Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AUTOMATED TIGHTENING SHOE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly
to a shoe with an automated tightening capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
A shoe having inter-engaging fasteners for
maintaining a tightened state of the shoe is known in
the art.
It is desirable to improve the conventional shoe by
incorporating an automated shoe tightening action
therein to facilitate physically challenged users.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingtothisinvention,an automatedtightening
shoe comprises a sole, an upper, a closure member, a
tightening mechanism and a drive unit.
The upper is connected to the sole, and has a toe
portion and a heel portion. The upper is formed with
an opening adjacent to the heel portion to permit
slipping of a foot into the upper, and further has a
tongue connected to the toe portion, and first and second
closure tabs disposed to overlap opposite lateral sides
of the tongue, respectively.
The closure member is provided on the upper, extends
between the first and second closure tabs, and is
connected to at least one of the first and second closure
tabs. The closure member is movable from a loosening
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state, where the closure member allows limited movement
of the first and second closure tabs away from each other,
to a tightened state, where the closure member pulls
the first and second closure tabs toward each other to
tighten the shoe around the foot.
The tightening mechanism includes first and second
fasteners. The first fastener has a mounting section
mounted securely on the first closure tab, and a fastener
engaging section provided on the mounting section. The
second fastener is connected to the closure member, and
has a fastener engaging portion capable of removable
engagement with the fastener engaging section of the
first fastener so as to retain releasably the closure
member at the tightened state.
The drive unit is mounted inside the sole, and
includes a.housing, a spool mounted rotatably in the
housing, a pul l string and a motor unit . The pul l string
has a f first anchored end connected to the spool , a second
anchored end connected to the second fastener, and an
intermediate string portion between the f first and second
anchored ends. The intermediate string portion extends
outwardly of the sole and the upper to permit connection
of the second anchored end to the second fastener. The
motor unit is mounted in the housing, is coupled to the
spool, and is operable so as t.o drive rotation of the
spool in the housing to wind the pull string on the spool
for pulling the second fastener toward the first fastener
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in order to engage the fastener engaging portion with
the fastener engaging section, thereby resulting in
automated tightening of the shoe.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
S Other features and advantages of the present
invent ion will become apparent in the following detailed
description of the preferred embodimentswith reference
to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a first
preferred embodiment of an automated tightening shoe
according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view
to illustrate a tightening mechanism of the first
preferred embodiment;
Figure 3 is a schematic view to illustrate a drive
unit of the first preferred embodiment;
Figure 4 is a partly sectional schematic side view
of the drive unit;
Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the first
preferred embodiment to illustrate engagement between
first and second fasteners for retaining a closure member
in a tightened state;
Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI
in Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5, but showing
the first and second fasteners in a disengaged state;
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Figure 8 is a perspective view of the first preferred
embodiment to illustrate the closure member in a loosened
state; and
Figure 9 is a schematic view of a second preferred
embodiment of an automated tightening shoe according
to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the first preferred
embodiment of an automated tightening shoe 100 according
to the present invention is shown to include a sole 11,
an upper 12, a closure member 20, a tightening mechanism
30 and a drive unit 40.
The upper 12 is connected to the sole 11, and has
a toe portion 125 and a heel portion 120. The upper 12
is formed with an upper opening 121 adj acent to the heel
portion 120 to permit slipping of a foot into the upper
12, and has a tongue 127 connected to the toe portion
125, and first and second closure tabs 123, 122 disposed
to overlap opposite lateral sides of the tongue 127,
respectively. The first closure tab 123 has a first tab
portion proximate to the toe portion 125, a second tab
port ion proximate to the opening 121, and an intermediate
eyelet-free tab portion 126 between the first and second
tab portions. The first tab portion is provided with
two eyelets 128, whereas the second tab portion is
provided with one eyelet 128. The second closure tab
122 is provided with a plurality of eyelets 124.
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In this embodiment, the closure member 20 includes
a shoe lace strung through the eyelets 128 of the first
closure tab 123 and the eyelets 124 of the second closure
tab 122. The closure member 20 is further formed with
5 a pair of V-shape fastener connection portions 21
corresponding to the intermediate eyelet-free tab
portion 126 of the first closure tab 123. The fastener
connection portions 21 of the closure member 20 are
movable from a loosening state, where the closure member
20 allows limited movement of the first and second
closure tabs 123, 122 away from each other (see Figure
8) , to a tightened state, where the closure member 20
pulls the first and second closure tabs 123, 122 toward
each other to tighten the shoe 100 around the foot (see
Figure 1 ) .
