Abstract:
An article of footwear is provided, particularly a soccer shoe, having one or more sensors mounted in the shoe upper which, when impacted by a ball, are effective to send a signal to a controller representative of the magnitude of the force with which the ball was struck by the shoe. A liquid crystal display, mounted within a housing which also carries the controller, provides a visual indication of the force of the ball strike which can be readily observed by the wearer of the shoe.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to articles of footwear, and, more particularly, to a shoe for use in activities such as soccer having at least one force sensor which is capable of sensing the impact of a ball with the shoe and providing a visual indication of the magnitude of the force with which the ball has been kicked.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Articles of footwear have been provided with a wide variety of functional and aesthetic features ranging from decorative arrays of light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) to air bladders located within the outsole of the shoe for enhanced comfort when performing activities such as running. Many improvements to footwear have been sports-specific and intended to assist the wearer with one or more aspects of his or her performance, or to assist in training for a particular sport.  
         [0003]     Footwear intended for playing soccer is no exception. A number of designs to assist players in their training exercises have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,346 to Fugers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,827 to Cohen and U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,446 to Wiseman et al disclose soccer shoes with different colored areas on the upper to aid the wearer in identifying and focusing on the desired location where he or she strikes the ball with the foot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,043 to Johnson et al teaches an attachment for a shoe which emits sound when the ball strikes it at desired location, but is silent if the ball strike is elsewhere.  
         [0004]     Pressure sensors have also been incorporated into soccer shoes and other footwear such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,462 to Snyder et al. In this invention, one or more pressure sensors are mounted on the upper of the shoe at locations where it is desired to make contact with the ball. When one of these sensors is activated as a result of a ball strike, an electrical signal is sent to a microprocessor which then causes a loudspeaker to produce a particular sound, e.g. “Way to Go” or the like.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     This invention is directed to an article of footwear, particularly a soccer shoe, having one or more sensors mounted in the shoe upper which, when impacted by a ball, are effective to send a signal to a controller representative of the magnitude of the force with which the ball was struck by the shoe. A liquid crystal display (LCD), mounted within a housing which also carries the controller, provides a visual indication of the force of the ball strike which can be readily observed by the wearer of the shoe.  
         [0006]     Each sensor includes a contact movable into engagement with a printed circuit in response to a ball strike. The extent of the force with which the sensors are impacted by the ball affects the duration or amount of time the contact remains in engagement with the printed circuit. In turn, the signal produced as a result of such engagement, or “timing signal,” is representative of the magnitude of the force. The longer the duration of the timing signal, the greater the force of the ball strike against the contact. The controller is effective to convert the timing signal into a corresponding visual indication of the magnitude of the force applied to the sensor(s), which is then displayed on the LCD.  
         [0007]     In one preferred embodiment, the controller is operative to cause the LCD to display the magnitude of the force of the last kick by the user when it is powered up. The controller stores in memory the previous kick of greatest force, and compares that value with the force of each successive kick. If a new kick has a greater magnitude than the previous kick of highest magnitude, then the new kick is displayed as the “high score” or hardest kick. Additionally, the controller is operative to record the number of kicks of the ball in a particular training session and cause the LCD to display that amount on a running basis or at the end of the session. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     The structure, operation and advantages of the presently preferred embodiment of this invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shoe with a housing having an LCD display, and a number of force sensors mounted to the shoe upper;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of one embodiment of the housing, LCD display and force sensors shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  except of an alternative embodiment of the LCD display;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a side view in partial cross section of one embodiment of a force sensor according to this invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of a printed circuit employed in the sensor of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of an array of force sensors;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view taken generally along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  depicting the structure of an alternative embodiment of the force sensors of this invention; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a schematic, block diagram of one embodiment of an electrical circuit employed in the shoe of this invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     Referring now to the drawings, a shoe  10  is shown in  FIG. 1  having an outsole  12  connected to an upper  14  including a tongue  16 . In the presently preferred embodiment, a housing  18  having an LCD display  20  is mounted to the tongue  16  and coupled to one or more pressure sensors  22  located at selected positions on the upper  14 . It should be understood that the housing  18  and pressure sensors  22  could be mounted elsewhere on the shoe  10 , as desired, and the locations depicted in  FIG. 1  are for purposes of illustration only.  
