Smart Footwear Data Transmission With Force-Activated Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional footwear lacks data transmission capabilities for monitoring athletic performance and providing targeted advertising or product information, limiting its functionality in enhancing user experience and interaction with remote systems.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a data transmission system within footwear, including an activation system and a display device, to transmit and display relevant data such as athletic performance metrics and targeted advertising, using RFID, accelerometers, and piezoelectric elements to activate data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If data transmission system is integrated into footwear, then communication and monitoring capabilities are enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the data transmission system with the footwear structure by integrating the activation system into the sole member. The activation system includes a sensor that detects forces applied to the footwear and a processor that generates activation signals, merging sensing, processing, and transmission functions into a unified system embedded within the footwear components.
Solution Approach 2:
The activation system serves multiple functions: it detects various forces (impact, pressure, torque) applied to different parts of the footwear, processes this information to generate activation signals, and controls data transmission based on these signals. This multi-functional approach allows a single integrated system to handle sensing, decision-making, and communication control.
2Ease of operation
If activation system with sensor and processor is added, then data transmission control is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The activation system is divided into distinct functional components: a sensor portion that detects forces, a processor portion that generates activation signals, and a data transmission system portion that communicates information. These segmented components can be manufactured separately and then integrated into the footwear, simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining operational control.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor acts as an intermediary between the sensor and the data transmission system. It receives raw force data from the sensor, processes this information to determine when transmission should occur, and generates activation signals accordingly. This intermediary layer simplifies manufacturing by decoupling the sensing and transmission components while enabling intelligent control.
Data Source
AI summary
Footwear systems include an article of footwear and a data transmission system engaged with the article of footwear. The transmission system transmits data to a remote system, such as a display system, another data transmission system, a processing system, etc. Such footwear systems further may include activation systems for activating the transmission and/or display systems. The transmitted data may be used for various purposes, such as: (a) identifying a user of the article of footwear; (b) activating targeted advertising or product information; (c) confirming the user's presence at a specific location and/or at a specific time; (d) determining start, finish, and/or intermediate split times for specific user; (e) confirming athletic equipment usage; (f) providing data for a game or reward program; (g) registering the user for an event or competition; or the like.