Motorized shoe with gesture control
First Claim
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1. An article of footwear, comprising:
- an upper comprising apertures to receive a lace;
a sole structure;
a tensioning device including a reel member and a motor, the tensioning device disposed in at least one of the upper and the sole structure, wherein a portion of the lace is joined to the reel member so that the lace can be wound and unwound from the reel member;
a contact sensor;
an angular velocity sensor configured to sense an angular velocity of at least one of the upper and the sole structure; and
a control unit configured to;
receive information from the contact sensor;
enter an enabled mode when the information from the contact sensor corresponds to a prompting gesture indicative of a presence of a foot in the article of footwear;
while in the enable mode, receive information from the angular velocity sensor; and
control the tensioning device in response to the information received from the angular velocity sensor while in the enabled mode, the information received from the angular velocity sensor corresponding to detection of a control gesture involving angular movements of the article of footwear, the control unit performing an incremental winding of the lace on the reel if the control gesture is a contacting a heel of the article of footwear with a toe of the second article of footwear or unwinding of the lace on the reel member if the control gesture is contacting of the forefoot of the article of footwear by a sole structure of a second article of footwear.
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Abstract
An article of footwear includes a motorized tensioning system, sensors, and a gesture control system. Based on information received from one or more sensors the gesture control system may detect a prompting gesture and enters an armed mode for receiving further instructions. In the armed mode the system may detect a variety of different control gestures that correspond to different tensioning commands.
375 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An article of footwear, comprising:
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an upper comprising apertures to receive a lace; a sole structure; a tensioning device including a reel member and a motor, the tensioning device disposed in at least one of the upper and the sole structure, wherein a portion of the lace is joined to the reel member so that the lace can be wound and unwound from the reel member; a contact sensor; an angular velocity sensor configured to sense an angular velocity of at least one of the upper and the sole structure; and a control unit configured to; receive information from the contact sensor; enter an enabled mode when the information from the contact sensor corresponds to a prompting gesture indicative of a presence of a foot in the article of footwear; while in the enable mode, receive information from the angular velocity sensor; and control the tensioning device in response to the information received from the angular velocity sensor while in the enabled mode, the information received from the angular velocity sensor corresponding to detection of a control gesture involving angular movements of the article of footwear, the control unit performing an incremental winding of the lace on the reel if the control gesture is a contacting a heel of the article of footwear with a toe of the second article of footwear or unwinding of the lace on the reel member if the control gesture is contacting of the forefoot of the article of footwear by a sole structure of a second article of footwear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A footwear system, comprising:
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a first article of footwear and a second article of footwear, each comprising; an upper including apertures to receive a lace; a sole structure; a tensioning device including a reel member and a motor, the tensioning device disposed in at least one of the upper and the sole structure;
wherein a portion of the lace is joined to the reel member so that the lace can be wound and unwound from the reel member;a contact sensor and an angular velocity sensor configured to sense an angular velocity of at least one of the upper and the sole structure; and a control unit configured to; receive information from the contact sensor; enter an enabled mode when the information from the contact sensor corresponds to a prompting gesture indicative of a presence of a foot in the article of footwear; while in the enabled mode, receive information from the angular velocity sensor; and control the tensioning device in response to the information received from the angular velocity sensor while in the enabled mode, the information received from the angular velocity sensor corresponding to detection of a control gesture involving angular movements of the article of footwear, the control unit performing an incremental winding of the lace on the reel if the control gesture is a contacting a heel of the article of footwear with a toe of the second article of footwear or unwinding of the lace on the reel member if the control gesture is contacting of the forefoot of the article of footwear by a sole structure of a second article of footwear. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A method, comprising:
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receiving, with a control unit of an article of footwear, information from a contact sensor of the article of footwear; entering, with the control unit, an enabled mode when the information from the contact sensor corresponds to a prompting gesture indicative of a presence of a foot in the article of footwear; while in the enabled mode, receiving, with the control unit, information from the angular velocity sensor; and controlling, with the control unit, a tensioning device in response to information received from an angular velocity sensor configured to sense an angular velocity of at least one of an upper and a sole structure of the article of footwear while in the enabled mode, the information corresponding to a control gesture of angular movements of the article of footwear;
wherein the tensioning device includes a reel member and a motor, the tensioning device disposed in at least one of the upper and the sole structure of the article of footwear, wherein a portion of a lace is joined to the reel member so that the lace can be wound and unwound from the reel member;wherein the controlling the tensioning device includes rotating the reel member with the motor to tighten or loosen the lace; wherein controlling the tensioning device includes an incremental winding of the lace on the reel if the control gesture is a contacting a heel of the article of footwear with a toe of the second article of footwear or unwinding of the lace on the reel member if the control gesture is contacting of the forefoot of the article of footwear by a sole structure of a second article of footwear. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification