Automatic Lacing System with Motorized Spool and Segmented Retainers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional footwear lacks an efficient and user-friendly automatic lacing system, particularly for individuals who have difficulty tying shoes, such as the elderly or infirm, and those seeking adjustability in different situations.
Innovation Solution
An automatic lacing system for footwear that includes a housing with a motor and gear train, lace retainers, and a controller, allowing for motorized tightening and loosening of laces through a graphical user interface on a portable electronic device, enabling crisscrossing lace configuration for secure fit adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional lacing system with manual tying is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it is difficult to operate for elderly or infirm individuals and lacks automatic adjustability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical tying system with an automated motorized system. A motor drives a spool that winds or unwinds the lace, eliminating the need for manual knot-tying. This substitution of mechanical action with an automated actuator directly addresses the ease of operation for elderly or infirm individuals while accepting increased device complexity through the addition of the motor and control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The lacing system performs the lacing operation automatically without requiring manual intervention for tying. The motorized spool system self-regulates the lace tension and positioning, providing self-service functionality that eliminates the need for user manipulation of knots or buckles, thereby improving ease of operation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single lace configuration is used, then the device complexity is low, but the adaptability to different foot types and situations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the lacing system into multiple independent lace segments, each controlled by its own spool and motor assembly. This segmentation allows different laces to be adjusted independently to accommodate various foot shapes, widths, and tightening requirements across different regions of the footwear, thereby enhancing adaptability to different foot types and situations.
Solution Approach 2:
The lacing system employs dynamically adjustable laces that can be independently tensioned or relaxed at different locations. The multiple spools enable real-time adjustment of lace configuration and tension distribution, allowing the system to adapt to changing foot conditions or user preferences during wear.
Data Source
AI summary
An article of footwear includes a sole structure, an upper attached to the sole structure, and a lacing system. The lacing system includes a housing disposed on a tongue of the upper, a lateral side flap and a medial side flap that extend from the sole structure along lateral and medial sides of the upper, respectively, toward the tongue, a plurality of lateral lace retainers disposed along an upper end of the lateral side flap, a plurality of medial lace retainers disposed along an upper end of the medial side flap, and a lace that extends from the housing through the pluralities of lateral and medial lace retainers in a crisscrossing manner across the tongue.