Tension limiting mechanisms for closure devices and methods therefor
First Claim
1. A reel for use with a lacing system for tightening an article comprising:
- a housing having an interior region;
a spool positioned within the interior region of the housing and rotatable relative thereto, the spool having an annular channel formed therein;
a knob rotatable relative to the housing and operably coupled with the spool to cause the spool to rotate within the interior region of the housing;
a tension member coupled with the spool so as to be tensioned by winding the tension member around the spool'"'"'s annular channel upon rotation of the knob;
a tension control mechanism that is configured to enable tensioning of the tension member by rotation of the knob until a tension threshold is achieved, after which further rotation of the knob does not cause further tensioning of the tension member; and
an adjustment mechanism that is operably coupled with the tension control mechanism and that is adjustable by a user to adjust the tension threshold upon which further rotation of the knob does not cause further tensioning of the tension member.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
According to an embodiment, a device for tightening an article includes a housing having an interior region and a spool positioned within the interior region and rotatable relative thereto. A tightening mechanism is operably coupled with the spool to cause the spool to rotate within the interior region of the housing. A tension member is coupled with the spool and is configured to be tensioned upon rotation of the spool via the tightening mechanism. The device also includes a tension limiting mechanism that allows the tension member to be tensioned via the tightening mechanism until a tension threshold is achieved. After the tension threshold is achieved, further operation of the tightening mechanism does not substantially tension the tension member due to the tension limiting mechanism.
436 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A reel for use with a lacing system for tightening an article comprising:
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a housing having an interior region; a spool positioned within the interior region of the housing and rotatable relative thereto, the spool having an annular channel formed therein; a knob rotatable relative to the housing and operably coupled with the spool to cause the spool to rotate within the interior region of the housing; a tension member coupled with the spool so as to be tensioned by winding the tension member around the spool'"'"'s annular channel upon rotation of the knob; a tension control mechanism that is configured to enable tensioning of the tension member by rotation of the knob until a tension threshold is achieved, after which further rotation of the knob does not cause further tensioning of the tension member; and an adjustment mechanism that is operably coupled with the tension control mechanism and that is adjustable by a user to adjust the tension threshold upon which further rotation of the knob does not cause further tensioning of the tension member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 22)
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11. A reel device for tightening an article comprising:
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a housing having an interior region; a spool positioned within the interior region of the housing and rotatable relative thereto; a knob operably coupled with the spool to cause the spool to rotate within the interior region of the housing; a tension member coupled with the spool so as to be windable about the spool, the tension member being configured to be tensioned upon rotation of the spool via the knob; and a tension limiting mechanism that allows the tension member to be tensioned via the knob until a tension threshold is achieved, after which further operation of the knob does not substantially tension the tension member; and an adjustment mechanism that is adjustable by a user to adjust the tension threshold. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23)
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Specification