Patent Description:
<CIT> describes a lacing system for an article of footwear.

The present invention is set out in the attached independent claim, to which reference should now be made. Further, optional features are defined the dependent claims appended thereto.

Any headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used or discussion under the heading.

The concept of self-tightening shoe laces was first widely popularized by the fictitious power-laced Nike® sneakers worn by Marty McFly in the movie Back to the Future II, which was released back in <NUM>. While Nike® has since released at least one version of power-laced sneakers similar in appearance to the movie prop version from Back to the Future II, the internal mechanical systems and surrounding footwear platform employed do not necessarily lend themselves to mass production and/or daily use. Additionally, other previous designs for motorized lacing systems comparatively suffered from problems such as high cost of manufacture, complexity, assembly challenges, and poor serviceability. The present inventors have developed various concepts to deliver a modular footwear platform to accommodate motorized and non-motorized lacing engines that solves some or all of the problems discussed above, among others. In order to fully leverage the modular lacing engine discussed briefly below and in greater detail in copending Application Serial Number <NUM>/<NUM>,<NUM>, titled "LACING APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATED FOORWEAR PLATFORM," the present inventors developed various alternative and complementary lacing engine designs, battery chargers, user interface concepts, and display/carrying cases discussed herein.

The motorized lacing engine discussed below in reference to <FIG>, as well as alternative concepts discussed throughout, was developed from the ground up to provide a robust, serviceable, and inter-changeable component of an automated lacing footwear platform. The lacing engine includes unique design elements that enable retail-level final assembly into a modular footwear platform. The lacing engine design allows for the majority of the footwear assembly process to leverage known assembly technologies, with unique adaptions to standard assembly processes still being able to leverage current assembly resources.

In an example, the modular automated lacing footwear platform includes a mid-sole plate secured to the mid-sole for receiving a lacing engine. The design of the mid-sole plate allows a lacing engine to be dropped into the footwear platform as late as at a point of purchase. The mid-sole plate, and other aspects of the modular automated footwear platform, allow for different types of lacing engines to be used interchangeably. For example, the motorized lacing engine discussed below could be changed out for a human-powered lacing engine. Alternatively, a fully automatic motorized lacing engine with foot presence sensing or other optional features could be accommodated within the standard mid-sole plate.

Utilizing motorized or non-motorized centralized lacing engines to tighten athletic footwear presents some challenges in providing sufficient performance without sacrificing some amount of comfort. Lacing architectures discussed herein have been designed specifically for use with centralized lacing engines and are designed to enable various footwear designs from casual to high-performance.

This initial overview is intended to introduce the subject matter of the present patent application. It is not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive explanation of the various inventions disclosed in the following more detailed description.

The following discusses various components of the automated footwear platform including a motorized lacing engine, a mid-sole plate, and various other components of the platform. While much of this disclosure focuses on lacing architectures for use with a motorized lacing engine, the discussed designs are applicable to a human-powered lacing engine or other motorized lacing engines with additional or fewer capabilities. Accordingly, the term "automated" as used in "automated footwear platform" is not intended to only cover a system that operates without user input. Rather, the term "automated footwear platform" includes various electrically powered and human-power, automatically activated and human activated mechanisms for tightening a lacing or retention system of the footwear.

<FIG> is an exploded view illustration of components of a motorized lacing system for footwear, according to some example embodiments. The motorized lacing system <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> includes a lacing engine <NUM>, a lid <NUM>, an actuator <NUM>, a mid-sole plate <NUM>, a mid-sole <NUM>, and an outsole <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates the basic assembly sequence of components of an automated lacing footwear platform. The motorized lacing system <NUM> starts with the mid-sole plate <NUM> being secured within the mid-sole. Next, the actuator <NUM> is inserted into an opening in the lateral side of the mid-sole plate opposite to interface buttons that can be embedded in the outsole <NUM>. Next, the lacing engine <NUM> is dropped into the mid-sole plate <NUM>. In an example, the lacing system <NUM> is inserted under a continuous loop of lacing cable and the lacing cable is aligned with a spool in the lacing engine <NUM> (discussed below). Finally, the lid <NUM> is inserted into grooves in the mid-sole plate <NUM>, secured into a closed position, and latched into a recess in the mid-sole plate <NUM>. The lid <NUM> can capture the lacing engine <NUM> and can assist in maintaining alignment of a lacing cable during operation.

In an example, the footwear article or the motorized lacing system <NUM> includes or is configured to interface with one or more sensors that can monitor or determine a foot presence characteristic. Based on information from one or more foot presence sensors, the footwear including the motorized lacing system <NUM> can be configured to perform various functions. For example, a foot presence sensor can be configured to provide binary information about whether a foot is present or not present in the footwear. If a binary signal from the foot presence sensor indicates that a foot is present, then the motorized lacing system <NUM> can be activated, such as to automatically tighten or relax (i.e., loosen) a footwear lacing cable. In an example, the footwear article includes a processor circuit that can receive or interpret signals from a foot presence sensor. The processor circuit can optionally be embedded in or with the lacing engine <NUM>, such as in a sole of the footwear article.

<FIG> is an illustration of various internal components of lacing engine <NUM>, according to example embodiments. <FIG> also illustrates how a load cell can be incorporated into a lacing engine, such as lacing engine <NUM>. In this example, the lacing engine <NUM> further includes spool magnet <NUM>, O-ring seal <NUM>, worm drive <NUM>, bushing <NUM>, worm drive key <NUM>, gear box <NUM>, gear motor <NUM>, motor encoder <NUM>, motor circuit board <NUM>, worm gear <NUM>, circuit board <NUM>, motor header <NUM>, battery connection <NUM>, and wired charging header <NUM>. The spool magnet <NUM> assists in tracking movement of the spool <NUM> though detection by a magnetometer (not shown in FIG. The o-ring seal <NUM> functions to seal out dirt and moisture that could migrate into the lacing engine <NUM> around the spool shaft <NUM>. In this example, the load cell can be incorporated outboard of bushing <NUM> to detect forces transmitted from the spool <NUM> through the worm gear <NUM> onto the worm drive <NUM>. Information from the load cell can be used as an input to the tension control to tighten or loosen lace tension based on an inference on activity level being experienced by the footwear. For example, if the load cell is detecting frequent shock loading on the laces, it can be inferred that activity level of high (e.g., engaged in basketball game). Alternatively, if the load cell is detecting little or no shock loading, then the lacing engine can infer low activity level and potentially loosen the laces.

In this example, major drive components of the lacing engine <NUM> include worm drive <NUM>, worm gear <NUM>, gear motor <NUM> and gear box <NUM>. The worm gear <NUM> is designed to inhibit back driving of worm drive <NUM> and gear motor <NUM>, which means the major input forces coming in from the lacing cable via the spool <NUM> are resolved on the comparatively large worm gear and worm drive teeth. This arrangement protects the gear box <NUM> from needing to include gears of sufficient strength to withstand both the dynamic loading from active use of the footwear platform or tightening loading from tightening the lacing system. The worm drive <NUM> includes additional features to assist in protecting the more fragile portions of the drive system, such as the worm drive key <NUM>. In this example, the worm drive key <NUM> is a radial slot in the motor end of the worm drive <NUM> that interfaces with a pin through the drive shaft coming out of the gear box <NUM>. This arrangement prevents the worm drive <NUM> from imparting any axial forces on the gear box <NUM> or gear motor <NUM> by allowing the worm drive <NUM> to move freely in an axial direction (away from the gear box <NUM>) transferring those axial loads onto bushing <NUM> and the housing structure <NUM>. As noted above, the arrangement also allows for convenience placement of a load cell outboard of the bushing <NUM> to measure axial forces on the drive training from laces.

<FIG> is an isometric view of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example embodiments. <FIG> is a top view of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example embodiments. <FIG> is a cross-sectional side view across section A-A of <FIG> of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example embodiments. <FIG> is an exploded isometric view of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example embodiments. <FIG> are discussed below concurrently.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating a planetary gear based lacing engine, according to some example embodiments. In this example, the planetary gear based lacing engine <NUM> can include a housing <NUM> (including a base <NUM> and a lid <NUM>), a motor <NUM> (including a shaft <NUM>), a worm drive <NUM>, a sun gear bearing <NUM>, fasteners <NUM>, a sun gear <NUM> (including outer teeth <NUM> and inner teeth <NUM>), a stationary ring gear <NUM> (including flanges <NUM>), a rotating ring gear <NUM>, a pin <NUM>, a pair of plates <NUM>, planet gears 255A-255C (not shown in <FIG> and only two visible in <FIG>), a second planet gear 255B, a spool <NUM>, a ring gear bearing <NUM>, a printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, a charge coil <NUM>, and a thrust bearing <NUM>. Also shown in <FIG> are section markers A-A. Also shown in <FIG> are central axis A and orientation indicators Top and Bottom.

