first material layer is formed from a first textile layer;

the second material layer is formed from a second textile layer; and

the conductive strand shorts the first signal path to the second signal path.

7. The article of claim 1, wherein the first material layer is selected from the group consisting of a fabric layer, a leather layer, and a polymer layer.

8. The article of claim 1, wherein the first material layer comprises a polymer layer, and wherein the first signal path portion comprises a metal trace on the polymer layer.

9. The article of claim 1, wherein the stitching comprises a polymeric strand.

10. The article of claim 1, wherein the stitching has a three-dimensional shape.

11. An article, comprising:

a first layer of material having a first conductive portion and a first insulating portion;

a second layer of material having a second conductive portion and a second insulating portion;

an insulating seam joining the first insulating portion and the second insulating portion; and

a conductive stitch joining the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion.

12. The article of claim 11, wherein the second layer of material has a third conductive portion.

13. The article of claim 12, further comprising:

an electrical component having a first contact coupled to the second conductive portion and a second contact coupled to the third conductive portion.

14. The article of claim 11, further comprising:

an electrical component overlapping the first insulating portion, wherein the electrical component is directly coupled to the conductive seam.

15. The article defined in claim 11 wherein the first layer of material comprises a fabric and the first conductive portion comprises a conductive strand in the fabric.

16. An article, comprising:

a first layer of material having a first aperture;

a second layer of material extending from the first layer of material at a non-zero angle and having a second aperture overlapping the first aperture;

a three-dimensional seam coupling the first material layer and the second material layer, wherein the three-dimensional seam includes a conductive stitch passing through the first hole and the second hole.

17. The article of claim 16, wherein the first layer of material has a first signal path and the second layer of material has a second signal path electrically connected to the first signal path through the conductive pin.

18. The article of claim 16, wherein the three-dimensional seam comprises insulated stitching.

19. The article of claim 16, wherein the first material layer and the second material layer comprise a knit fabric.

20. The article of claim 19, wherein the first layer of material is a rectangular back wall in an electronic device cover and the second layer of material is a strip of material forming a side wall for the electronic device cover.

Background

Articles such as covers for electronic devices may have fabric layers and other material layers. Assembling layers of materials to form an article can be challenging. If not careful, assembly operations may be hindered by difficulties in aligning the material layers and forming joints between the layers.

Disclosure of Invention

An article may be formed from a structure including an aperture. The structure including the holes may include a layer of fabric, leather, plastic, or other material. Stitching may be used to form a seam joining the structures. The stitching may be formed by a chain stitch or other stitch that passes through a hole in each of the structures being joined.

In some arrangements, the engaged layer may be a fabric layer, such as a knitted layer. Loops in the knitted fabric layer may form apertures. An electronic device cover may be formed by joining the first and second knitted layers. The first knitted layer may be a rectangular planar knitted layer forming the rear wall of the enclosure and the second knitted layer may be formed from a strip of knitted fabric bent into a rectangle to form the rectangular side walls of the enclosure.

During manufacture, a layer of material having apertures may be placed on an adjustable-shape fixture having a needle bed. The shape of the shape-adjustable fixture and the material layer may then be changed. For example, the computer-controlled positioning device can adjust the position of the links supporting the needle bed in two or more dimensions. After one or more of the structures have been reshaped using the shape adjustable fixture, the structures may be placed on a needle in an assembly fixture, and a computer-controlled stitching head may be used to form stitches between the structures.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary electronic device and a cover for the electronic device, according to one embodiment.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a woven fabric layer according to one embodiment.

