Article of footwear and charging system
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorTiffany A. Beers
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A charging system can include provisions for providing power to various systems or components associated with the article of footwear, A charging system may include a charging unit with one or more components configured for use with one or more articles of footwear, where the articles of footwear can include different sizes. The components can be magnetically joined to the article in some cases. Upon connection with a power source, the article may be configured to unlace automatically. In some cases, the charging system can be used to facilitate the transfer of power to components in an automated tensioning system.
Claims20
A system, comprising:
- an article of footwear with an upper, a sole structure, an interior cavity, an automated tensioning system, a battery, a charging assembly, and a first sensor;
- an external charging device configured to connect with the charging assembly in order to charge the battery of the article of footwear;
- and
- the charging assembly including a ferromagnetic material, wherein the charging assembly is configured to magnetically couple with the external charging device, wherein the external charging device is configured to be secured to the charging assembly of the article of footwear based on magnetic attraction between the external charging device and the article of footwear.
A method, comprising:
- obtaining an article of footwear with an upper, a sole structure, an interior cavity, an automated tensioning system, a battery, a charging assembly, and a first sensor;
- magnetically coupling an external charging device with the charging assembly in order to charge the battery of the article of footwear, wherein the external charging device is configured to be secured to the charging assembly of the article of footwear based on magnetic attraction between the external charging device and the article of footwear.
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper;
- a sole structure secured to the upper;
- an interior cavity;
- an automated tensioning system,
- a first sensor operatively coupled to the automated tensioning system;
- a battery operatively coupled to the automated tensioning system;
- and
- a charging assembly, operatively coupled to the battery, the charging assembly including a ferromagnetic material, wherein the charging assembly is configured to connect to and magnetically couple with an external charging device in order to charge the battery, wherein the external charging device is configured to be secured to the charging assembly of the article of footwear based on magnetic attraction between the external charging device and the article of footwear.
The article of footwear of claim 15, wherein the external charging device includes a first component, a second component, and a Y-type cable, the Y-type cable having a first end, a second end, and a third end, wherein the first end of the Y-type cable connects to the first component, the second end of the Y-type cable connects to the second component, and the third end of the Y-type cable is configured to connect o an external power source. 19, The article of footwear of claim 18, wherein the charging assembly is configured to connect with the first component or the second component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.