In this example, a planetary gear system can be driven by the worm gear of the shaft interfacing with the sun gear to drive the spool. The planetary gear system can provide a compact (dense) and high-ratio package (large gear reduction). The example design can balance radial forces and allow primarily torsional stresses on components. Any of the previously discussed lacing engines can be modified to include a planetary gear drive train. The details of this example are discussed further below.

The housing <NUM> can be a rigid or semi-rigid body comprised of materials such as metals, plastics, foams, elastomers, ceramics, composites, and combinations thereof. The housing <NUM> can include the base <NUM> sized and shaped to receive the drive train (the motor <NUM>, the gears, the bearings, etc.), the PCB <NUM>, the battery <NUM>, and the charge coil <NUM> therein. The base <NUM> can include a recess <NUM> at a bottom of the base <NUM>. The lid <NUM> can be sized and shaped to be received on and partially in the body <NUM> to enclose the components within the base <NUM>.

The motor <NUM> can be an electric motor, in one example, electrically powered by the battery <NUM> to provide rotational output through the shaft <NUM>. The worm drive <NUM> can be secured to the shaft <NUM> and can be rotatable therewith. In some examples, the shaft <NUM> can be a worm gear and in some examples, the worm drive <NUM> can be releasably or fixedly coupled to the shaft <NUM>.

Fasteners <NUM> can be fasteners of many kinds such as screws, rivets, pins, nails, and the like. In other examples, fasteners <NUM> can be replaced with other means of fastening such as adhesives, welding, snap-fit, and the like.

Each of the sun gear <NUM>, the rotating ring gear <NUM>, and the planet gears 255A-255C can be gears. That is, each of the sun gear <NUM>, the rotating ring gear <NUM>, and the planet gears 255A-255C can be rigid or semi-rigid members each rotatable about an axis and each configured to engage another member to transfer torque and therefore rotation. Each of these gears can include teeth that can be spur, bevel, worm, helical, or the like.

The sun gear <NUM> can include outer teeth <NUM> and inner teeth <NUM>. The sun gear <NUM> can rotate relative to the housing <NUM> on the sun gear bearing <NUM> where the sun gear bearing <NUM>, and in some examples part of the sun gear <NUM>, can be located in the recess <NUM> of the base <NUM> of the housing <NUM> where the sun gear <NUM> can rotate thereabout.

In some examples, the sun gear <NUM> can be a worm wheel. That is, the sun gear <NUM> can include an outer flange having a height relatively larger than that of the central hub or central gear portion, thus striking a resemblance to a wheel. In some examples, the outer teeth <NUM> of the worm wheel can be of a worm-type and can be configured to engage the worm drive <NUM> of the shaft <NUM> and can receive rotation and torque therefrom. The inner teeth <NUM> can extend radially outward from a center portion or hub of the sun gear having a substantially smaller diameter than the outer portion or outer flange that includes the outer teeth <NUM>. In this way, the sun gear <NUM> can provide a relatively large gear ratio or gear reduction.

The planet gears 255A-255C can be relatively small gears configured to interface with the inner teeth <NUM> of the sun gear while rotating about the central axis A of the sun gear. Together, the planet gears 255A-255C can transfer rotation and torque to the rotating ring gear <NUM>. The planet gears 255A-255C can be held together by the pair of plates <NUM>. In some examples, each of the planet gears 255A-255C can receive the pin <NUM> therethrough, where each of the pins <NUM> can be secured to the plates <NUM> on both sides of each of the planet gears 255A-255C to help fix relative positions of the planet gears 255A-255C while still allowing the planet gears 255A-255C to rotate about their respective pins <NUM>. The thrust bearing <NUM> can engage the sun gear <NUM> and one of the plates <NUM> to space the plates <NUM> and the planet gears 255A-255C relative to the sun gear <NUM>. Though three of planet gears 255A-255C are discussed and shown, fewer or more planet gears can be used in lacing engine <NUM>. For example, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like planet gears can be used.