Figure 3 is a top view of a knitted fabric layer according to one embodiment.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of two open fabric layers being joined using chain stitches, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a system diagram of an exemplary system having an apparatus for forming an article using stitch bonded holes, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 6 is an illustration of an exemplary stretching device, according to an embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a side view of an exemplary device having an adjustable needle in accordance with one embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a side perspective view of an illustrative apparatus configured to form a material with apertures, such as a fabric, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a side view of an exemplary apparatus having needles that transfer a layer of perforated fabric or other perforated material to an associated transfer fixture having needles, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a side view of an exemplary shape adjustable fixture having a needle bed that receives a layer of apertured material from the transfer fixture of fig. 9, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a top view of an exemplary shape adjustable fixation device in a configuration with an aligned set of needles, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a top view of the exemplary fixation device of fig. 11 following a bend according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the exemplary fixture of FIG. 11 following adjustment to form a rectangular needle bed according to one embodiment.

Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating how the shape adjustable fixture may be adjusted to place the needle bed into a desired three-dimensional shape according to one embodiment.

Fig. 15 is a side view of a shape adjustable fixation device (e.g., the fixation device of fig. 10) during a transfer operation in which a needle of the shape adjustable fixation device is aligned with a needle of an exemplary shape non-adjustable fixation device, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a side view of an exemplary non-adjustable shape fixture (FIG. 15) during an assembly operation in which pieces of fabric and other apertured structures are manufactured and processed and placed on the non-adjustable shape fixture, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an exemplary watch having a band with multiple layers of material of a type that can be engaged using a device of the type shown in FIG. 5, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 18 is a top view of a seam formed between two layers of material having holes and aligned signal paths according to one embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a three-dimensional seam formed between two structures having apertures according to one embodiment.

Detailed Description

Articles such as article 10 of fig. 1 may include fabrics and other materials having apertures. In the embodiment of fig. 1, article 10 is an enclosure for electronic equipment, such as equipment 34. The device 34 may be a cellular phone, tablet, laptop, or other electronic device. The article 10 may be formed from one or more sheets of material (fabric, polymer, metal, leather, and/or other materials). The article 10 may, as an example, have a planar portion (e.g., a planar layer having a rectangular profile) forming a back wall 12 and a sidewall portion formed by a rectangular annular sidewall 14. The portions of the article 10 having the apertures 18 (e.g., the walls 12 and/or the sidewalls 14) may be formed from fabric, knitted fabric, woven fabric, leather, polymers, metals, glass, ceramics, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. The material in the portion of the article 10 having apertures may be a layer of material, may include two or more stacked layers of material, may be a solid structure (e.g., a sphere, a box-like member, etc.), and/or may have any other suitable shape.

During the assembly operation, stitching may be used to attach the back wall 12 to the side walls 14. The stitching may be formed using one or more strands of material. A stitching tool, such as a computer controlled sewing head, may be used to form a seam (e.g., a stitch) between the back wall 12 and the side wall 14. Any suitable stitch type may be formed from each strand of material. For example, the stitching 16 of FIG. 1 may be a chain stitch that joins the aperture 18 in the back wall 12 with the aperture 18 in the side wall 14.

The article 10 may be a case of an electronic device, may form part of an electronic device, may form an article of clothing, may form a wearable electronic device, or other suitable article. In some arrangements, the article 10 and/or device 34 may comprise an apparatus such as a voice-controlled electronic device (sometimes referred to as a digital assistant or voice-controlled speaker); 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 devices; smaller devices such as wrist-watch devices, wall-mounted devices, earphone or headphone devices, devices embedded in eyeglasses, or other apparatus worn on the head of a user; or other wearable or miniature devices; a television set; a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer; a game device; a navigation device; embedded systems, such as systems in which the fabric-based article 10 is installed in a kiosk, automobile, airplane, or other vehicle; other electronic devices or devices that implement the functionality of two or more of these apparatuses. If desired, the article 10 may be a removable cover (shell) of an electronic device, may be a strap, may be a wristband or headband, may be a shell or pocket having straps or other structures for receiving and carrying the electronic device and other articles, may be a necklace or armband, may be a purse, a sleeve, a pocket, or other structure into which an electronic device or other article may be inserted, may be part of a chair, sofa, or other seat (e.g., a seat cushion or other seating structure), may be part of clothing or other wearable article (e.g., a hat, belt, wristband, headband, shirt, pants, shoes, etc.), or may be any other suitable fabric-based article. In the illustrative configuration of fig. 1, the article 10 is a removable cover (case) for an electronic device such as a cellular telephone or tablet computer. In general, article 10 may be any other suitable structure or device having holes joined by stitching. The configuration of FIG. 1 is presented as one embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device 34 may have a rectangular housing, such as housing 36. The housing 36 may have opposing front and rear faces and may have side walls around the front and rear faces. In the embodiment of fig. 1, the housing 36 has a rectangular profile and is received within a corresponding rectangular recess formed by the rear housing wall 18 and the surrounding side walls 14 of the article 10. The article 10 (and/or the device 34) may include circuitry (e.g., control circuitry formed from integrated circuitry and other circuitry, sensors, input devices such as buttons, output devices such as speakers, displays, light emitting diodes, tactile output devices, batteries, connectors for coupling the article 10 and the device 34, etc.).

