Articles of footwear with adaptive-height bladder elements

Abstract

Articles of footwear can include an adaptive-height sole structure that includes a variable height bladder system. The sole structure can include one or more bladder systems positioned between a midsole and a banking plate. The banking plate can change its relative orientation to the midsole based on an inflation level of the bladder systems.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear comprising:
 an upper;   a sole structure having a lateral side and a medial side, at least one adjustable height bladder system comprising at least one cavity containing a fluid to change a banking angle of the article of footwear;   one or more sensors configured to detect a change in a directional movement of the article of footwear; and   a fluid control system configured to adjust an amount of inflation of the at least one adjustable height bladder system by adjusting an amount of the fluid in the at least one cavity based on the detected change in the directional movement,   wherein the banking angle is an angle at which an upper surface of the sole structure is inclined about a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear relative to a horizontal plane.   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are located on a bottom surface of the sole structure and configured to identify changes in forces exerted on the bottom of the sole structure. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are located on both the lateral side and the medial side of the sole structure, the one or more sensors being configured to identify a difference between a first force exerted on the lateral side of the sole structure and a second force exerted on the medial side of the sole structure. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more gyroscopes. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more accelerometers. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one adjustable height bladder system comprises a first bladder system positioned in a forefoot region of the article of footwear and a second bladder system positioned in a midfoot region of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more sensors are positioned on at least one of the first and second bladder systems, within at least one of the first and second bladder systems, or both on and within at least one of the first and second bladder systems. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one adjustable height bladder system is on one of the lateral side and the medial side of the sole structure, and the other one of the lateral side and the medial side of the sole structure does not have an adjustable height bladder system. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the sole structure comprising a banking plate and an anchor plate that pivot relative to one another to define the banking angle. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid control system comprises:
 at least one reservoir separate from the at least one cavity of the at least one bladder system;   at least one fluid line extending from the at least one reservoir to the at least one bladder system; and   at least one valve positioned between the at least one reservoir and the at least one bladder system,   wherein the at least one valve is operable between a closed position in which the fluid is prevented from flowing between the at least one reservoir and the at least one bladder system, and an open position in which the fluid can flow between the at least one reservoir and the at least one bladder system.   
     
     
         11 . A method of adjusting a banking angle in an article of footwear, the method comprising:
 detecting a change in a directional movement of the article of footwear using one or more sensors;   transmitting a signal from the sensors to a fluid control system based on the detected change in the directional movement; and   adjusting an amount of fluid in at least one adjustable height bladder system based on the signal to change the banking angle of the article of footwear,   wherein the banking angle is an angle at which an upper surface of a sole structure is inclined about a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear relative to a horizontal plane.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more sensors are located on a bottom surface of the sole structure, and the act of detecting the change in the direction movement comprises identifying a change in forces exerted on the bottom of the sole structure. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the article of footwear comprise a medial side and a lateral side, the one or more sensors are located on both the lateral side and the medial side of the sole structure, and the act of detecting the change in the direction movement comprises identifying a difference between a first force exerted on the lateral side of the sole structure and a second force exerted on the medial side of the sole structure. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one adjustable height bladder system comprises a first bladder system positioned in a forefoot region of the article of footwear and a second bladder system positioned in a midfoot region of the article of footwear, and both the first bladder system and the second bladder system are inflated together to increase the banking angle. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more sensors are pressure sensors positioned on at least one of the first and second bladder systems, within at least one of the first and second bladder systems, or both on and within at least one of the first and second bladder systems, and the act of detecting the change in direction movement comprises identifying a change in pressure. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the article of footwear is maintained in an unbanked state when the directional movement is determined to be a forward movement. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein in the unbanked state, a level of inflation of the at least one adjustable height bladder system is at a minimum. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the act of adjusting the amount of fluid in the at least one adjustable height bladder system comprises:
 opening a valve between a reservoir and at least one cavity of the at least one bladder system; and   directing a fluid to flow to the at least one cavity from the reservoir to increase the banking angle of the article of footwear.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the adjusting of the amount of fluid is controlled by a remote source that transmits a wireless signal to the fluid control system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more sensors comprising a position-locating system and the adjusting of the amount of fluid is determined based on an identification of a location of the article of footwear.