The rotating ring gear <NUM> can be a single gear coaxial with the central axis A and configured to engage each of the planet gears 255A-255C. The rotating ring gear <NUM> can be disposed within the stationary ring gear <NUM> and can be rotatable within and relative to the stationary ring gear <NUM>. The rotating ring gear <NUM> can be coupled to the spool <NUM> at a substantially central portion of the rotating ring gear <NUM>. In other examples, the spool <NUM> can be connected to other portions of the rotating ring gear <NUM>. The spool <NUM> can be a bobbin, reel, or cylinder configured to wind and retain a portion of a lace of a footwear article. In some examples, the spool <NUM> can be connected to the rotating ring <NUM> to be rotated therewith. The spool <NUM> can be replaced with a lace spool similar to lace spool <NUM>, or an alternative design that meets the lace take-up requirements of the lacing engine design.

The stationary ring gear <NUM> can be a stationary gear insertable into the base <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. In some examples, the stationary ring gear <NUM> can extend from the top of the base <NUM> toward the bottom and can engage the planet gears 255A-255C, where the planet gears 255A-255C each engage inner teeth of the stationary ring gear <NUM> and to rotate about a central portion of the sun gear <NUM>. In some examples, the stationary ring gear <NUM> can extend toward the bottom to engage the sun gear <NUM> or a bearing separating the sun gear <NUM> and the stationary ring gear <NUM> to allow relative rotation therebetween.

The stationary ring gear <NUM> can include a plurality of flanges <NUM>, where each of the flanges <NUM> extends radially outward toward a periphery of the lid <NUM>. Each flange <NUM> can be configured to receive a fastener therethrough, such as one of fasteners <NUM> to secure the stationary ring gear to the lid <NUM> and to the base <NUM>. The flanges <NUM> can be placed for stability while balancing volumetric optimization of the other components within the housing <NUM>.

The ring gear bearing <NUM> can be a bearing configured to engage the rotating ring gear and the lid <NUM> to retain the ring gear <NUM> (and other components) within the base <NUM> of the housing <NUM> and to allow rotation of the ring gear <NUM> relative to the housing <NUM>.

The printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM> can be an integrated circuit board configured to support and electrically connect components, including transistors and circuits of any of multiple forms known in the industry, and can be configured to provide conductive structures and contacts to distribute signals. In some examples, the PCB <NUM> can be a programable controller, such as a single or multi-board computer, or a direct digital controller (DDC). In other examples, the PCB <NUM> can be any relatively small computing device including a processor with or without wireless communication capabilities.

The battery <NUM> can be configured to store power received from charge coil <NUM>, which can be distributed to thereafter to the PCB <NUM> and motor <NUM>. In some examples, battery <NUM> can be a replaceable battery, and the like. The charge coil <NUM> can be, in some examples, an inductive charging coil configured to interact with an inductive charger to supply the battery <NUM> with an electric charge for storage and/or use.

In operation of some examples, the battery <NUM> can be charged by the charge coil <NUM>. When a lacing event is called for, the PCB <NUM> can transfer (or can instruct the battery to transfer) power to the motor <NUM> to rotate the shaft <NUM>. When the shaft <NUM> rotates, so too does the worm drive <NUM>. Because the worm drive <NUM> interfaces with the sun gear (or worm wheel) <NUM> (specifically outer teeth <NUM> of the sun gear <NUM>), rotation of the worm drive <NUM> drives rotation of the sun gear <NUM> about the central axis A.