The fabric for the article 10 may be formed using strands of material (e.g., woven, knitted, braided, and/or other braided strands) that are braided together. FIG. 2 is a side view of an exemplary woven fabric.

As shown in fig. 2, the woven fabric 20 may include strands of material, such as warp strands 22 and weft strands 24. The strands of material that are braided together to form the fabric of the article 10 may be monofilament and/or multifilament threads. The strands of material may be insulating or conductive. Polymers, metals, glass, and/or other materials may be used to form the strands. The openings in the woven fabric 20 may form apertures, such as aperture 18.

Fig. 3 is a top view of an exemplary knit fabric. As shown in fig. 3, knitted fabric 26 may include knitted loops of strands 28. Openings 30 in loops of strands of material such as strands 28 in knit fabric 26 may form apertures such as apertures 18 of fig. 1.

The fabric openings may be formed during the strand braiding operation (e.g., during weaving, knitting, braiding, etc.) and/or may be formed using a hole forming device after the strand braiding operation is complete. If desired, the article 10 may include one or more layers of non-woven structure (e.g., layers of plastic, metal, and/or other materials). Hole forming techniques that may be used to process the fabric layer and/or other material layers of the article 10 to form the holes 18 include drilling, stamping, laser cutting, laser drilling, molding, and/or other hole forming techniques.

A stitching (sewing) head may be used to form a chain stitch or other stitching 16 to join pieces of apertured 18 material together to form the article 10. An exemplary chain stitch is shown in the cross-sectional side view of fig. 4. In the embodiment of fig. 4, the first layer of fabric has strands 28A (e.g., knitted strands forming openings 30 that function as apertures 18) and the aligned second layer of fabric has strands 28B (e.g., knitted strands forming openings 30 that function as apertures 18 and are aligned with the openings 30 of the first layer of fabric). The stitching 16 of fig. 4 is a chain stitch that loops into and out of each opening 30 (e.g., each hole 18 in both the first and second fabric layers), thereby forming a stitched seam between the first and second fabric layers.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary system for forming an article, such as article 10, from a structure having apertures. As shown in fig. 5, the system 40 may include a device such as a strand braiding tool 42. Tools such as tool 42 may be woven, knitted, braided, or other strand knitting techniques to form a fabric. The apertures 18 may be formed in the fabric during the strand braiding operation (e.g., see loops formed in the knit fabric 26 of fig. 3) and/or may be formed after the fabric is formed. The perforation tool 44 may be used to form the holes 18 in fabric and other material layers (polymer layers, metal layers, glass layers, leather layers, other natural material layers, ceramic layers, etc.). The piercing tool 44 may include a laser for laser drilling, a punch (e.g., a punch) for forming a hole by stamping, a mechanical drilling device, a device for melting a hole in a thermoplastic material (e.g., a hot pin), and/or other hole forming devices. The molding tool 46 may be used to form a polymeric structure for the article 10. The holes 18 may be incorporated into the polymer structure during the molding operation and/or may be formed after molding (e.g., using a piercing tool 44).

