Items with wire actuators
First Claim
1. A fabric-based item comprising:
- fabric formed from strands of material;
an actuator formed from a conductive strand, wherein the actuator is coupled to the fabric and wherein the actuator provides haptic output; and
a control circuit that supplies a signal to the conductive strand that elongates the conductive strand.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An item such as a fabric-based item or other item may have one or more actuators. An actuator may have a conductive strand of material. A control circuit may supply a current to the conductive strand that induces a length change in the conductive strand due to ohmic heating and associated thermal expansion effects. The control circuit may be used to activate the actuator in response to user input that is supplied to an associated input device such as a switch, capacitive sensor, force sensor, light-based sensor, or other input component. The fabric-based item may include fabric such as woven fabric or knit fabric. Strands of conductive material may serve as signals paths for supplying current to conductive strands in actuators. Magnetic-field-based actuators may be formed by coiling conductive strands around tubular support structures such as piping in fabric-based items.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A fabric-based item comprising:
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fabric formed from strands of material; an actuator formed from a conductive strand, wherein the actuator is coupled to the fabric and wherein the actuator provides haptic output; and a control circuit that supplies a signal to the conductive strand that elongates the conductive strand. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A fabric-based item comprising:
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fabric formed from strands of material; an actuator formed from a conductive strand, wherein the actuator is coupled to the fabric and wherein the fabric and the conductive strand overlap an input device; and a control circuit that provides haptic output associated with the input device by applying current to the conductive strand that causes the conductive strand to thermally expand and elongate. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A fabric-based item comprising:
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fabric formed from strands of material; an actuator formed from a conductive strand, wherein the actuator is coupled to the fabric; a control circuit that supplies a signal to the conductive strand that elongates the conductive strand; and a movable member coupled to the conductive strand that is moved by the conductive strand when the length changes. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification