# US 12,758,863 B2 · Virtual reality footwear locomotion system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,758,863 B2 - Document ID: US12758863B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/683,088 - Filed: 2022-08-10 - Published: 2024-10-17 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2021-08-12 - Assignees: Freeaim Technologies Limited - Applicants: Freeaim Technologies Limited - Inventors: Ashley Martin Foxcroft - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12758863B2 ## CPC - A63F 13/212: using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity - A63C 17/064: {comprising steered wheels, i.e. wheels supported on a vertical axis} - A63C 17/10: with endless tracks - A63C 17/12: with driving mechanisms - A63C 17/26: with special auxiliary arrangements, e.g. illuminating, marking, or push-off devices - A63C 2203/12: Electrically powered or heated - A63C 2203/18: Measuring a physical parameter, e.g. speed, distance - A63F: CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - A63C: SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE (water skis B63B32/00, B63B34/00) ## Abstract A footwear assembly for use in a virtual reality environment comprising a front platform portion having an upper surface adapted and configured for supporting and releasably retaining the forward part of a user's foot and a rear platform portion having an upper surface adapted and configured for supporting and releasably retaining a rear part of the user's foot, the front and rear platform portions being joined by a transverse hinge so that the platform portions can pivot relative to one another to accommodate flexing of the user's foot, each platform portion having mounted under a lower surface thereof at least one drive motor, each drive motor driving a continuous belt, and two continuous belts on each platform portion being arranged substantially in parallel, one located to each side of the platform portion, the drive motor or motors and continuous belts of the front platform portion being mounted to a front drive module and the drive motor or motors and continuous belts of the rear platform portion mounted to a rear drive module, the drive modules being mounted beneath their respective platform portions so each drive module may rotate in the horizontal plane relative to the platform portion it is mounted beneath. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A footwear assembly for use in a virtual reality environment comprising a front platform portion having an upper surface adapted and configured for supporting and releasably retaining the forward part of a user's foot and a rear platform portion having an upper surface adapted and configured for supporting and releasably retaining a rear part of the user's foot, the front and rear platform portions being joined by a transverse hinge so that the platform portions pivot relative to one another in the longitudinal plane to accommodate flexing of the user's foot, in which each platform portion has mounted to a lower surface thereof at least one drive motor, each drive motor driving a continuous belt, and two continuous belts on each platform portion being arranged substantially in parallel, one located to each side of the platform portion, and in which the drive motor or motors and continuous belts of the front platform portion are mounted to a front drive module and the drive motor or motors and continuous belts of the rear platform portion are mounted to a rear drive module, the drive modules being mounted beneath their respective platform portions so each drive module may rotate in the horizontal plane relative to the platform portion it is mounted beneath. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a front turn motor adapted to selectively rotate the front drive module relative to the front platform portion and a rear turn motor adapted to selectively rotate the rear drive module relative to the rear platform portion. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 2, in which the rotational movement of the drive modules is constrained to a maximum of 90° in either direction from the longitudinal plane. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 2, in which the turn motors are coupled to a position sensor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the turn motors are adapted to drive the two drive modules to rotate so that they remain aligned and parallel as they rotate. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The foot wear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which at least one motor on each platform portion is located within a continuous belt. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the continuous belts on each drive module are of different lengths. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 7, in which the shorter continuous track under the front platform portion is aligned longitudinally on the same side of the front platform portion as the longer continuous belts under the rear platform portion. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which each continuous belt extends between at least one drive wheel having axial ribs and at least one pulley wheel having axial ribs, in which an inner surface of each continuous belt has transverse ribs which are complementary to the ribs on the drive wheel and pulley wheel, and in which the inner surface of the continuous belt has a longitudinal rib extending longitudinally over substantially the entire inner surface of the belt. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The footwear assembly according to claim 9, in which circumferential channels are provided in the drive wheel and the pulley wheel, the longitudinal rib being located and configured so as to fit within these channels. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The footwear assembly according to claim 10, in which the drive wheel and/or the pulley wheel is formed of a pair of separate, axially-spaced ribbed wheels, the circumferential channels being provided by the axial spacing of the pair of wheels. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The footwear assembly as claimed in claim 10, in which the transverse size of the longitudinal rib is less than the axial size of the circumferential channels. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A system for use in a virtual reality environment comprising a pair of footwear assemblies as claimed in claim 1, each footwear assembly comprising a transmitter/receiver for transferring data between assemblies and/or between the assemblies and an external VR environment computer. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system according to claim 13 which is adapted to calculate a correction vector representing the distance and direction between the actual coordinate of the center of the user's body and the origin (starting position) coordinate at least once for every stride (or single step) made by each foot. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system according to claim 14 which is adapted to utilize the correction vector and the actual heading of each VR footwear assembly to calculate a rotation angle of each drive module and to adjust the speed of the drive motors, to gradually return the user to the user's original starting position.