The stitching device 42 may include a stitching head for forming chain stitches and other sewn seams. Strands of material used to form stitches pass through the holes 18. The holes 18 in different structures (e.g., fabric layers, polymer layers, leather layers, other structures formed of fabric, leather, polymers, metals, glass, etc.) may be aligned with one another using one or more securing devices. These fixtures may include, for example, one or more fixtures having a needle bed onto which the structure having the aperture 18 may be placed. Each needle in the needle holder fixture can, for example, pass through a respective hole 18. As shown in fig. 5, the system 40 may include one or more adjustable fixtures, such as an adjustable-shape fixture 50. The fixture 50 may have a needle bed with an adjustable shape.

If desired, system 40 may include additional devices, such as device 48. In forming the article 10, the apparatus 48 and other apparatus of FIG. 5 may operate on layers of fabric, leather, polymer, other materials, structures formed from polymers, metals, glass, ceramics, natural materials such as wood and leather, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials (as shown by the workpiece 54 in FIG. 5). These operations may be performed in a variety of orders, for example, before and/or after hole formation, before the structure with holes is placed onto an alignment structure (such as an alignment pin in a fixture) and/or after the structure is installed into a fixture, before or after changing the shape of the fixture, before or after performing a stretching operation, and so forth. In general, any suitable order may be used for these processing steps in forming the article 10.

The apparatus 48 may include means for stretching or folding a fabric layer or other structure, may include means for depositing material (e.g., using techniques such as brushing, spraying, dipping, printing, electrochemical deposition, physical vapor deposition, molding, etc.), may include means for removing material from a fabric layer or other structure (e.g., drilling means, laser machining means, dry and/or wet chemical etching means, stamping tools, cutting blades and other cutting means, machining tools, etc.).

Suturing device 42 and/or any other device of system 40 can include a computer-controlled (robotic) device (e.g., an actuator such as an electromagnetic actuator and other actuators, a motor, etc.) and/or a manual actuation device. For example, a computer-controlled positioner may be used to move the stitching head in device 52 along the seam being formed, a robotic arm may include a computer-controlled positioner with optional computer-controlled graspers to move the fixture, the computer-controlled device may be used for weaving, knitting, and knitting of fabric, the computer-controlled positioner may move the cutting tool and laser machining device, the computer-controlled positioner may move the piercing tool 44, the computer-controlled positioner may move the needles and/or needle holder structures in fixture 50 and/or other fixtures, the computer-controlled positioner may pull the stretching members apart as the fabric is stretched by means of device 48, the computer-controlled positioner may control movement of other structures in device 48, and/or other devices in the system 40 may be provided with a computer-controlled positioning device.

Fig. 6 shows an illustrative apparatus 48 for stretching a material such as a fabric. As shown in fig. 6, the structure 60 (e.g., a fabric layer or other material layer) may be held along its left and right edges by holding members 62. The member 62 may be a clamp, may be a rod inserted into a tubular fabric channel in the structure 60, and/or may be other structure for holding an edge of the structure 60. During the stretching operation, structure 60 may be stretched outward in direction 66 using one or more computer-controlled positioners, such as positioner 64. Apparatuses of the type shown in fig. 6 may be used to fold fabrics and other materials, may bend fabric layers and other structures into a desired curved shape, and/or may otherwise manipulate structures in workpiece 54 (fig. 5).

Pins and other alignment structures in the system 40 may be used to engage the apertures 18 into the structure being processed to form the article 10. In some cases, the needles may be used as part of a knitting tool (e.g., in a knitting machine or other fabric production device), or may be used in a rigid fixture. In other cases, the needle may be used in a shape adjustable fixture, such as fixture 50. FIG. 7 shows how a collection 68 of needles 70 (sometimes referred to as a needle bed) can be controlled using a computer-controlled positioning device 72. There may be any suitable number of needles 70 in the collection 68 (e.g., at least 5, at least 20, at least 80, at least 200, at least 400, less than 500, less than 250, less than 100, less than 50, or other suitable number).