The sun gear <NUM>, being engaged with each of planet gears 255A-255C via inner teeth <NUM>, can transfer rotation to each of planet gears 255A-L55C to cause each of planet gears 255A-255C to rotate about a central portion or hub of the sun gear <NUM>. The planet gears 255A-255C can transfer the rotation further to the rotating ring gear <NUM> and the spool <NUM> to drive winding of a lace during the lacing event. Such rotation of the spool <NUM> can continue until the PCB <NUM> issues a command to stop rotation of the shaft <NUM>, which stops rotation of the sun gear, the planet gears 255A-255C, the rotating ring gear <NUM>, and the spool <NUM>. A position of the spool <NUM> can be held after a lacing event, for example during use of the footwear article until a loosening event occurs. In some examples, the position of the spool <NUM> can be held because an interface between the worm drive <NUM> and the outer teeth <NUM> of the worm wheel cannot operate in a reverse direction of rotation, thus acting as a mechanical lock for retention of tension dynamics without an additional mechanism for this purpose, which can help save cost and reduce complexity of the lacing engine <NUM>.

Because, at least in part, of the nesting of the gears (such as the planet gears 255A-255C within the sun gear <NUM>), the planetary gear system of the lacing engine <NUM> can provide a compact (dense) lacing engine for a footwear article that is resilient and reliable. Though the lacing engine <NUM> is relatively small, the planetary gear system can help to offer a high-ratio package (large gear reduction) drivetrain to help obtain a desired lacing speed and torque.

Further, because multiple planet gears, such as the three planet gears 255A-255C, are used within lacing engine <NUM>, the load can distributed between three parts. This can be important because the planet gears 255A-255C can be the smallest and/or most breakable parts of the lacing engine <NUM>. Therefore, by dividing the load, failure of the planet gears 255A-255C can be reduced.

By positioning rotating ring gear <NUM> near a top of the lacing engine (and therefore away from a bottom of the footwear article), mounting of the ring gear <NUM> through the base <NUM> can be easier and impact to the rotating ring gear <NUM> and the spool <NUM> due to user-caused housing deflection can be reduced. For example, point-loading to the housing <NUM> can be caused by rock or stone strikes to the housing <NUM> during use. These strikes are most likely to occur on the bottom of the housing <NUM>, away from the spool <NUM> and the rotating ring gear <NUM>. Also, a large portion of the mounting interface of the lacing engine (such as stationary ring gear <NUM> and its flanges <NUM>) occurs at a top portion of the housing, away from the stresses and forces of deflection events discussed above. Further, because the sun gear bearing <NUM> mounts to sun gear <NUM> at recess <NUM> in a single bearing mount point in the bottom of base <NUM> of housing <NUM>, the drive train can be substantially isolated from deflection of the housing <NUM>.

Also, because of the relative positioning of the sun gear <NUM>, the worm drive <NUM>, and the PCB <NUM>, a motor encoder (such as the motor encoder <NUM>) can be easily integrated and positioned within the housing to provide proper and low latency control feedback of the motor <NUM>, which can improve operation of the lacing engine <NUM>.

This example design of the lacing engine <NUM> can balance delivery of radial forces and speed reduction and helping to allow primarily torsional stresses on components while still providing a relatively low lacing time using a planetary gear train that can provide good rotational stiffness and can distribute load among planets and ring gears.

<FIG> is an isometric view of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example arrangements. <FIG> is a top view of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example arrangements. <FIG> is a cross-sectional side view across section A-A of <FIG> of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example arrangements.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating a power spring based lacing engine, according to some example arrangements. In this example, the power spring based lacing engine <NUM> can include a housing <NUM> (including a base <NUM> and a lid <NUM>), a motor <NUM> a shaft <NUM>, a spring arbor <NUM>, a power spring <NUM>, a clutch <NUM>, a stem <NUM>, a coupler (spool arbor) <NUM>, a coupler bearing <NUM>, a spool <NUM>, a driven gear <NUM>, a driving gear <NUM>, a spring arbor bearing <NUM>, and a driven gear bearing <NUM>. Also shown in <FIG> are section markers A-A and shaft axis S. Also shown in <FIG> are central axis A, transverse axis T, and orientation indicators Top and Bottom. In some examples, lacing engine <NUM> can also include a printed circuit board (PCB), a battery, and a charge coil.

In this example, a power spring lacing engine can be driven by the motor to rotate the power spring to store energy in the power spring. The power spring can selectably and controllably release stored energy to the coupler to rotate the spool during a lacing event and the power spring can be rotated to store energy between lacing events. The power spring system can use a low quantity of small parts to provide a compact, quiet, and cost-effective lacing engine. Any of the previously discussed lacing engines can be modified to include a power spring drive train. The details of this example are discussed in further detail below. Accordingly, alternative lace spool designs can be incorporated into the lacing engine <NUM> discussed below.