         [0018]     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 8 , one embodiment of an electrical circuit  24  is depicted which is mounted within the housing  18  and coupled to the sensors  22 . The electrical circuit  24  comprises a power source such as a battery  26 , a controller  28 , the LCD display  20 , a manually operated switch  30 , a capacitor  32 , the pressure sensors  22  and one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)  34 . The controller  28  is preferably a commercially available integrated circuit which is coupled to the battery  26 , LCD display  20  and LEDs  34  as shown in  FIG. 8 . As best seen in  FIG. 2 , wires  36  connect the controller  28  to the pressure sensors  22 .  
         [0019]     An alternative embodiment of that shown in  FIGS. 2 and 8  is depicted in  FIG. 3 . The same reference numbers employed in a discussion of  FIGS. 2 and 8  are used to identify the same structure in  FIG. 3 . This embodiment differs from that of  FIGS. 2 and 8  primarily with respect to the information it displays, as discussed below. A second manual switch  38  is employed to cause the controller  28  to generate such information and display it on the LCD display  20 .  
         [0020]     Referring now to  FIGS. 4-7 , details of the pressure sensor  22  are shown. The pressure sensor  22  of  FIGS. 4 and 5  comprises a printed circuit board (“PCB”)  40  forming the base of the sensor having circuitry  42  which faces a contact  44 . The contact  44  includes a rubber pad  46  mounted to a metal plate  48  which is held in position immediately above the PCB  40  by a pair of spring legs  50  and  52 . A cover layer  54 , preferably formed of rubber or similar material, overlies the contact  44  and PCB  40  as shown. One or more notches  56  may be formed in the cover layer  54  to enhance its sensitivity to the application of a force thereto, as discussed in more detail below. The PCB  40  is connected to the controller  28  by wires  36  as schematically shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0021]     An array of sensors  60  are shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  which may be arranged at essentially any desired location on the upper  14  of the shoe  10 . In the presently preferred embodiment, each sensor  60  of the array comprises a PCB  62  mounted to the upper  14  immediately beneath a contact  64  consisting of an inverted T-shaped rubber pad  66  having a metal plate  68  at its lower end. The rubber pads  66  are connected at their upper end to or integrally formed in a cover layer  70  made of rubber or other resilient material having notches  72  similar to the notches  56  in the cover layer  54 .  
         [0000]     Operation of Shoe  
         [0022]     Referring initially to the embodiment of  FIGS. 2 and 8 , the operation of the shoe  10  of this invention is as follows. Preferably, the sensors  22  or  60  are located on the upper  14  of the shoe  10  in one or more locations where it is desired that the foot of the wearer strike a soccer ball when one is kicking, particularly if the shoe  10  is to be used as a training aid. Alternatively, and especially for younger children, the sensors  22  or  60  are located in one or more areas of the shoe  10  most likely to strike a ball when kicked.  
         [0023]     The present invention is intended to provide a numeric, or other visual indication, of the force with which the wearer of the shoe  10  strikes a ball. This is accomplished by first producing a signal representative of the magnitude of the force applied to the ball by the shoe  10 , and then providing a visual indication corresponding to such force.  
         [0024]     The pressure sensors  22  or  60  provide the signal. In response to contact with a ball as a result of a kick, the cover layer  54  of the pressure sensor  22 , for example, deflects in a direction toward the upper  14  of the shoe  10 . This deflection causes the contact  44  to move into engagement with the PCB  40  such that the metal plate  48  of the contact  42  engages the circuitry  42  of the PCB  40 . The PCB  40  is operative to produce a “timing” signal representative of the duration or amount of time the metal plate  48  of contact  44  remains in engagement with the PCB circuitry  42  after a ball strike. The greater the amount of force applied to the cover layer  54  by a ball strike, and, hence, the contact  44 , the greater the amount of time the metal plate  48  of the contact  44  remains in engagement with the PCB  40 . The timing signal produced by the PCB  40  is sent to the controller  28  which is operative to cause the LCD display  20  to provide a visual representation, preferably numeric but not necessarily so, corresponding to the magnitude of the force with which the wearer of the shoe  10  kicked the ball.  
         [0025]     The sensor  60  shown in  FIG. 7  operates in essentially the same fashion as sensor  22 . However, by employing an array of sensors  60  in proximity to one another, a more accurate indication of the force of a ball strike may be obtained than using sensors  22  spaced from on another. For example, if the location where the user kicked the ball is not directly aligned with an individual force sensor  22 , its cover layer  54  and contact  44  may not be deflected and remain in engagement with the PCB  40  for a time period truly representative of the magnitude of force of the kick. The additional sensors  60  arranged in an array such as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  help avoid this result by providing a larger area where sensors are present on the shoe upper  14 . Further, each individual sensor  60  in the array produces a signal, such as described above, which is sent to the controller  28 . Preferably, the controller  28  is programmed to detect the signal of longest duration for each ball strike, and cause the LCD display  20  to indicate the value corresponding to such signal thereby providing a more accurate reflection of the magnitude of force with which the ball was kicked.  