The positioning device 72 may include at least one computer controlled positioner 74. In some configurations, each needle 70 or each subset of a plurality of needles 70 may be controlled by a respective independently controlled positioner 74. In other configurations, all of the needles 70 are coupled together on a rigid platform or flexible mount. If desired, a computer-controlled transfer arm or other robotic positioning device may be used to move the needle 70 (e.g., the needle in a fixture) within the system 40. In some cases, the needles 70 in one system (e.g., a braiding tool or a separate fixture) may be aligned with the needles 70 in another system. For example, each needle 70 in the first set of needles may temporarily engage a corresponding needle 70 in the second set of needles. After this needle mating operation, the material having the holes 18 may be transferred between the first set of needles and the second set of needles (e.g., by sliding the material having the holes 18 along the length of the mated needles).

The shape of the fabric layer or other structure having apertures 18 and the shape of the subsequently formed seam may be altered (e.g., in two dimensions and/or three dimensions) when placed over the needles of the adjustable-shape set (see, e.g., fixture 50). Stitching device 52 may be used to form chain stitches and/or other stitches to join the various fabric layers having apertures 18 while aligning the structures with a common set of needles 70 in the alignment fixture.

Fig. 8-16 show an illustrative process for forming an article, such as the article 10 of fig. 1 or other articles having a structure with apertures 18. The operations of fig. 8-16 may be performed in a different order (if desired) and/or steps in the operations may be omitted (e.g., fewer fixtures may be used). The operations of fig. 8-16 are described by way of example only.

The device used in connection with fig. 8-16 includes a needle (e.g., needle 70 of fig. 7) that forms a fixed and/or adjustable portion of the device of system 40. In the embodiment of fig. 8-16, the structures with holes 18 are assembled together while alignment is achieved using the pins. The stitching device 52 may then form stitches that join the structures together to form the article 10. In the embodiments of fig. 8-16, the structures that are joined together are layers of material (e.g., fabric layers, polymer layers, etc.). Other types of structures having holes may be bonded if desired.

As shown in fig. 8, a layer 84 (e.g., a fabric layer, etc.) may be formed on the apparatus 86. The device 86 may include a needle 82 that passes through the hole 18 in the layer 84. Support structure 80 may include computer controlled positioners, mechanical linkages, fixed support structures, and/or other means for supporting needle 82. In one exemplary configuration, the layer 84 may be a fabric layer for the article 10 (e.g., a flat knit layer for forming a back wall (such as wall 12 of fig. 1) or a round, strip-knit fabric layer for forming a side wall (such as side wall 14)), the device 86 may be a knitting device (e.g., see strand knitting tool 42 of fig. 5), and the needles 82 may be knitting needles in the knitting device. If desired, the layer 84 may be felt, leather, polymer, metal, glass, ceramic, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials, and may be a structure having preformed holes 18, a structure having holes 18 formed therein during the process of placing the material onto the needles 82, and/or other structures.

After performing a knitting operation or other operation to form layer 84 of fig. 8, needles 82 may be aligned with corresponding needles in a device, such as fixture 94 of fig. 9. The fixture 94 may include a support structure 92 and a needle 90. Each of the needle 90 and other needles used in the system 40 may have a tip with an engagement feature. By way of example, each of the needles 90 may have a tip 90 'configured to mate with a corresponding tip 82' of one of the needles 82 in the device 86. A computer-controlled transfer arm and/or other device (e.g., a computer-controlled positioner separate from device 86 or portions of device 86) may be used to engage needle 82 with needle 90.

As shown in fig. 9, when the needles 82 and 90 are temporarily joined together at their tips, the layer 84 may be pushed (e.g., by a computer-controlled device) in a direction 88. This causes the layer 84 (and the hole 18) to slide off the needle 82 and onto the needle 90 in the fixture 94. Once layer 84 is transferred to fixture 94 in this manner, device 86 may be removed.

