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US 11,998,086 B2Granted
Motorized tensioning system with sensors
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsTiffany A. Beers, Andrew A. Owings, Cody Collier Henderson, James Alan Capra, Mark Stanley Soderberg, Daniel Hipwood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tensioning system for articles of footwear and articles of apparel is disclosed. The tensioning system includes a tensioning member that is tightened or loosened using a motorized tensioning device for winding and unwinding the tensioning member on a spool. The tensioning system may be used with various sensors to determine how the motorized tensioning device should be controlled.
Claims20
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper portion including a lace to adjust fit of the upper portion against a foot, the lace adjustable between a plurality of preset positions based at least in part on manipulation of an effective length of the lace;
- a lower portion including a mid-sole and an out-sole;
- a power source, positioned in the lower portion;
- a motorized tensioning system, coupled to the power source, including:
- a lace spool to engage a loop of the lace to enable manipulation of the effective length of the lace through rotation of the lace spool;
- a motor operatively coupled to the spool, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the spool;
- and
- an electronic control unit, operatively coupled to the motorized tensioning system, configured to cause the motorized tensioning system to transition between and among the plurality of preset positions, the plurality of preset positions including a preset tightened state, a preset loosened state, and a plurality of predetermined discrete transitory states.
5 more elements
A system, comprising:
- an upper footwear portion including a lace to adjust fit of the upper footwear portion against a foot, the lace adjustable between a plurality of preset positions based at least in part on manipulation of an effective length of the lace;
- a lower footwear portion including a mid-sole and an out-sole;
- a power source, positioned in the lower footwear portion;
- a motorized tensioning system, coupled to the power source, including:
- a lace spool to engage a loop of the lace to enable manipulation of the effective length of the lace through rotation of the lace spool;
- a motor operatively coupled to the spool, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the spool;
- and
- an electronic control unit, operatively coupled to the motorized tensioning system, configured to cause the motorized tensioning system to transition between and among the plurality of preset positions, the plurality of preset positions including a preset tightened state, a preset loosened state, and a plurality of predetermined discrete transitory states.
5 more elements
A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, comprising:
- forming an upper footwear portion including a lace to adjust fit of the upper footwear portion against a foot, the lace adjustable between a plurality of preset positions based at least in part on manipulation of an effective length of the lace;
- coupling a lower footwear portion including a mid-sole and an out-sole to the upper footwear portion;
- positioning a power source in the lower footwear portion;
- coupling a motorized tensioning system to the power source, the motorized tensioning system including:
- a lace spool to engage a loop of the lace to enable manipulation of the effective length of the lace through rotation of the lace spool;
- a motor operatively coupled to the spool, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the spool;
- and
- operatively coupling an electronic control unit to the motorized tensioning system, the electronic control unit configured to cause the motorized tensioning system to transition between and among the plurality of preset positions, the plurality of preset positions including a preset tightened state, a preset loosened state, and a plurality of predetermined discrete transitory states.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.