         [0026]     Both the sensors  22  and  60  are provided with notches  56  and  72 , respectively, in their cover layer  54  and  70 . Since the cover layers  54  and  70  deflect in response to contact with a ball, and the duration of such deflection is employed to determine the force of a ball strike as noted above, it is important for the cover layers  54  and  70  to freely deflect on a consistent basis. The notches  56  and  72  increase the sensitivity of the respective cover layers  54  and  70  to the application of a force and promote consistent deflection toward and away from the PCBs  40  and  60 .  
         [0027]     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 2 and 8 , the electrical circuit  24  is turned on by depressing switch  30 . When the circuit  24  is powered up, the LCD display  20  preferably displays a “0” and the LEDs  34  flash to denote the shoe  10  is ready to measure the force with which a ball is kicked. Assuming a sensor  22  is employed, for example, the timing signal produced by the PCB  40  as described above is sent to the controller  28 . The controller  28 , in turn, is operative to cause the LCD display  20  to provide a visual representation corresponding to the magnitude of the force with which the wearer of the shoe  10  kicked the ball. If an array of sensors  60  is used, each individual sensor  60  in the array produces a signal, such as described above, which is sent to the controller  28 . Preferably, the controller  28  is programmed to detect the signal of longest duration from the individual sensors  60  for each ball strike, and cause the LCD display  20  to indicate the value corresponding to such signal. This provides a more accurate reflection of the magnitude of force with which the ball was kicked.  
         [0028]     Referring now to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the controller  28  may be programmed to provide information in addition to the magnitude of force of a given ball strike. The electrical circuit  24  is turned on with the manual switch  30  as noted above, but the second switch  38  can be activated to obtain information in addition to the magnitude of a given ball strike. For example, as depicted schematically in  FIG. 3 , the “Last Score” section of the LCD display  20  is provided to display the magnitude of the force of the last ball strike. In addition to that value, a “high score” section is provided on the LCD display  20 . The controller  28  is programmed to store in memory the value of the previous hardest ball strike for the wearer of the shoe  10 . Each subsequent ball strike is compared by the controller  28  to the previous highest strike, and if a new ball strike exceeds the previous maximum then the new “high score” is displayed on the LCD display  20 . Additionally, the controller  28  is operative to record the number of ball strikes in a given session of use of the shoe  10 , e.g. between the time the switch  30  is turned on and then off. This number is displayed in the section identified as “Kicking Times” on the LCD display  20 , in response to depressing the switch  38 . The electrical circuit  24  is turned off by depressing both switches  30  and  38  at the same time for a few seconds.  
         [0029]     It is also contemplated that the controller  28  programmed as described above in connection with a discussion of  FIG. 3  could be used with the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . Instead of providing discrete, named sections on the LCD display  28  as in  FIG. 3 , the display  20  may be blank initially and responsive to signals from the controller  28  to provide alpha-numeric messages representative, for example, of the last ball strike, the hardest ball strike and a new ball strike. For example, after the electrical circuit  24  is turned on by depressing switch  30  the last ball strike may be displayed with an indication such as “Last Hit” and a numeric value of the magnitude of such ball strike. Depressing the switch  30  a second time may result in illumination of the LEDs  34  in a flashing sequence, and the display of the hardest hit recorded by the controller  28  thus far, e.g. “Hardest Hit” plus a numeric value. As described above, the controller  28  may be operative to store in memory the ball strike of highest magnitude, compare that value to each new ball strike and then display a new amount for the “Hardest Hit” if a new ball strike is of a magnitude greater than the previous hardest ball strike. A third depression of the switch  30  may result in another flashing sequence of the LEDs  34 , followed by a representation of a new ball strike after a ball is kicked. This new kick may be indicated on the LCD display  20  as a “New Hit” accompanied by a number corresponding to the magnitude of such new ball strike.  
         [0030]     While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof.  
         [0031]     For example, in one presently preferred embodiment the visual indication of the magnitude of the force of a ball strike may be numeric. It is contemplated that other visual indications, or combinations thereof, could be employed such as alpha-numeric, graphical and the like.  
         [0032]     Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.