The computer controlled positioning device may place the pins 90 of the jig 94 in alignment with the pins in an adjustable fixture, such as the shape adjustable fixture 50 of fig. 5. The computer-controlled positioning device may be, for example, a computer-controlled transfer arm, such as arm 104 of fig. 9. The arm 104 may include a computer-controlled positioner 104 for rotating and/or translating the arm 100, and may include an adjustable gripper configured to grip the support structure 92 of the fixture 94. When it is desired to move the fixture 94 into alignment with the adjustable shaped fixture 50, the adjustable gripper structure 98 may be moved in the direction 96 to grip the support structure 92 (as an example). This type of computer controlled positioning device may be used to move the rigid fixture, the adjustable fixture 50, and/or other devices in the system 40 (e.g., devices with needles, etc.).

Fig. 10 illustrates operations associated with aligning the needle 90 of the fixture 94 into the needle 108 in the adjustable fixture 50. As shown in fig. 10, once the pins 90 have been engaged with corresponding pins 108 in the adjustable fixture 50 (e.g., using a computer-controlled positioner), the layer 84 is slid in direction 106 from the pins 90 onto the pins 108 of the fixture 50. Thereafter, the fixture 94 may be removed.

The fixation device 50, which may sometimes be referred to as a shape adjustable fixation device, may have an adjustable support structure, such as adjustable support structure 110. The support structure 110 may have portions 110' that are movable relative to each other. The needle 108 may be supported by the portion 110'. There may be a single needle 108 per section 110 ', or multiple needles 108 may be attached to each section 110'. Portion 110 ', which may sometimes be referred to as a link, may be joined by a mechanical linkage, a flexible hinge (e.g., a hinge structure that can bend and/or stretch to conform to changes in the spacing of portion 110'), a ball joint, and/or other flexible coupling structure. One or more computer-controlled positioners, such as positioner 112, may be used to adjust the relative position between one or more portions 110' to adjust the overall shape of the fixture 50 and the bed of needles 108 supported by the adjustable shape support structure 110 of the fixture 50.

Fig. 11, 12, and 13 illustrate an exemplary two-dimensional fixture shape changing operation for a structure 110. In the embodiment of fig. 11, the portions 110' of the structure 110 are placed in a straight line such that the needles 108 are placed in a straight line. This type of arrangement may be used, for example, when the needles 108 receive a planar fabric layer having apertures 18. After receiving the structure having the aperture onto the needle 108, the position of the needle 108 may be changed by changing the shape of the fixture 50. For example, a curve may be formed within the structure 110 as shown in fig. 12, and/or the structure 110 may be placed in a rectangular shape as shown in fig. 13.

Fig. 14 shows that the tip position of the tip 108' of the fixation device 50 may be adjusted in a configuration in which the fixation device 50 has been adjusted to place the needle 108 in an illustrative three-dimensional shape (e.g., a line curved about multiple non-parallel axes or other shape that necessarily lies in more than one plane, as the minimum number of planes containing the shape is greater than one). In this type of arrangement, the location of the needle tip 108 'may have linear portions, curvilinear portions, and/or other portions that form a three-dimensional shape (e.g., a shape in which the needle tip 108' has various different positions along the X, Y, Z axis of fig. 14). If desired, the adjustable shape fixture 50 can be adjusted (e.g., using a computer-controlled positioning device, such as the positioning 112 of FIG. 10) to form other desired three-dimensional shapes (e.g., a helical wire, a wire mesh that follows the outer surface of a sphere, etc.). The configuration of fig. 14 is merely exemplary.

After the shape of the adjustable-shape fixture (needle bed) 50 is adjusted, the fixture 50 may be aligned with a rigid fixture, such as fixture 124 of fig. 15. This releases the fixture 50 for use in making shape changes to other workpieces.