The tightening mechanism 30 includes a first fastener
31 and a second fastener 32. The first fastener 31 has
a mounting section 314 mounted securely on the
intermediate eyelet-free tab portion 126 of the first
closure tab 123, such as with the use of rivets (not
shown), and a fastener engaging section 311 provided
on the mounting section 314. The mounting section 314
and the fastener engaging section 311 of the first
fastener 31 cooperate to impart the first fastener 311
with a tubular configuration. The first fastener 31
further has an open insert end 312 and a tube retaining
end 317 opposite to the open insert end 312, and is formed
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with a radial fastener hole 313 and with a plurality
of guide holes 315 in the tube retaining end 317. The
second fastener 32 has a shoe lace stringing portion
322 and a fastener engaging portion 321 that is connected
S to the shoe lace stringing portion 322. The shoe lace
stringing portion 322 is formed with a pair of eyelets
323 for connection with the fastener connection portions
21 of the closure member 20. The fastener engaging
portion 321 is formed with a pair of string holes 325,
and is further formed with a cutout 320. A resilient
anchor member 324 is disposed in the cutout 320, and
includes a wedge body having a tapered edge 3241
connected to the fastener engaging portion 321 at a
periphery of the cutout 320, and an abutment edge 3242
opposite to the tapered edge 3241. When the fastener
engaging portion 321 is inserted into the open insert
end 312 of the first fastener 31, the resilient anchor
member 324 extends into the radial fastener hole 313
in the first fastener 31 such that the abutment edge
3242 engages removably a periphery of the radial fastener
hole 313. As such, the fastener engaging portion 321
is capable of removable engagement with the fastener
engaging section 311 of the first fastener 31 so as to
retain releasably the closure member 20 at the tightened
state .
Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the drive unit 40 is
mounted in the heel portion 111 of the sole 11, and
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includes a housing 41, a spool 45 mounted rotatably in
the housing 41, a pair of pull strings 46 and a motor
unit . The housing 41 includes a bottom housing part 411
having a top opening, and a top housing part 412 having
a bottom opening and mounted on the bottom housing part
411. A leak-shield ring 414 is disposed between the
bottom housing part 411 and the top housing part 412.
A tube guide 413 projects from one lateral side of the
housing 41. Each of the pull strings 46 has a first
anchored end connected to the spool 45 , a second anchored
end 461 (see Figure 2) connected to a corresponding
string hole 325 in the second fastener 32, and an
intermediate string portion between the f first and second
anchored ends. The intermediate string portion of each
pull string 46 extends through the tube guide 413,
outwardly of the sole 11 and the upper 12 , and passes
through the corresponding guide hole 315 in the first
fastener 31 to permit connection of the second anchored
end 461 to the second fastener 32. The motor unit is
mounted in the housing 41 and includes a motor 42 , an
electric power source 43 , such as a battery unit, coupled
to and supplying electric power to the motor 42, and
a speed reduction gearing 44 for coupling the motor 42
to the spool 45. The motor unit is operable so as to
drive rotation of the spool 45 in the housing 41 to wind
the pull strings 46 on the spool 45 for pulling the second
fastener 32 toward the first fastener 31 in order to
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engage the fastener engaging portion 321 with the
fastener engaging section 311, thereby resulting in
automated tightening of the shoe 100.
Preferably, the shoe 100 further includes a guide
tube unit 50 provided on the upper 12 and extending
between the tube guide 413 on the housing 41 of the drive
unit 40 and the tube retaining end 317 ( see Figure 2 )
of the first fastener 31. The guide tube unit 50 permits
extension of the intermediate string portions of the
pull strings 46 therethrough, and includes a pair of
pull string tubes 51 for the pull strings 46, and a pair
of switch line tubes 52 . The guide tube unit 50 is provided
with flaps 53 for securing the tubes 51, 52 to the upper
12, such as by sewing.
The drive unit 40 further includes a control switch
60 mounted on the sole 11 and coupled to the motor unit .
