WO2017185160A1

WO2017185160A1 - Shoe lacing system

Info

Publication number: WO2017185160A1
Application number: PCT/CA2016/050482
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexandru DIMA
Original assignee: Nocturis Inc.
Priority date: 2016-04-25
Filing date: 2016-04-25
Publication date: 2017-11-02

Abstract

A shoe lacing system wherein a user who upon wirelessly signaling the system actuates a mechanism which pulls a cord therein, so as to pull the eyelets of a shoe together or relax said eyelets, thus tensioning or relaxing the cord therein the shoe lacing system automatically and consequentially tensioning or relaxing said shoe around a foot.

Description

SHOE LACING SYSTEM

DESCRIPTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains generally to footwear tensioning systems. More specifically, the invention relates to a mechanical, electronic tensioning and relaxing system that comprises a wireless motor driving function and a button-operated motor driving function. A printed circuit board connected electronically to a high gear ratio motor provides said driving functions. Said motor automatically tightens the laces of a shoe once actuated, and said motor's high reduction ratio keeps said laces tensed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention possesses numerous benefits and advantages over shoelaces. In particular, the invention supplants shoelaces with a lacing system. Said lacing system preferably comprises a thin, high-strength flexible cord in place of a shoe's existing shoelace in order to tension or relax said shoe around a foot wirelessly. Said wireless tensioning method is a novel approach to tensioning shoelaces. Said system preferably comprises inserts affixed to said shoe's eyelets to reduce friction. Said system is actuated by a Bluetooth mobile application or physically by on-board button contact. The invention uses a reliable high gear ratio motor to tighten said cord and keep it tensed, or to untighten said cord once it has been tensed, providing a novel approach to how shoes are tightened around a foot and how shoes stay tightened. Furthermore, another novelty of said system is it enables most existing shoes with eyelets to be tensioned.

In addition to the foregoing attributes, the invention possesses numerous other benefits over existing wearable hardware devices. The physical placement of the system's preferred primary device therein the preferred embodiment of the system is on top of the user's shoe, over the tongue and in between the eyelets of said shoe. Sa d placement improves user comfort by not requiring the user to wear the device on their skin or to be in direct physical contact with the device. Many existing wearable hardware devices require said contact and as a result, introduce discomfort.

Furthermore, said placement decreases the chances the user will forget or lose said device because it is secured in place and accompanies existing shoes worn by said user.

In addition to the foregoing attributes, the invention preferably includes an embedded pedometer housed within the primary device of the preferred embodiment of the system. Said housing is laced into place on top of a user's shoe in the preferred embodiment of the system, so as to provide a more accurate method of electronically counting steps that a user has taken when compared to existing wearable hardware devices worn on other ligaments of the human body other than those around the feet due to the nature of the foot being the main ligament of motion related to taking steps.

Similarly, the electrical and mechanical features of the motor drive preferably enables the system to tighten or untighten its cord without direct human contact to the shoe and said feature liberates the device from the physical requirement of having the user bend their body to reach said cord in order to perform tightening or untightening functions manually, providing increased efficiency for users and a novel way for said users to tie or untie their shoes.

It can thus be seen that the preferred embodiment of the invention provides a novel system which both mechanically and electrically successfully integrates universally to any shoe with a multitude of eyelets, performing tightening and untightening functions between said eyelets automatically, providing more accurate step tracking

automatically, interfacing with a mobile application wirelessly, and allowing drive functions both wirelessly and physically.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A shoe with eyelet pairs preferably has inserts installed into its eyelets. Said inserts are not required for the system to provide all of its functionality. Said inserts are preferably included therein the said system. When compared to the forces a conventionally laced shoe experiences across its eyelets, said inserts improve upon conventional shoe lacing by providing less friction to the cord due to a reduction of frictional forces acting upon said inserts as a result of the nature and shape of said inserts and the way in which said cord is laced by passing said lace through said inserts.

The primary device of the preferred embodiment of the invention is preferably installed over the tongue of the shoe, in between the eyelets of said shoe. The primary device is preferably secured to the top of a shoe by a novel manner of lacing said device in place using the cord supplied therein the system. Said cord replaces conventional shoelaces with a stronger, less frictional material, improving upon conventional shoelaces. Said device is preferably affixed to the said shoe by lacing said cord through the openings of said inserts and eventually through the openings of the primary device of the invention.

The cord supplied therein the invention is preferably affixed to the invention's primary device by tying it to the spool of the primary device. The preferred embodiment of the spool of the primary device has an elliptical opening through its side to allow for the cord to be passed through it and then knotted around said spool such that when the spool turns, the cord begins to tension. The cord is preferably knotted on both sides to the said spool once the opening of said spool is parallel to the ground in order to provide an equal force of tightness from both sides of the shoe when torqued. Said spool is preferably the driveshaft of the invention and its motion is controlled by and torque to it is provided by a high gear ratio electric motor drive which provides tensioning and locking functions. Said motor drive is preferably actuated by either physical button contact or by wireless signalling through a mobile application using Bluetooth technology.