As shown in fig. 15, the fixture 124 may include a bed of needles 120 on a support structure 122. The needle 108 of the fixture 50 may be aligned and mated with the needle 120 of the fixture 124. After engagement, the structure 84 may be moved in the direction 126 such that the aperture 18 of the structure 84 slides from the needle 108 to the needle 120. The fixture 50 may then be removed and used elsewhere in the system 40.

One or more structures having apertures 18 may be placed over the desired needles 120 of the fixation device 124 in this manner (e.g., a single layer of fabric or other material, a two-layer of fabric or other material, a three-layer of fabric or other material, etc.). For example, if the first and second layers of fabric are being stitch bonded, the first and second layers of fabric may be placed on the needle 120 such that the apertures 18 in the first layer of fabric overlap the appropriate apertures 18 in the second layer of fabric. Each of these layers may optionally be treated with tools in the system 40 before being placed on the needle 120. The operations may include: stretching with a stretching device in device 48; forming a perforation with the tool 44; manual operation; a transfer operation or other movement performed using a transfer arm and/or other computer-controlled positioner; patterning the metal traces using a deposition apparatus, an etching apparatus, and/or other processing tools and/or other tools; and/or other operations.

In the embodiment of fig. 16, four structures with holes are placed on the needle 120: layer 84, layer 126, layer 128, and layer 130. The layers may each have a hole 18 that receives a respective pin 120. When secured by the securing device 124 in this manner, the structures may be stitched together using the stitching device 52. For example, stitches 16 (e.g., chain stitch seams) may be formed that join each of the various overlapping structures on the needle 108 together.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the sidewall 14 of the article 10 may be formed from a circular knit fabric strip. The fabric may be transferred to an adjustable fixture 50 and then converted to the rectangular shape shown in fig. 13. The rectangular back wall 12 may then be placed over the pins 120 of the fixture 124 such that each aperture 18 in the wall 12 is on the same pin 108 as the corresponding aperture 18 in the side wall 14. After aligning the apertures 18 in the back wall 12 and the side walls 14 in this manner, the stitching device 52 may form a chain stitch (see, e.g., stitching 16 of fig. 1) that joins the back wall 12 and the side walls 14 to form the article 10.

Fig. 17 shows another illustrative embodiment. In the exemplary configuration of fig. 17, the article 10 is a band for a watch (e.g., a wristwatch having a primary wristwatch unit 144 with a display, control circuitry, wireless communication circuitry, a battery, etc.). The belt may have an inner layer, such as layer 142 (e.g., a fabric layer), and may have an outer layer, such as layer 140 (e.g., a leather layer). The stitching 16 may be used to join the openings 18 together.

In some arrangements, the layers of material being joined comprise conductive structures. For example, the conductive structure may include a signal line. The signal lines may be formed from strands of conductive material (e.g., bare metal wires, metal coated polymer strands, other conductive strands, etc.) and/or may be formed from metal traces that are deposited and patterned onto a fabric or other substrate using printing, physical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, etching, or other signal line formation patterning techniques. For example, consider the article 10 of fig. 18. In the exemplary configuration of fig. 18, the first material layer (layer 150) has holes 18 that have been aligned with the holes 18 in the second material layer (layer 152). Layers 150 and 152 may be fabric layers, polymer layers, and/or other material layers. Conductive paths 162 (e.g., conductive strands in a fabric and/or metal traces supported by a fabric or other substrate material) may be formed between the insulating portions 160 of layers 150 and 152. Path 162 may include a first portion on layer 150 joined to a second portion on layer 152 with a conductive portion of stitch 16 (portion 16'). The portion 16' may be formed by a conductive portion of a conductive strand or an insulating strand. The remainder of the seam may be formed by insulating stitching 16 "(e.g., an insulating portion of a strand including conductive portion 16' or a separate insulating strand). In this manner, a series of parallel conductive paths 162 may be joined to corresponding parallel conductive paths 162 in another layer of material without forming an undesirable short circuit between laterally adjacent paths.

