US-20260123709-A1 - ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR WITH LINER HAVING EXTERNAL GROUND PLANE

Abstract

A liner system for an article of footwear, system, and method includes a liner structure, a sensor, a housing, an electronic module, and a ground plane. The sensor is configured to determine a property of the foot of a wearer. The housing is seated at least in part in the liner structure. The electronic module is coupled to the sensor and positioned in the housing and includes an internal wireless transceiver configured to transmit information based on data received from the sensor concerning the property of the foot and an internal antenna, positioned within the housing and operatively coupled to the wireless transceiver, configured to wirelessly transmit the information from the wireless transceiver. The ground plane is operatively coupled to the internal antenna and projects outside of the housing, extending along the liner structure, and configured to extend an effective range of the internal antenna.

Inventors

• Jamian R. Cobbett
• Paul D. Cox
• Joseph B. Gault
• Robert G. LeGaye
• Phillip A. Meneau
• Summer L. Schneider

Assignees

• NIKE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251229

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A liner configured to be inserted in a void of an article of footwear, comprising: a liner structure; a housing enclosed at least in part by the liner structure; an electronic module, coupled to the sensor and positioned in the housing, comprising: an internal antenna, positioned within the housing, configured to wirelessly transmit information from a wireless transceiver; and a ground plane, operatively coupled to the internal antenna, projecting outside of the housing and extending along the liner structure, configured to extend an effective range of the internal antenna.
2. 2 . The liner of claim 1 , wherein the ground plane is positioned on a flexible substrate that extends outside of the housing along the liner structure.
3. 3 . The liner of claim 2 , further comprising: a rechargeable power source, positioned within the housing, operatively coupled to the electronic module; and a recharge antenna, operatively coupled to the rechargeable power source, positioned on the flexible substrate outside of the housing.
4. 4 . The liner of claim 3 , wherein the recharge antenna comprises a magnet configured to align an external recharge antenna with the recharge antenna.
5. 5 . The liner of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor contained within the housing.
6. 6 . The liner of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor contained, at least in part, within the liner structure.
7. 7 . The liner of claim 1 , wherein the housing is positioned proximate a midfoot region of the liner structure and the ground plane extends toward a heel portion of the liner structure.
8. 8 . The liner of claim 1 , wherein the ground plane is contained, at least in part, within the liner structure.
9. 9 . The liner of claim 1 , wherein the ground plane is configured to rest on a major surface of the liner structure.
10. 10 . The liner of claim 1 , further comprising a shank configured to enclose the housing and electronic module with the liner structure.
11. 11 . A method of making a liner configured to be inserted in a void of an article of footwear, comprising: obtaining a liner structure; enclosing a housing at least in part by the liner structure; coupling an electronic module to the sensor and positioned in the housing, the electronic module comprising: an internal antenna, positioned within the housing, configured to wirelessly transmit information from a wireless transceiver; and a ground plane, operatively coupled to the internal antenna, projecting outside of the housing and extending along the liner structure, configured to extend an effective range of the internal antenna.
12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the ground plane is positioned on a flexible substrate that extends outside of the housing along the liner structure.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: positioning a rechargeable power source within the housing; operatively coupling the rechargeable power source to the electronic module; positioning a recharge antenna on the flexible substrate outside of the housing; and operatively coupling the recharge antenna to the rechargeable power source.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the recharge antenna comprises a magnet configured to align an external recharge antenna with the recharge antenna.
15. 15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising containing a sensor within the housing.
16. 16 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising containing a sensor, at least in part, within the liner structure.
17. 17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the housing is positioned proximate a midfoot region of the liner structure and the ground plane extends toward a heel portion of the liner structure.
18. 18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the ground plane is contained, at least in part, within the liner structure.
19. 19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the ground plane is configured to rest on a major surface of the liner structure.
20. 20 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising a shank configured to enclose the housing and electronic module with the liner structure.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/660,684, filed May 10, 2024, and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/465,969, filed May 12, 2023; 63/465,972, filed May 12, 2023; 63/465,976, filed May 12, 2023; 63/465,977, filed May 12, 2023, and 63/465,980, filed May 12, 2023, the contents of all which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. BACKGROUND Electronics have been incorporated into footwear for a variety of purposes. In various cases, sensors have been positioned within footwear to provide information about the user of the footwear and the manner in which the footwear is used by a wearer. Control electronics, such as controllers or processors, have handled data from such sensors, while antennas have allowed for communication with outside devices and power sources have provided power to the various electronic components. BRIEF SUMMARY Past examples of the inclusion of electronics into an article of footwear have conventionally been electronics specific to a particular article of footwear. For instance, a pressure sensor may be placed in the sole structure of an article of footwear and, consequently, be integral to the article of footwear and not readily removable from the article of footwear. This inherently limits both what types of articles of footwear may be provided with electronics, as the article of footwear must be designed for and built with the electronics from the beginning, as well as limiting the circumstances in which the electronics may be used, as when the article of footwear is not being worn then the electronics by definition cannot be utilized with any other article of footwear. As a result, when the article of footwear is to be discarded then the electronics may of necessity be discarded as well. And while articles of footwear may relatively readily be recycled in whole or in part, electronics seated within the article of footwear may often be removed with difficulty, if at all, there by rendering the recycling of the article of footwear more difficult and increasing the likelihood of electronics waste. A system has been developed that places electronics for an article of footwear as part of a readily removable and insertable liner, such as a sock liner, orthotic insert, or bootie. By making the electronics independent of the article of footwear itself, the electronics may be easily moved from footwear to footwear or removed from the footwear when the footwear is ready to be discarded or recycled. Moreover, such electronics may then be provided with configurations advantageous to the efficient performance of the electronics, with configurations that permit antennas, for instance, to extend to locations in the article of footwear more advantageous for communication than may be provided by conventional antennas and electronics locations embedded within an article of footwear. Further, electronics would not then be limited to an article of footwear specifically designed for such electronics but rather may be incorporated into any article of footwear configured to receive a replacement liner, which may be expected to be a substantial proportion of all articles of footwear produced. Consequently, the benefits of electronics being in a removeable and insertable liner in footwear may mitigate or remove altogether the various challenges of electronics embedded in footwear. In particular, a liner has been developed that includes an electronic module for various electronics and a flexible electronic tab that extends from the electronic module. The electronic module includes an internal antenna and a ground plane that extends out of a housing and along the flexible electronic tab. The expanded ground plane provides for enhanced communication efficiency and range from the internal antenna with an external antenna. As a result, electronics within the liner may provide communication efficiency comparable to that of electronics positioned integrally within an article footwear. Further, the liner may include an electronic module for various electronics and a flexible electronic tab that extends from the electronic module and up a side of the upper of the article of footwear. In so doing, an antenna or electronic connector may be positioned on the flexible tab and provide better performance for the antenna or improved access to the connector by a user than would be provided if the components were wholly contained within a structure of the liner. As a result, advantages that may be provided by more extensive positioning of electronic components within an article of footwear more generally may be obtained while maintaining the electronics only as a part of the removable liner. Further, the liner may include an electronic module for various electronics and a flexible electronic tab that extends from the electronic module and up a side of the upper of the article of footwear. The flexib