Elongate Spool Motorized Lacing System for Footwear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing footwear lacing systems struggle to provide consistent and customizable tension across the upper of athletic footwear, affecting wearability, comfort, and performance.
Innovation Solution
A motorized lacing system utilizing a tubular, conical spool with flexible or multi-diameter elongate spools that rotate to tighten or loosen laces, driven by a lacing engine with a processor-controlled motor and sensor system for precise tension adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a conventional lacing system is used, then the structure is simple, but the tension distribution across the footwear upper is inconsistent and not customizable
Solution Approach 1:
The lacing system is divided into multiple independent lace segments, each controlled by its own spool mechanism. This segmentation allows independent tension control for each lace, enabling customizable and consistent tension distribution across different regions of the footwear upper.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical lacing system is replaced with an automated motorized system. Motors drive spools to wind or unwind laces automatically, substituting manual tension adjustment with automated mechanical control, thereby achieving precise and consistent tension distribution.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual lacing adjustment is used, then the device complexity is low, but the adaptability to different foot conditions and motions is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The lacing system transitions from static manual adjustment to dynamic automated control. Sensors detect foot presence, motion, and tension conditions in real-time, and motors dynamically adjust lace tension accordingly, enabling the system to adapt to different foot conditions and motions automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors are integrated into the lacing system to detect foot presence, motion status, and tension levels. This feedback is processed by a controller that automatically adjusts motor operation to maintain optimal tension, enabling the system to adapt to changing conditions without user intervention.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional spool design is used, then the manufacturing is simple, but the tension control precision and evenness are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The spool is designed with non-uniform diameter along its length, creating different radial distances from the rotation axis at different positions. This local variation in geometry allows different laces wound at different positions to experience different mechanical advantages, enabling precise control over tension distribution across multiple laces simultaneously.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system ensures even and customizable tension distribution across the footwear upper, enhancing wearability, comfort, and performance by automatically adjusting lace tightness based on foot presence and motion.
Implementation Method 1
a motorized lacing system utilizing a tubular, conical spool with flexible or multi-diameter elongate spools that rotate to tighten or loosen laces, driven by a lacing engine with a processor-controlled motor
Implementation Method 2
a tubular, conical spool with flexible or multi-diameter elongate spools that rotate to tighten or loosen laces
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
An article of footwear and related method includes a midsole, an upper secured with respect to the midsole and forming a throat, and a plurality of laces extending across the throat of the upper. A motorized lacing system is positioned within the midsole and is configured to engage with a primary lace to increase and decrease tension on the primary lace. The motorized lacing system includes a motor, a lace spool, operatively coupled to the motor, configured to spool and unspool the primary lace based, and an elongate spool, the primary lace coupled to the elongate spool, configured to spool and unspool the plurality of laces based on operation of the motor and via the primary lace, each of the plurality of laces spaced along the elongate spool from one another.