Fig. 19 shows another illustrative arrangement of the article 10. In the embodiment of fig. 19, adjustable fixture 50 has been adjusted to join first layer 170 and second layer 172 together by means of seam 16 (the seam between layers 170 and 172) having a desired three-dimensional shape. Electrical components such as component 182 may have contacts (terminals) that are electrically coupled to respective signal paths 178 (e.g., conductive traces such as metal traces, conductive strands in a fabric, etc.) separated by insulating portions 180 of layers 170 and 172. Electrical components such as component 184 may have contacts that electrically couple to signal paths formed by stitching 16 (e.g., which may or may not form a seam between layers 170 and 172). The components, such as electrical components 182 and 184, may be integrated circuits, light emitting diodes, sensors, and/or other circuitry of article 10. The stitching 16 coupled to a component, such as component 184, may be formed from a conductive material to form a signal path. Stitching 16, which extends along the seam and overlaps conductive path 178, may be conductive in the portion that overlaps path 178 (thereby shorting the mating portions of path 178 together), and stitching 16 may be insulative in the portion that overlaps insulative portion 180, thereby helping to avoid shorting adjacent parallel paths 178 together.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a method of forming an article, the method comprising: placing first apertures in the first layer of material onto respective needles in a needle bed in an adjustable shape fixture; changing the shape of the needle bed in the shape adjustable fixture from a first shape to a second shape by means of the positioning device; and stitching the first material layer and the second material layer having the second aperture together by passing the strand of material through the first aperture and the second aperture while the first material layer is in the second shape with the aid of a stitching device.

According to another embodiment, the method includes forming the first material layer by knitting the first material layer, the first apertures being formed by loops of knitting in the first material layer.

According to another embodiment, the method includes forming the second material layer by knitting the second material layer, the second apertures being formed by loops of knitting in the second material layer.

According to another embodiment, the first shape is a line and the second shape is a rectangle.

According to another embodiment, the first layer of material is a rectangular back wall in the electronic device cover.

According to another embodiment, the second layer of material is a strip of material forming a sidewall for the electronic device cover.

According to another embodiment, the shape adjustable fixation device has links hinged together, each of the links supporting a respective one of the needles.

According to another embodiment, the method includes knitting a strand of material to form the first material layer and the second material layer.

According to another embodiment, stitching the first material layer and the second material layer together comprises forming chain stitches from the strands of material.

According to another embodiment, sewing the first material layer and the second material layer together includes forming stitches along a seam having a three-dimensional seam shape between the first material layer and the second material layer.

According to another embodiment, the material strands comprise electrically conductive strands.

According to another embodiment, the positioning device comprises a computer-controlled positioning device.

According to another embodiment, the positioning device comprises a manually actuated positioning device.

According to one embodiment, there is provided an article comprising: a first material layer; a second material layer; a first signal path portion on the first layer overlapping the first aperture in the first layer; a second signal path portion on the second layer overlapping a second aperture in the second layer; and a stitch coupling the first material layer and the second material layer and comprising a stitch formed by a strand of conductive material passing through the first aperture and the second aperture.

According to another embodiment, the first material layer comprises a fabric.

According to another embodiment, the first material layer is formed from a first web layer, the second material layer is formed from a second web layer, and the conductive strands short the first signal path to the second signal path.

According to another embodiment, the first material layer is selected from the group consisting of a fabric layer, a leather layer and a polymer layer.

According to another embodiment, the first material layer includes a polymer layer, and the first signal path portion includes a metal trace on the polymer layer.

According to another embodiment, the suture includes a polymeric strand.

According to another embodiment, the stitches have a three-dimensional shape.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a method of forming an article, the method comprising: placing a first layer of material onto needles in a needle bed in an adjustable shape fixture; changing the shape of the needle bed in the adjustable-shape fixture from a first shape to a second shape; and stitching the first material layer and the second material layer together while the first material layer is under the second shape using a stitching device.

The foregoing is merely exemplary and various modifications may be made to the embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or in any combination.