A footwear assembly includes at least one article of footwear having an upper and a housing disposed along the upper. A first lace extends along portions of the upper and into the housing through a first lateral aperture or a first medial aperture. The housing defines a swipe panel, a sole structure coupled with the upper, and a control PCB comprising a wireless communication module. The footwear assembly further includes an electronic device wirelessly coupled with the wireless communication module. The first lace can be incrementally tightened or loosened by swiping the swipe panel or via an input on a display screen of the electronic device.

Presented are intelligent electronic footwear with controller automated features, methods for making/using such footwear, and control systems for executing automated features of intelligent electronic footwear. An intelligent electronic shoe (IES) includes an upper that attaches to a user's foot, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper and supports thereon the user's foot. An alert system, which is mounted to the sole structure and/or upper, generates predetermined outputs in response to electronic command signals. The IES system also includes a wireless communications device that wirelessly communicates with a remote computing node, and a footwear controller that communicates with the wireless communications device and alert system. The footwear controller receives location data indicative of the user's and remote computing node's locations, determines whether the user's location is within a predetermined location/proximity to the node's location and, if so, transmits command signals to the alert system to notify the user/vehicle.

An article of footwear includes an upper extending from a first end in a forefoot region to a second end in a heel region. The article of footwear also includes a sole structure attached to the upper and including a posterior end extending beyond the second end of the upper. The sole structure includes a bladder having a portion disposed between the second end of the upper and the posterior end of the sole structure.

An article of footwear includes a motorized tensioning system, sensors, and a gesture control system. Based on information received from one or more sensors the gesture control system may detect a prompting gesture and enters an armed mode for receiving further instructions. In the armed mode the system may detect a variety of different control gestures that correspond to different tensioning commands.

An article of footwear or an article of apparel can include provisions for facilitating the use of a sensor device and protecting the sensor device from external particles or fluid. The sensor device can include a conduit for moving air through the sensor device from one portion of the sensor device to another portion of the sensor device. An elastic membrane can be attached to an opening formed in the sensor device. The elastic membrane can deform in response to changes in air pressure within the sensor device.

A foot presence sensor system for an active article of footwear can include a sensor housing configured to be disposed at or in an insole of the article, and a controller circuit, disposed within the sensor housing, configured to trigger one or more automated functions of the footwear based on a foot presence indication. In an example, the sensor system includes a capacitive sensor, and the sensor is configured to sense changes in a foot proximity to the sensor in footwear. Information about the sensed proximity can be used to determine a foot velocity characteristic, which in turn can be used to update an automated footwear function, such as an automatic lacing function, or can be used to determine a step count, foot strike force, a rate of travel, or other information about a foot, about an activity, or about the footwear.

A charging system can include provisions for providing power to various systems or components associated with the article of footwear. A charging system may include a charging unit with one or more components configured for use with one or more articles of footwear, where the articles of footwear can include different sizes. The components can be magnetically joined to the article in some cases. Upon connection with a power source, the article may be configured to unlace automatically. In some cases, the charging system can be used to facilitate the transfer of power to components in an automated tensioning system.

The present invention generally relates to golf shoes having a lace tightening system. The shoe includes an upper, midsole, and outsole. The upper includes various lace guides that are separated by gaps. The lace is threaded through these guides and the lace can be tightened or loosened by a rotary dial mounted on the shoe. The lace tightening system can be used to close the instep region around the foot to secure the shoe and provide a comfortable fit. The midsole provides cushioning to the shoe. The outsole preferably contains multiple traction members to provide good stability and ground contact. The shoes of this invention help provide the golfer with stability and balance.

The present invention generally relates to golf shoes having a lace tightening system. The shoe includes an upper, midsole, and outsole. The upper includes various lace guides that are separated by gaps. The lace is threaded through these guides and the lace can be tightened or loosened by a rotary dial mounted on the shoe. The lace tightening system can be used to close the instep region around the foot to secure the shoe and provide a comfortable fit using a power shroud, and the power shroud may have fiber-reinforced composite strips. The midsole provides cushioning to the shoe. The outsole preferably contains multiple traction members to provide good stability and ground contact. The shoes of this invention help provide the golfer with stability and balance.

An article of footwear may include an upper configured to receive a foot of a wearer, the upper including one or more elastic portions and one or more substantially inelastic portions. The footwear may further include a plurality of lace receiving members fixedly attached to an outer surface of the upper on the inelastic portions of the upper. Also, the footwear may include a sole structure fixedly attached to the upper. In addition, the footwear may include a motorized tensioning system including a motorized tightening device and a tensile member extending through the plurality of lace receiving members, the tightening device being configured to apply tension in the tensile member to adjust the size of an internal void defined by the article of footwear by drawing two or more of the plurality of lace receiving members closer to one another.