SELF-REPLENISHING ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FOOTWEAR
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- an article of footwear;
a charge generator mounted to the article of footwear and including;
a conductive coil;
a magnet disposed for movement relative to the coil in response to movement of the article of footwear to generate an electrical potential in the coil;
a electrical energy storage device mounted to the article of footwear and operatively coupled to the charge generator; and
an electrical energy access port operatively coupled to the electrical energy storage device.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of an energy harvesting and storage system for footwear are described herein. In some embodiments, the system includes a charge generator, such as a permanent magnet movable with respect to a conductive coil to induce an electrical potential, and thus an electric current, in the winding, which can be used to store charge in an electrical energy storage device. The electrical energy storage device can be accessed via an electrical energy access port. Electrical charge can be used by an external device, or electrical charge can be provided by an external source of charge. The components of the energy harvesting and storage system can be disposed in, or coupled to, and article of footwear, such that when a user moves while wearing the article of footwear, charge can be generated and stored for subsequent use.
41 Citations
49 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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an article of footwear; a charge generator mounted to the article of footwear and including; a conductive coil; a magnet disposed for movement relative to the coil in response to movement of the article of footwear to generate an electrical potential in the coil; a electrical energy storage device mounted to the article of footwear and operatively coupled to the charge generator; and an electrical energy access port operatively coupled to the electrical energy storage device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus comprising:
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a charge generator including; a conductive coil; a magnet disposed for movement relative to the coil to generate an electrical potential in the coil; a electrical energy storage device coupleable to the charge generator; and an electrical energy access port coupleable to the electrical energy storage device, the charger generator, electrical energy storage device, and electrical energy access port configured to be mounted to an article of footwear so that the charge generator is operable to generate an electrical potential in response to movement of the article of footwear. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method comprising:
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causing movement of an article of footwear having mounted thereto; a charge generator configured to generate an electrical potential in response to movement of the article of footwear; a electrical energy storage device operatively coupled to the charge generator; and an electrical energy access port operatively coupled to the electrical energy storage device; thereby causing the charge generator to charge the electrical energy storage device; coupling to the electrical energy access port an electronic charge-consuming device, thereby causing the electrical energy storage device to provide charge to the electronic charge-consuming device. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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45. A method comprising:
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mounting inside an article of footwear; a charge generator; an electrical energy storage device; and an electrical energy access port. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49)
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46. The method of 45, wherein:
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the article of footwear includes a sole having a heel portion; and the mounting includes mounting the charge generator to the heel portion of the sole.
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47. The method of 45, wherein:
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the article of footwear includes a sole having a front portion; and the mounting includes mounting the electrical energy storage device to the front portion of the sole.
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Specification