The novelty of the motor of the primary device's preferred embodiment is its high gear ratio. Said high gear ratio enables the motor to lock the cord in a tensioned state, its high reduction ratio making it difficult to back-drive said motor. The motor is connected to a printed circuit board housed within the preferred primary device. Said printed circuit board preferably provides Bluetooth connectivity and motor driving functionality using on-board integrated circuits. In this context, the Bluetooth integrated circuit is communicated to by a mobile application. Said Bluetooth integrated circuit handles requests from said mobile application to drive said motor. Said Bluetooth circuit signals a motor-driving integrated circuit once said type of request is made and said motor- driving integrated circuit actuates the motor in order to provide said motor driving functionality. Furthermore, the preferred embodiment of the printed circuit board has among an accelerometer in order to track steps and supply pedometer functionality to the mobile application used to interface with the primary device.

The primary device remains somewhat unrestricted in its preferred embodiment to shift or move across the top of the shoe if an excess of said cord is not tensed, but once said cord is tensioned, so too does said device tension upon the top of said shoe as a result of said cord passing through said device. Generally, the preferred embodiment is installed by inserting the foot of the user into the shoe, the device is centered, and said device is further tensioned by one of the said actuating mechanisms. In said installation, the preferred device is tensioned to the point at which it feels sufficiently tensed to the user and remains affixed to the top of the shoe in its tensed state. The user only requires relaxing the device until they are able to remove their foot from said shoe in order to continue keeping the device affixed to the top of the shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of the preferred embodiment of the system will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the preferred embodiment of the system wherein the primary device is installed onto the shoe shown as it rests between the eyelets of the shoe and over the tongue of said shoe.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the primary device.

FIG. 3 is an isometric and multi-plan view of the preferred embodiment of the primary device.

FIG. 4 is an isometric and side plan view of the preferred embodiment of the inserts.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the inserts installed into the eyelets of the shoe.

FIG. 6 is an isometric and top plan view of the preferred embodiment of the inserts wherein said cord is laced through said inserts and said cord is affixed by method of knotting said cord to said spool of the preferred embodiment of the system after passing said cord through the opening of said spool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings and, in particular, with reference to FIG. 1-6, the preferred embodiment of the system comprises a preferred primary device, indicated generally at 1 in FIG. 1 and preferably made of plastic. The preferred device is installed on top of a shoe 2 over the tongue of said shoe and in between the eyelets of said shoe. Said system preferably has a plurality of inserts 3 installed within the eyelets of said shoe. A high-strength cord 4 is used as a replacement for the conventional shoelaces of a modern shoe and said cord is laced around the shoe as shown in FIG. 1 by passing said cord through the openings of said inserts and through the openings of said primary device. A duality of the openings of said primary device are indicated at 5 and 6.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the primary device 1 comprises a bottom, battery housing 7 where the battery 8 is housed. Said battery provides power to the electronics of the preferred system. The preferred system's printed circuit board 9 is situated over said battery and is connected to the battery by joining said battery's connector 10 with said printed circuit board's receptacle 11 . The preferred system's motor 12 is connected to the printed circuit board by soldering wires 13 of said printed circuit board to the two leads of said motor. One such said motor lead is indicated at 14. Furthermore, a spool or driveshaft 15 is connected to the motor by passing said motor's shaft 16 into the spool opening indicated at 17. Said spool is secured to a part of the housing indicated at 18 through an opening on the other side of said spool which allows said part of said housing to protrude into said spool and secure said spool in place. The cover indicated at 19 houses the printed circuit board and motor of the preferred system. The parts of said housing indicated at 18 and 19 affix themselves to each other and to the bottom housing indicated at 7. Said housings preferably clip into each other due to the tolerances on their reciprocal walls when connected but are not limited to other methods of securement such as affixing themselves unto one another by method of fastening unto each other using screws and consisting of threads for said screws. The printed circuit board indicated at 11 preferably has a micro-USB connector and logic circuitry such as to allow the battery 8 to charge once it has been depleted.

