Footwear Including an Incline Adjuster

Abstract

A sole structure may include chambers and a transfer channel containing an electrorheological fluid. Electrodes may be positioned to create, in response to a voltage across the electrodes, an electrical field in at least a portion of the electrorheological fluid in the transfer channel. The sole structure may further include a controller including a processor and memory. At least one of the processor and memory may store instructions executable by the processor to perform operations that include maintaining the voltage across the electrodes at one or more flow-inhibiting levels at which flow of the electrorheological fluid the through the transfer channel is blocked, and that further include maintaining the voltage across the electrodes at one or more flow-enabling levels permitting flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel.

1 . An article comprising:
 an incline adjuster comprising a main body, a variable-volume lateral chamber extending on a lateral side of the main body, and a variable-volume medial chamber extending on a medial side of the main body, and wherein the incline adjuster further comprises:   
       a transfer channel extending between the lateral chamber and the medial chamber;
 an electrorheological fluid filling the lateral chamber, the transfer channel, and the medial chamber; 
 a first electrode exposed to the electrorheological fluid along the transfer channel; and 
 a second electrode and exposed to the electrorheological fluid along the transfer channel in a position opposite the first electrode, 
 a plate located above the incline adjuster and arranged so that downward force on the plate toward the incline adjuster does not compress a region containing the first and second electrodes; 
 a processor; and 
 memory comprising instructions stored on the memory, wherein the stored instructions are executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform steps that comprise: 
 determining that a change of an incline angle of the plate is not required, and 
 in response to the determining that the change of the incline angle of the plate is not required, maintaining a voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode at one or more flow-inhibiting levels preventing flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel. 
 
     
     
         2 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the stored instructions are executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform steps that comprise:
 determining that the change of the incline angle of the plate is required,   determining that a pressure in one of the medial and lateral chambers is higher than a pressure in the other of the medial and lateral chambers, and   based on the determining that the change of the incline angle of the plate is required, and based on the determining that the pressure in the one of the medial and lateral chambers is higher than the pressure in the other of the medial and lateral chambers, maintaining the voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode at one or more flow-enabling levels permitting flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel.   
     
     
         3 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the stored instructions are executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform steps that comprise:
 after the determining that the change of the incline angle of the plate is required, but before the incline angle of the plate has reached the maximum incline angle, determining that the pressure in the one of the medial and lateral chambers is not higher than the pressure in the other of the medial and lateral chambers, and   in response to determining that the pressure in the one of the medial and lateral chambers is not higher than the pressure in the other of the medial and lateral chambers, maintaining the voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode at one or more flow-inhibiting levels preventing flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel.   
     
     
         4 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the stored instructions are executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform steps that comprise:
 determining that a change of the incline angle of the plate is required,   determining that the pressure in the other of the medial and lateral chambers is higher than the pressure in the one of the medial and lateral chambers, and   based on the determining that the change of the incline angle of the plate and based on the determining that the pressure in the other of the medial and lateral chambers is higher than the pressure in the one of the medial and lateral chambers, maintaining the voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode at one or more flow-enabling levels permitting flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel.   
     
     
         5 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lateral chamber and the medial chamber comprises a first chamber wall central section having an exterior shape that includes a depression. 
     
     
         6 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein
 an external portion of the incline adjuster corresponding to the lateral chamber is configured expand outward in response to flow of the electrorheological fluid from the transfer channel into the lateral chamber, and   an external portion of the incline adjuster corresponding to the medial chamber is configured expand outward in response to flow of the electrorheological fluid from the transfer channel into the medial chamber.   
     
     
         7 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the transfer channel forms a transfer channel path between the lateral chamber and the medial chamber, and wherein the first electrode and the second electrode each has a shape corresponding to a shape of the transfer channel path. 
     
     
         8 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode each has side edges embedded in a central portion of the main body and not exposed to the electrorheological fluid. 
     
     
         9 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein
 the lateral chamber comprises a flexible lateral chamber wall extending upward from a top lateral side of the main body,   the lateral chamber wall comprises a lateral chamber wall central section and a lateral chamber wall side section surrounding the lateral chamber wall central section, and   the lateral chamber wall side section comprises at least one fold defining a bellows shape of the lateral chamber.   
     
     
         10 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein
 the medial chamber comprises a flexible medial chamber wall extending upward from a top medial side of the main body,   the medial chamber wall comprises a medial chamber wall central section and a medial chamber wall side section surrounding the medial chamber wall central section, and   the medial chamber wall side section comprises at least one fold defining a bellows shape of the medial chamber.   
     
     
         11 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the lateral chamber and the medial chamber has an exterior shape that includes a depression. 
     
     
         12 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein
 the article is an article of footwear that comprises a sole structure, and   the incline adjuster forms a part of a forefoot portion of the sole structure.   
     
     
         13 . The article of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a medial side stop supporting a medial side of the plate when the incline adjuster and the plate are in a maximum incline condition; and   a lateral side stop supporting a lateral side of the plate when the incline adjuster and the plate are in a minimum incline condition.   
     
     
         14 . The article of  claim 13 , further comprising a bottom plate positioned below a bottom surface of the incline adjuster,
 wherein the lateral side stop is formed as a rim on the lateral side of the bottom plate; and   wherein the medial side stop is formed as a rim on the medial side of the bottom plate.   
     
     
         15 . An article comprising:
 an incline adjuster comprising:
 a main body: 
 a plurality of chambers extending on a side of the main body; 
 a transfer channel extending between the plurality of chambers; 
 an electrorheological fluid filling the plurality of chambers and the transfer channel; 
 a first electrode exposed to the electrorheological fluid along the transfer channel; and 
 a second electrode and exposed to the electrorheological fluid along the transfer channel in a position opposite the first electrode; and 
   a plate located above the incline adjuster and arranged so that downward force on the plate toward the incline adjuster does not compress a region containing the first and second electrodes,   wherein maintaining a voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode at one or more flow-inhibiting levels prevents flow of the electrorheological fluid through the transfer channel to maintain an incline angle of the plate.   
     
     
         16 . The article of  claim 15 , wherein at least one chamber comprises a first chamber wall central section having an exterior shape that includes a depression. 
     
     
         17 . The article of  claim 15 , wherein an external portion of the incline adjuster is configured expand outward in response to flow of the electrorheological fluid from the transfer channel into at least one chamber. 
     
     
         18 . The article of  claim 15 , wherein the transfer channel forms a transfer channel path between the plurality of chambers, and wherein the first electrode and the second electrode each has a shape corresponding to a shape of the transfer channel path. 
     
     
         19 . The article of  claim 15 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode each has side edges embedded in a central portion of the main body and not exposed to the electrorheological fluid. 
     
     
         20 . The article of  claim 15 , wherein
 at least one chamber comprises a flexible chamber wall extending upward from a top side of the main body,   the chamber wall comprises a chamber wall central section and a chamber wall side section surrounding the chamber wall central section, and   the chamber wall side section comprises at least one fold defining a bellows shape of the at least one chamber.