The housing <NUM> can be a rigid or semi-rigid body comprised of materials such as metals, plastics, foams, elastomers, ceramics, composites, and combinations thereof. The housing <NUM> can include the base <NUM> sized and shaped to receive the drive train (the motor <NUM>, the gears, the bearings, the spring, etc.), the PCB, the battery, and the charge coil therein. The base <NUM> can include recesses at a bottom of the base <NUM> to receive bearings <NUM> and <NUM> therein. The lid <NUM> can be sized and shaped to be received on and partially in the body <NUM> to enclose the components within the base <NUM>.

The motor <NUM> can be an electric motor, in one example, electrically powered by the battery to provide rotational output through the shaft <NUM>. The shaft <NUM> can be releasably or fixedly coupled to the driving gear <NUM>, which can be engaged with the driven gear <NUM>. In some examples, each of the driven gear <NUM> and the driving gear <NUM> can be conical gears, or gears having a geometric shape substantially of a cone.

In some examples, the driven gear <NUM> and the driving gear <NUM> can be conical gears, such as bevel gears. For example, the driving gear can rotate about the drive axis S and the driven gear can rotate about the transverse axis T, which can be substantially transverse to the drive axis S and substantially parallel to the central axis A. In this example, the driving gear <NUM> can be rotated by the shaft <NUM> of the motor <NUM> to rotate the driven gear <NUM> about the transverse axis T. In some examples, the driven gear <NUM> can be supported by and rotatable relative to the driven gear bearing <NUM>, where the driven gear bearing <NUM> can be secured to the bottom of the housing <NUM>, in some examples.

The spring arbor <NUM> can be a rotating arbor, coupler, chuck, or the like. The spring arbor <NUM> can be supported by the spring arbor bearing <NUM>, which can be secured to the bottom of the housing <NUM>, in some examples. In some examples, the spring arbor bearing <NUM> and the driven gear bearing <NUM> can be journal bearings, ball bearings, needle bearings, or the like. The stem <NUM> can be a rigid body secured to the power spring <NUM> and secured to the clutch <NUM>. In some examples, the stem <NUM> can be supported by the spring arbor <NUM> and rotatable relative thereto. In some examples, the spring arbor <NUM> can controllably engage and disengage the driven gear <NUM> to selectively transfer torque to the power spring <NUM> from the motor <NUM>, as discussed below in further detail.

The power spring <NUM> can be a biasing or resilient element configured to store potential energy. The power spring <NUM> can be made of materials such as metals, polymers, or the like. In some examples, the power spring <NUM> can be made of spring steel. In some examples, the power spring <NUM> can be a coil spring, a torsion spring, a wound spring, or the like. The power spring <NUM> can be supported and connected to the spring arbor <NUM>, where the spring arbor can be engaged with the driven gear <NUM> to rotate the spring arbor <NUM> and therefore the power spring <NUM>.

The clutch <NUM> can be a mechanical or electromechanical clutch configured to selectively transfer rotation therethrough. In an example where the clutch <NUM> is electromechanical, the clutch <NUM> can transfer rotation (and torque) in response to a control signal from the PCB. In some examples, the clutch <NUM> can be a ratcheting clutch to help limit reverse rotation of the stem <NUM> (and therefore of the power spring <NUM>).

The coupler (spool arbor) <NUM> can be a rotating arbor, coupler, chuck, or the like. The coupler <NUM> can, in some examples, be coupled to the spool <NUM> and the clutch and can be engaged with the coupler bearing <NUM>. In some examples, the coupler <NUM> can be configured to selectively couple to the spool <NUM>. In some examples, when the spool <NUM> is connected to the coupler (spool arbor) <NUM>, the spool <NUM> can be rotated therewith. The coupler bearing <NUM> can be a bearing secured to the lid <NUM> of the housing. The coupler bearing <NUM> can be engaged with the coupler <NUM> to help limit non-rotational moving of the coupler <NUM> (and therefore of the clutch <NUM> and the stem <NUM>). The spool <NUM> can be a bobbin, reel, or cylinder configured to wind and retain a portion of a lace of a footwear article.

