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US 9,532,893 B2Granted
Motorized tensioning system
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsTiffany A. Beers, Andrew A. Owings, Cody Collier Henderson, James Alan Capra, Mark Stanley Soderberg, Daniel Hipwood
Life of this patent
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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 motorized tensioning device includes a torque transmitting system that allows for incremental tightening, incremental loosening and full loosening of the tensioning member.
Claims14
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper including a plurality of lacing guides;
- a lace inserted through the plurality of lacing guides;
- a motorized tightening device including a spool, wherein the lace is wound onto the spool;
- the motorized tightening device further including:
- a motor configured to drive a gear reduction system;
- a torque transmitting system capable of transmitting torque from a gear of the gear reduction system to the spool in order to wind the lace around the spool;
- wherein the lace is wound in incremental steps;
- and
- wherein the torque transmitting system prevents the spool from driving the motor.
6 more elements
An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper including a plurality of lacing guides;
- a lace inserted through the plurality of lacing guides;
- a motorized tightening device including:
- a spool, wherein the lace is wound onto the spool;
- a motor that automatically winds and unwinds the spool in response to various inputs, wherein a first torque generated by the motor is transmitted to the spool;
- a secondary winding assembly configured to apply a second torque to the spool;
- and
- wherein the secondary winding assembly applies the second torque to the spool independently of the first torque applied to the spool.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.