Preferably the housing 19 has an opening for said micro-USB connector or a latch to allow the user easier access to said micro-USB connector on the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board 11 preferably has a Bluetooth-enabled integrated circuit and push buttons 20 to allow the motor 12 to be actuated, preferably either wirelessly by a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device or physically by a button press. The printed circuit board preferably includes an on-board accelerometer as an integrated circuit to provide step tracking and pedometer readings for mobile devices. The preferred primary device is shown in greater detail in the multiple views of FIG. 3 after its preferred parts from FIG. 2 have been fastened together as depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows the preferable inserts of the embodiment, which are composed of a bottom piece 21 and a top piece 22. As shown in FIG. 5, they are passed over the eyelets of a shoe 23 and screw into one another. The inserts are laced with the primary device 1 of the system as shown in FIG. 1. The cord used to lace the system 4 is passed from each side of the shoe through the preferred opening 24 of the drive shaft and then knotted on each side around the spool 15, as shown in FIG. 6. In such context, actuating the motor of the preferred device enables the tensioning of the cord of the preferred system, and said cord has no option but to tension in this context because of the described method in which it is secured. The gear ratio of said motor causes said motor to be difficult to back-drive and as a result, is able to lock the cord of the system in a tensed state. Moreover, the forces provided from the driveshaft to tension each side of said cord are equal on both sides once said motor is actuated in said context. If a user does not use the inserts provided therein the system, the eyelets of the shoe 23 may be used in their place and the system will still provide the same functionality as described herein.

The present invention, therefore, provides a novel system. Said system both mechanically and electrically successfully integrates universally to any shoe with multiple eyelets, performs tightening and untightening functions between the eyelets automatically, tracks steps automatically, interfaces with a mobile application , and may be wirelessly or physically actuated by a user in order to perform its functions. Although the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that various modifications, additions and alterations may be made to the invention by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1 . A system for tensioning or relaxing the lace of a shoe, comprising: a motor for tensioning or relaxing the lace of said shoe; electronics to drive said motor; and a structure configured to house said system.

2. The system as described in claim 1 , wherein said electronics comprises a printed circuit board.

3. The system as described in claim 2, wherein said printed circuit board comprises an embedded Bluetooth-enabled integrated circuit with an onboard microcontroller.

4. The system as described in claim 3, wherein said Bluetooth-enabled integrated circuit drives said motor.

5. The system as described in claim 4, wherein a mobile application utilizes said Bluetooth-enabled integrated circuit to actuate said motor.

6. The system as described in claim 5, wherein said system comprises a spool wherein said spool fastens to the shaft of said motor.

7. The system as described in claim 6, wherein said lace is passed through said eyelets of said shoe.

8. The system as described in claim 7, wherein said spool comprises a hollow opening to pass said lace end tips through said spool from either side of said opening and to knot said lace to said spool so as to be able to tension said lace by actuating said motor using said electronics.

9. The system as described in claim 8, wherein said housing is secured in place over the tongue of said shoe in between the eyelets of said shoe by passing said lace through the openings of said housing.

10. The system as described in claim 9, wherein said housing is made of plastic.

1 1 . The system as described in claim 2, wherein said printed circuit board comprises an embedded push-button switch to actuate said motor.

12. The system as described in claim 1 1 , wherein said system comprises a spool wherein said spool fastens to the shaft of said motor.

13. The system as described in claim 12, wherein said spool comprises a hollow opening to pass said lace end tips through said spool from either side of said opening and to knot said lace to said spool so as to be able to tension said lace by actuating said motor using said electronics.

14. The system as described in claim 13, wherein said housing is secured in place over the tongue of said shoe in between the eyelets of said shoe by passing the lace through the openings of said housing.

15. The system as described in claim 14, wherein said housing is made of plastic.

16. The system as described in claim 9, wherein said system comprises a reliable cord supplied therein the system wherein said cord is used as a replacement of said lace of said system.

17. The system as described in claim 16, wherein said system comprises inserts passed through the eyelets of said shoe, and said lace passed through said inserts.

18. The system as described in claim 17, wherein said lace is made of polypropylene.

19. The system as described in claim 18, wherein said housing is made of plastic.

20. The system as described in claim 14, wherein said system comprises a reliable cord supplied therein the system wherein said cord is used as a replacement of said lace of said system.

21 . The system as described in claim 20, wherein said system comprises inserts passed through the eyelets of said shoe, and said lace passed through said inserts.

22. The system as described in claim 21 , wherein said lace is made of polypropylene.

23. The system as described in claim 22, wherein said housing is made of plastic.

24. A system attached to a shoe capable of tracking the steps of a user, comprising: electronics to track steps; and a structure configured to house said system

25. The system as described in claim 24, wherein said electronics comprises a printed circuit board.

26. The system as described in claim 25, wherein said printed circuit board comprises an embedded Bluetooth-enabled integrated circuit and microcontroller.

27. The system as described in claim 26, wherein a mobile application utilizes said Bluetooth-enabled integrated circuit to view said pedometer data tracked by said accelerometer.

28. The system as described in claim 27, wherein said housing is secured in place over the tongue of said shoe in between the eyelets of said shoe by passing the lace of said shoe through the openings of said housing.

29. The system as described in claim 28, wherein said housing is made of plastic.

30. A system for tensioning or relaxing the lace of a shoe, having the following method of use: a user opens a mobile application on a mobile device; said user actuates a button of said mobile application; and said button wirelessly actuates a motor of said system and said motor tensions or relaxes the lace of said shoe.