Systems for activating and/or authenticating electronic devices for operation with footwear and other uses
First Claim
1. A footwear system, comprising:
- an article of footwear having a module securing element;
a module removably engaged with the module securing element, wherein the module includes an electronic device; and
an activation system that senses whether the module is engaged with the module securing element and activates the module or at least a first function of the module when the module is determined to be engaged with the module securing element.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Articles of footwear and footwear systems include modules, e.g., for sensing physical and/or physiological characteristics associated with use of the footwear or for performing other functions. Such systems and methods may use physical or other interaction(s) between the module and the article of footwear for activating and/or deactivating the module and/or sensing devices included with the module, for confirming whether the module and footwear are authorized for use with one another, and/or for automatic data algorithm selection methods. Additionally, such systems and methods also may use the activation and/or authentication systems for the module for data input to the module. Some examples of such systems and methods may utilize magnets and magnetic sensing systems and/or light (or other radiation) sources and sensing systems for activation, authentication, data input, and/or algorithm selection.
324 Citations
140 Claims
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1. A footwear system, comprising:
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an article of footwear having a module securing element;
a module removably engaged with the module securing element, wherein the module includes an electronic device; and
an activation system that senses whether the module is engaged with the module securing element and activates the module or at least a first function of the module when the module is determined to be engaged with the module securing element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10)
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8-9. -9. (canceled)
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11-24. -24. (canceled)
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25. A footwear system, comprising:
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an article of footwear having a module securing element;
a module removably engaged with the module securing element, wherein the module includes an electronic device; and
an authentication system that determines whether the article of footwear and the module are authorized for operation with one another. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 47)
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30. (canceled)
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34. (canceled)
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38-39. -39. (canceled)
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43-46. -46. (canceled)
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48. (canceled)
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49. An article of footwear, comprising:
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an upper member;
a sole member engaged with the upper member;
a first module securing element included with at least one of the upper member or the sole member, wherein the first module securing element includes structure for removably engaging a module that includes an electronic device; and
a first interaction system included with at least one of the upper member or the sole member, wherein the first interaction system interacts with a module when a module present in the first module securing element to induce a change detectable at the module. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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54. (canceled)
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59-94. -94. (canceled)
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95. A method of activating an electronic module, comprising:
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engaging an electronic module with a module securing element provided in or on an article of footwear, wherein the module includes an electronic device; and
automatically activating the module or at least a first function of the module in response to the engaging. - View Dependent Claims (96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 104, 105)
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100. (canceled)
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102-103. -103. (canceled)
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106-125. -125. (canceled)
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126. A method of activating an electronic module, comprising:
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engaging an electronic module with a module securing element provided in or on an article of footwear, wherein the module includes an electronic device;
sensing whether the module and the article of footwear are authorized for operation with one another; and
activating the module or at least a first function of the module when the module and the article of footwear are determined to be authorized for operation with one another. - View Dependent Claims (128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 139)
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127. (canceled)
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130. (canceled)
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137-138. -138. (canceled)
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140-199. -199. (canceled)
Specification