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EP-3909458-B1 - INCLINE ADJUSTER WITH MULTIPLE DISCRETE CHAMBERS

EP3909458B1EP 3909458 B1EP3909458 B1EP 3909458B1EP-3909458-B1

Inventors

  • WALKER, STEVEN H
  • NICOLI, Raymond L
  • PAUSAL, ROLANDO

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20180830

Claims (14)

  1. An article of footwear (10) comprising: an upper (11); and a sole structure (12) joined to the upper, the sole structure comprising a base (15), an incline adjuster (16), and a support plate (14), and wherein the base is located in a forefoot portion (17) of the sole structure, a midfoot portion of the sole structure, and a heel portion (18) of the sole structure, the support plate is located in at least the forefoot portion of the sole structure, the incline adjuster comprises an incline adjuster forefoot section located between the base and the support plate in the forefoot portion of the sole structure, the incline adjuster forefoot section comprising at least three chambers (35a-c, 36a-c), each of the chambers contains an electrorheological fluid and is configured to change outward extension in correspondence to a change in a volume of the electrorheological fluid within the chamber, the chambers are connected in a series by transfer channels (61-65), each of the transfer channels permitting flow between two of the chambers, the transfer channels comprise a flow-regulating transfer channel (63), the flow-regulating transfer channel comprising opposing first and second electrodes (77) extending along an interior of a field-generating portion of the flow-regulating transfer channel, the flow-regulating transfer channel and the opposing first and second electrodes extend rearward from a first chamber in the incline adjuster forefoot section to a heel region of the sole structure and return forward to a second chamber in the incline adjuster forefoot section, characterized in that the sole structure comprises, for each of the chambers, a corresponding chamber cap (37a-c, 38a-c) located between a top of the chamber and a bottom of the support plate.
  2. The article of claim 1, wherein a first of the chambers in the series is not connected to a last of the chambers in the series.
  3. The article of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each of the chambers comprises a flexible wall (53a-c, 54a-c) forming a part of the chamber and that is configured to expand as the volume of the electrorheological fluid within the chamber increases and that is configured to contract as the volume of electrorheological fluid within the chamber decreases.
  4. The article of claim 3, wherein the incline adjuster comprises a main body in which the transfer channels are contained and from which the flexible walls of the chambers extend.
  5. The article of claim 3 or 4, wherein the flexible wall of one of the chambers comprises a central section and a side section surrounding the central section, and the side section comprises at least one fold defining a bellows shape of the chamber.
  6. The article of claim 3 or 4, wherein the flexible wall of one of the chambers comprises a central section and a side section surrounding the central section, and the central section has an exterior shape that includes a depression.
  7. The article of claims 1, wherein one of the chambers comprises a flexible wall forming a part of the chamber and that is configured to expand as the volume of electrorheological fluid within the chamber increases and that is configured to contract as the volume of electrorheological fluid within the chamber decreases; and the flexible wall of the respective chamber comprises a central section and a side section surrounding the central section.
  8. The article of claim 1 or 7, wherein each of the chamber caps has a rounded top surface contacting a surface of the bottom of the support plate.
  9. The article of claim 8, wherein, for each of the chamber caps, a cap top material forming the rounded top surface has a coefficient of friction, relative to the surface of the bottom of the support plate, that is less than a coefficient of friction, relative to the surface of the bottom of the support plate, of a material forming a top surface of the chamber corresponding to the chamber cap.
  10. The article of claim 7 and optionally any of claims 8-9, wherein, for one of the chambers, the central section of the flexible wall has an exterior shape that includes a depression, and the chamber cap corresponding to the chamber includes a projection extending into the depression and a skirt surrounding the side section of the flexible wall of the first chamber.
  11. The article of any preceding claim, wherein the transfer channels are configured so that volumes of the electrorheological fluid within the transfer channels remain substantially constant as the volumes of the electrorheological fluid in the chambers vary.
  12. The article of any preceding claim, wherein the chambers comprise one or more medial chambers (36a-c) located on a medial side of the incline adjuster forefoot section and one or more lateral chambers (36a-c) located on a lateral side of the incline adjuster forefoot section, and wherein: (i) there are more lateral chambers than medial chambers, or (ii) there are more medial chambers than lateral chambers, or (iii) the medial chambers comprise a front medial chamber (36a), an intermediate medial chamber (36b), and a rear medial chamber (36c), and the lateral chambers comprise front lateral chamber (35a), an intermediate lateral chamber (35b), and a rear lateral chamber (35c).