In general operation of some examples, the battery can be charged by the charge coil, which can be controlled by the PCB to transfer power to the motor <NUM> to rotate the shaft <NUM>. When the shaft <NUM> rotates, so too does the driving gear <NUM>. Because the driving gear <NUM> interfaces with the driven gear <NUM>, the driving gear <NUM> drives the driven gear <NUM> to rotate about the transverse axis T.

Rotation of the driven gear <NUM> can drive rotation of the spring arbor <NUM> about the central axis A. Because the spring arbor <NUM> can be secured to the drive spring <NUM>, rotation of the spring arbor <NUM> can wind the drive spring <NUM> (and the stem <NUM>). When the drive spring <NUM> is un-coupled from the spool <NUM>, the drive spring <NUM> can store mechanical (and rotational) potential energy therein. When a lacing event is called for, the PCB can send a signal to the clutch to couple the stem <NUM> to the spool <NUM> to transfer rotation from the power spring <NUM>, through the stem <NUM>, to the coupler <NUM>, and to the spool <NUM> to drive winding of a lace during the lacing event. Such rotation of the spool <NUM> can continue until the PCB issues a command to stop rotation of the spool <NUM>, which can, in some examples, disengage the clutch (disengage the stem <NUM> from the spool), or in other examples, hold a position of the spool <NUM> and the power spring <NUM>. During use of the footwear article, the position of the spool <NUM> can be held until a loosening event occurs.

The lacing engine <NUM> can also operate in various stages of lacing. In some examples, the clutch <NUM> allows for the power spring and the spool <NUM> to operate independently. For example, the spool <NUM> can be coupled and uncoupled by the coupler <NUM> and the spring <NUM> can be coupled and uncoupled to the motor <NUM> by the spring arbor <NUM>. For example, when the lace is loose, the power spring <NUM> can be loaded where the spool <NUM> is held in place and is not coupled to the power spring <NUM> while the spring arbor <NUM> engages the driven gear <NUM> while the power spring <NUM> is wound or tightened by the motor <NUM>. After winding of the power spring <NUM>, the spool <NUM> can be coupled to the power spring <NUM> (via the clutch <NUM> and the stem <NUM>) and the spool <NUM> can be held in place by the coupler <NUM> as the spring arbor <NUM> can be held in place by the driven gear <NUM>. When a foot is detected in the footwear article or otherwise during a lacing event, the spool <NUM> can be coupled to the power spring <NUM> and the power spring <NUM> can be released from the motor <NUM> by the spring arbor <NUM> to allow the power spring <NUM> to rotate the spool <NUM> to tighten the lace.

Also, during an adjustment of increased lace tension, the power spring <NUM> can be first loaded by decoupling the spool <NUM> from the power spring <NUM> and holding the spool <NUM> in place with the coupler <NUM> while the power spring <NUM> is coupled to the motor <NUM> via the spring arbor <NUM> engaging the driven gear <NUM> so that the motor <NUM> can wind the power spring <NUM>. In some examples, winding can be skipped during an adjustment. In either case, when the power spring <NUM> is wound, the spool <NUM> can be coupled to the power spring <NUM> and the power spring <NUM> can be released from the motor <NUM> and the spool <NUM> can be released from the coupler <NUM> to transfer torque from the power spring <NUM> to the spool <NUM> to tighten the lace. When an adjustment command to loosen the lace occurs, the spool <NUM> can remain coupled to the power spring and the lace can be manually loosened.

During wearing of the footwear article and when the lace is to be held tight, the spool <NUM> can be held (by the coupler <NUM>) while the spool <NUM> is coupled to the power spring <NUM> by the clutch <NUM> and while the spring arbor <NUM> is engaged with the driven gear <NUM> to prevent loosening. When a loosen event occurs the spool <NUM> can be released and the power spring <NUM> can be released.

In some examples, the stem <NUM> can include an additional clutch to be selectively couple the stem <NUM> to the power spring <NUM>. In other examples, the coupler <NUM> can include a clutch or clutching mechanism to selectively couple the coupler <NUM> to the spool <NUM>. In one example, the clutch of the coupler <NUM> can be released during a loosening event to allow the spool to spin freely so that the lace can be loosened.

