Magnetic fabric items
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorShravan Bharadwaj
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Items such as electronic devices, fabric-based items, and other items may include strands of magnetic material. The magnetic material may be formed from particles of a rare-earth alloy or other magnetic materials in a binder. Strands of magnetic material may have magnetic cores surrounded by one or more additional layers such as non-magnetic layers or may have non-magnetic cores surrounded by one or more additional layers including a magnetic layer. The strands of material may be uniform along their lengths or may be segmented into non-magnetic and magnetic portions. Items may include fabric formed from intertwined strands of magnetic material. Magnetic material may interact with permanent magnets and electromagnets. Magnetic sensors may monitor for the presence of magnetic portions of a fabric or other structure.
Claims19
An item, comprising:
- a fabric having intertwined strands of material, wherein the fabric has a magnetic portion and a non-magnetic portion, wherein the intertwined strands of material include strands of magnetic material that form the magnetic portion of the fabric;
- an electronic device housing to which the fabric attaches;
- magnets in the electronic device housing that attract the magnetic portion of the fabric;
- magnetic sensors in the electronic device housing that measure a magnetic field generated by the magnetic portion of the fabric;
- and
- control circuitry that determines whether the fabric is attached or detached from the electronic device housing based on the magnetic field measured by the magnetic sensors.
A method for forming fabric, comprising:
- forming strands of magnetic material, wherein forming the strands of magnetic material comprises forming a non-magnetic core surrounded by an outer magnetic layer, wherein the non-magnetic core comprises a first polymer, and wherein the outer magnetic layer comprises a second polymer having embedded particles of magnetic material;
- intertwining the strands of magnetic material to form at least a part of a bag strap;
- and
- after intertwining the strands of magnetic material, magnetizing a portion of the strands of magnetic material to form at least one permanent magnet in the part of the bag strap.
A system, comprising:
- a magnetic sensor;
- a fabric that opens and closes along a seam,
- wherein the fabric has magnetic strands of material and wherein the magnetic sensor measures a magnetic field generated by the magnetic strands of material;
- and
- control circuitry that determines whether the seam is open or closed based on the magnetic field measured by the magnetic sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.