  13. The article of any preceding claim, wherein the field-generating portion extends through midfoot and heel regions of the sole structure, and wherein optionally: the field-generating portion has a length L and an average width W, and a ratio L/W is at least 50.
  14. The article of any preceding claim, wherein the transfer channels other than the flow-regulating transfer channel (63) lack electrodes.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application no. 62/552,551 , titled "INCLINE ADJUSTER WITH MULTIPLE DISCRETE CHAMBERS" and filed August 31, 2017. Application no. 62/552,551. TECHNICAL FIELD The field of the invention is articles of footwear. BACKGROUND Conventional articles of footwear generally include an upper and a sole structure. The upper provides a covering for the foot and securely positions the foot relative to the sole structure. The sole structure is secured to a lower portion of the upper and is configured so as to be positioned between the foot and the ground when a wearer is standing, walking, or running. Conventional footwear is often designed with the goal of optimizing a shoe for a particular condition or set of conditions. For example, sports such as tennis and basketball require substantial side-to-side movements. Shoes designed for wear while playing such sports often include substantial reinforcement and/or support in regions that experience more force during sideways movements. As another example, running shoes are often designed for forward movement by a wearer in a straight line. Difficulties can arise when a shoe must be worn during changing conditions, or during multiple different types of movements. US2006/0248750A1 discloses a variable footwear support system including a rheological body within a sole of an article of footwear, control electronics within the article of footwear, and at least one E/M field generator coupled to the control electronics and arranged operably proximate to at least one rheological body. SUMMARY This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the invention. The invention is set out in the appended set of claims. Additional embodiments are described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements. FIG. 1 is a medial side view of a shoe according to some embodiments.FIG. 2A is a bottom view of the sole structure of the shoe of FIG. 1.FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the sole structure of the shoe of FIG. 1, but with a forefoot outsole element removed.FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the forefoot outsole element of the sole structure of the shoe of FIG. 1 .FIG. 3 is a partially exploded medial perspective view of the sole structure of the shoe of FIG. 1.FIG. 4A is an enlarged rear lateral top perspective view of an incline adjuster of the shoe of FIG. 1 .FIG. 4B is a top view of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A.FIG. 4C is an area cross-sectional view taken from the plane indicated in FIG. 4B by arrows A-A.FIG. 4D is an area cross-sectional view taken from the plane indicated in FIG. 4B by arrows B-B.FIG. 5A shows a first layer of a first component of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A, together with a metal first electrode.FIG. 5B shows the first layer of FIG. 5A after attachment of the first electrode of FIG. 5A.FIG. 5C shows the first component of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A after molding of a second layer over the first layer and attached first electrode.FIG. 6A shows a first layer of a second component of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A, together with a metal second electrode.FIG. 6B shows the first layer of FIG. 6A after attachment of the second electrode of FIG. 6A.FIG. 6C shows the second component of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A after molding of a second layer over the first layer and attached second electrode.FIG. 7 shows assembly of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A from the first component of FIG. 5C and the second component of FIG. 6C.FIG. 8A is a lateral top perspective view of an incline adjuster after assembly and prior to filling with ER fluid.FIG. 8B is a bottom medial perspective view of an incline adjuster after assembly and prior to filling with ER fluid.FIG. 9 is an enlarged area cross-sectional view, taken from the plane indicated in FIG. 4B by arrows C-C, showing of a portion of a transfer channel of the incline adjuster of FIG. 4A.FIG. 10 is a partially schematic cross-sectional view, taken as a top rear medial perspective view from the plane indicated in FIG. 4B by arrows A-A, and further showing two chamber caps.FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing electrical system components in the shoe of FIG. 1.FIGS. 12A through 12C are partially schematic area cross-sectional diagrams showing operation of the incline adjuster of the shoe of FIG. 1 when going from a minimum incline condition to a maximum incline condition.FIG. 13A is a graph of foot state, pressure difference, voltage levels, and incline angle at different times during a transition from a minimum incline condition to a maximum incline condition.FIG. 13B is a graph of foo