ELECTRONIC SHOE WEAR INDICATOR

• US 20090095050A1
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Memsic Incorporated (MZ Investment Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Memsic Incorporated (MZ Investment Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Profit, Stephen, O'Brien, Gary
• Granted Patent: US 7,735,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/11.04
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 7/08 Shock-testing

Abstract

A system measures an amount of wear in athletic footwear by measuring the amount of shock transmitted to a user. The measured shock is used to indicate an amount of how much cushioning has been lost by the footwear. The amount of wear is proportional to the loss of cushioning and an increase in transmitted shock to the user.

Claims

1. A method of determining an amount of wear of a shoe, the method comprising:

measuring a first amount of shock transmitted by the athletic shoe;

retrieving a shock limit factor S_L as a function of a material in a midsole of the athletic shoe;

retrieving a weight factor U_W and a height factor U_H; and

determining a wear factor value WF representing the amount of wear of the shoe as a function of the shock limit S_L, the weight factor U_W, the height factor U_H, and the measured first amount of transmitted shock.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the weight factor U_W and the height factor U_H are input by a user of the shoe and correspond, respectively, to a weight and height of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the first amount of transmitted shock comprises:

measuring at least one of;

an intensity and a duration of the transmitted shock.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of:

measuring an intensity and measuring a duration of the first transmitted shock comprises;

measuring acceleration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the first amount of transmitted shock comprises:

determining an average amount of transmitted shock over a predetermined amount of time.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining an average intensity and an average duration of the transmitted shock over the predetermined amount of time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a representation of the wear factor value WF.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying the representation of the wear factor WF by operation of a display portion coupled to the shoe.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the first amount of transmitted shock comprises:

measuring acceleration.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying one or more characteristics of the shoe as a function of the determined wear factor WF.

11. A method of determining cushioning capacity of a device, the method comprising:

operating the device in a predetermined manner;

measuring an amount of shock transmitted by the device during the predetermined manner of operation;

retrieving an initial measurement of shock value corresponding to the device; and

determining the cushioning capacity of the device as a function of the measured transmitted amount of shock and the initial measurement of shock value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the cushioning capacity is determined as a function of a difference between the initial measurement of shock value and the measured transmitted amount of shock.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the initial measurement of shock value is generated at a time prior to the measured transmitted amount of shock.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the initial measurement of shock value is determined by measuring an amount of shock transmitted by the device while being operated in the predetermined manner of operation.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the device is an athletic shoe, and wherein:

the predetermined manner comprises walking in the athletic shoe on a firm surface.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the device comprises a head protection portion, and wherein:

the predetermined manner comprises striking the head protection portion with a plurality of blows.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

displaying a representation of the cushioning capacity.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein measuring the amount of transmitted shock comprises:

measuring an intensity and a duration of the transmitted shock.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of:

measuring an intensity and measuring a duration of the transmitted shock comprises;

measuring acceleration.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein measuring the amount of transmitted shock comprises:

measuring acceleration.

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

modifying one or more characteristics of the device as a function of the determined cushioning capacity.

22. A method of determining cushioning capacity of a device, the method comprising:

applying a first force, in a predetermined manner, to the device;

measuring an amount of shock transmitted by the device to a user of the device in response to the first force; and

determining the cushioning capacity as a function of the transmitted shock and an initial shock value associated with the device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the cushioning capacity is a function of a difference between the initial shock value and the transmitted shock.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the device comprises a shoe and wherein applying the first force in a predetermined manner comprises:

the user walking in the shoe.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the user walking in the shoe on a firm surface.

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

modifying one or more characteristics of the device as a function of the determined cushioning capacity.

27. A system for determining an amount of wear of an athletic shoe, comprising a first memory containing a wear measurement program and a first processor operative to execute said wear measurement program, the wear measurement program comprising:

program code for measuring a first amount of shock transmitted by the athletic shoe;

program code for retrieving a shock limit factor S_L corresponding to a material in a midsole of the athletic shoe;

program code for retrieving a weight factor U_W and a height factor U_H; and

program code for determining a wear factor value WF as a function of the shock limit S_L, the weight factor U_W, the height factor U_H, and the measured first amount of transmitted shock.

28. The system of claim 27, further comprising an accelerometer having an output coupled to the first processor.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the wear measurement program further comprises:

program code for receiving the weight factor U_W and the height factor U_H as input from a user of the athletic shoe and which correspond, respectively, to a weight and height of the user.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the wear measurement program further comprises:

program code for measuring an intensity of the transmitted shock; and

program code for measuring a duration of the transmitted shock.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein at least one of:

the program code for measuring an intensity of the transmitted shock and the program code for measuring a duration of the transmitted shock comprises;

program code for measuring acceleration.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein the wear measurement program further comprises:

program code for determining an average amount of transmitted shock over a predetermined amount of time.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the wear measurement program further comprises:

program code for determining an average intensity and an average duration of the transmitted shock over the predetermined amount of time.

34. The system of claim 27, further comprising a display portion coupled to the processor, wherein the wear measurement program further comprises:

program code for displaying a representation of the wear factor value WF by operation of the display portion.

35. The system of claim 27, wherein the program code for measuring the amount of transmitted shock comprises:

program code for measuring acceleration.

36. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

program code for modifying one or more characteristics of the running shoe as a function of the determined wear factor value.