In some examples, the clutch <NUM> can include a mechanism for reversing a rotational direction of the coupler <NUM> and therefore of the spool <NUM> to selectively transmit rotation provided by the power spring <NUM> in either rotational direction to the spool <NUM>. This can allow the power spring <NUM> to drive the spool <NUM> to selectively tighten or loosen the lace. In other examples, the clutch <NUM> can include a mechanism to allow winding of the spring <NUM> through the spool <NUM> via the stem <NUM> such that a manual unlacing event can wind the spring, which can further increase time between charges and/or can decrease a size of the battery.

In some examples, the power spring <NUM> can be sized to power multiple lacing events. For example, the power spring <NUM> can be sized to power <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like lacing events. Because the lacing engine <NUM> provides an ability to store potential mechanical energy for one or more lacing events, the lacing engine <NUM> can store additional power for lacing events beyond the electrical power capacity of the battery by winding the power spring <NUM> and fully charging the battery. Also, in some examples, where the power spring <NUM> can store enough mechanical power for multiple lacing events, a battery may be eliminated from the lacing engine, saving materials and cost.

Because the power spring <NUM> can power the lacing even without the use of the motor <NUM>, the lacing event can be relatively quiet. Also, because the power spring <NUM> can be wound outside of a lacing event (i.e. before the lacing event), the motor can be operated more efficiently (e.g. at a lower speed for a longer period of time) to help reduce consumption of power.

In some examples, the coupler <NUM> can be configured to operate as a clutch to selectively provide torque from the power spring <NUM> to the spool <NUM>. In these examples, the coupler <NUM> can couple to one or more of the stem <NUM> and to the spool <NUM>, and can uncouple from one or more of the stem <NUM> and to the spool <NUM> to allow for individual rotation of both.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional side view across section A-A of <FIG> of lacing engine <NUM>, according to some example arrangements. The components of the lacing engine <NUM> of <FIG> can be consistent with those of <FIG> discussed above, where <FIG> further shows a path for transfer of rotational energy (torque) from the driven gear to the lace.

In the example shown in <FIG>, torque can be transferred from the drive train, for example, from the motor <NUM> through the driven gear <NUM> to the spring arbor <NUM> at connection <NUM> with a speed reduction. The spring arbor <NUM> can transfer torque through the power spring <NUM> to the stem <NUM> and directly at connections <NUM> to the clutch <NUM> (when the clutch <NUM> is engaged), the coupler <NUM>, and to the spool <NUM>. In some examples, when the power spring <NUM> is fully wound, this transfer of torque can be direct. In other examples, this transfer can be delayed by winding of the power spring <NUM>. The overall power (torque) transfer path <NUM> is illustrated in <FIG>.

Although an overview of the inventive subject matter has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments.

As used herein, the term "or" may be construed in either an inclusive or exclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, or structures described herein as a single instance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources, operations, modules, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presented as separate resources in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single resource may be implemented as separate resources. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of the present disclosure as represented by the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Method (process) examples described herein, such as the footwear assembly examples, can include machine or robotic implementations at least in part.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. An Abstract, if provided, is included to comply with <NUM> C. §<NUM>(b), to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment.

Claim 1:
A lacing engine (<NUM>) for an automated footwear platform, the lacing engine (<NUM>) comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) securable within a footwear article; and
a drivetrain located at least partially within the housing (<NUM>), the drivetrain comprising:
a motor (<NUM>) including a shaft (<NUM>) rotatable within the housing (<NUM>);
a sun gear (<NUM>) driven by the shaft (<NUM>) to rotate about a central axis of the sun gear (<NUM>), the sun gear including an outer set of teeth (<NUM>) engaged with the shaft (<NUM>) and driven thereby, and an inner set of teeth (<NUM>) driven to rotate coaxially with the outer set of teeth (<NUM>);
a planet gear (<NUM>) engaged with and driven to rotate by the inner set of teeth (<NUM>) of the sun gear (<NUM>);
a rotating ring gear (<NUM>) engaged with and driven by the planet gear (<NUM>) to rotate about the central axis (A); and
a spool (<NUM>) secured to the ring gear (<NUM>) and rotatable therewith, the spool (<NUM>) configured to control a lace of the footwear article and to wind the lace as the ring gear (<NUM>) rotates in a first direction.