Preferably, the control switch 60 is mounted on the
housing 41 of the drive unit 40, which in turn is mounted
in the heel portion 111 of the sole 11 . The control switch
60 is capable of activating the motor unit for driving
the spool 45 to wind the pull strings 46 when pressure
is applied on the control switch 60 by the foot that
is slipped into the upper 12.
Referring to Figures 5 and 6, the drive unit 40 further
includes a cut-off switch 70 provided in the first
fastener 31 and coupled to the motor unit. The cut-off
switch 70 is capable of deactivating the motor unit when
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the fastener engaging portion 321 engages the fastener
engaging section 311. In this embodiment, the cut-off
switch 70 includes a stationary contact 71 and a
resilient contact 72 for contacting the stationary
contact 71. The second fastener 32 is formed with an
insulator spacer 33 to space apart the resilient contact
72 from the stationary contact 71 when the fastener
engaging portion 321 of the second fastener 32 is
inserted into the first fastener 31 . In this embodiment,
the stationary contact 71 has a first engaging end
portion 711 and an opposite first contact portion 712.
The first engaging end portion 711 is retained on top
of the mounting portion 314 of the first fastener 31,
and is connected to a switch line originating from the
drive unit 40 and extending through one of the switch
line tubes 52. The first contact portion 712 lies flat
on the mounting portion 314, and is formed with a contact
point 713 . The resilient contact 72 has a second engaging
end portion 721 and an opposite second contact portion
722 . The second engaging end portion 721 is also retained
on top of the mounting portion 314 of the first fastener
31, and is connected to another switch line originating
from the drive unit 40 and extending through the other
one of the switch line tubes 52. The second contact
portion 722 extends above the first contact portion 712
and is biased toward the contact point 713. The spacer
33 is in the form of an L-shaped hook that extends from
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the resilient anchor member 324, and exerts an uplifting
force to space the second contact portion 722 apart from
the contact point 713 when the resilient anchor member
324 is inserted into the first fastener 31. The control
switch 60 and the cut-off switch 70 are connected in
series between the motor 42 and the power source 43 of
the motor unit.
Referring to Figures 1, 3 and 6, when a foot is slipped
into the upper 12 via the upper opening 121, and pressure
is applied on the control switch 60 by the heel,
connection between the motor 42 and the power source
43 is enabled, thereby permitting the motor 42 to drive
the spool 45 to rotate in the housing 41 via the speed
reduction gearing 44. As a result, the pull strings 46
are gradually wound on the spool 45 such that the second
fastener 32 that is connected to the second anchored
ends 461 of the pull strings 46 will be pulled toward
the first fastener 31. The fastener engaging portion
321 of the second fastener 32 eventually extends into
the first fastener 31, and the resilient anchor member
324 engages the periphery of the radial fastener hole
313 in the first fastener 31. At this time, the spacer
33 spaces apart the second contact portion 722 of the
resilient contact 72 from the contact point 713 of the
stationary contact 71, as shown in Figure 5. Thus,
connection between the motor 42 and the power source
43 is disrupted to stop operation of the motor 42. The
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shoe 100 is now in the tightened state.
Referring to Figures 7 and 8, when it is desired to
take off the shoe 100, the resilient anchor member 324
is operated to disengage the same from the periphery
of the radial fastener hole 313 in the first fastener
31. Then, by virtue of uplifting force of the
shoe-removal action, the first closure tab 123 and the
second closure tab 122 will be moved away from each other,
and the closure member 20 will pull the second fastener
32 out of the first fastener 31. The shoe 100 is now
in the loosening state.
Referring to Figure 9, a second preferred embodiment
of an automated tightening shoe 100' according to the
present invention is shown to similarly include an upper
12' connected to a sole and provided with f first and second
closure tabs 123', 122', a closure member 20', a
tightening mechanism 30' including first and second
fasteners 31' , 32' , a drive unit 40' , a guide tube unit
50' , a control switch 60' and a cut-off switch (not shown) .
Unlike the embodiment described beforehand, the closure
member 20' includes a flexible strap having one end
connected securely to the second closure tab 122' and
an opposite end connected to the second fastener 32' .
The shoe wearing and removal operations are the same
as those for the previous embodiment.
While the present invention has been described in
connection with what is considered the most practical
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and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this
invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments
but is intended to cover various arrangements included
within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications
and equivalent arrangements.
