Patent Application
20240122300
Putting an article of footwear on an individual's foot often requires the individual to use one or both hands and/or one or more tools (e.g., a shoehorn, etc.), for example to stretch and/or collapse the ankle opening and hold the heel region of the footwear to enable the individual's foot to slide into the foot-receiving cavity of the footwear through the ankle opening.
The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present a selection of concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
According to a first aspect there is an article of footwear that includes an upper and a heel counter operatively connected to a heel region of the upper. The heel counter includes a cradle having a body. The body of the cradle includes a base and a cradle arm extending outward from the base to a tip portion of the cradle arm. The tip portion of the cradle arm is moveable relative to the base between an expanded position and a collapsed position. A spring is encased within the body of the cradle such that the spring biases the tip portion of the cradle arm toward the expanded position of the tip portion. The tip portion of the cradle arm is resiliently deflectable toward the collapsed position against the bias of the spring.
According to a second aspect there is an article of footwear that includes an upper and a heel counter operatively connected to a heel region of the upper. The heel counter includes a cradle that includes a base that extends a length along a longitudinal axis from a rear end portion of the base to a front-end portion of the base. The rear end portion of the base includes a hub. The base includes lateral and medial legs that extend lengths outward from the hub along the longitudinal axis. The length of the lateral leg is greater than the length of the medial leg.
According to a third aspect there is a method for assembling an article of footwear that includes an upper and a heel counter that includes a cradle. The method includes encasing a spring within a body of the cradle such that the spring biases a tip portion of a cradle arm of the cradle toward an expanded position of the tip portion. The method includes mounting the cradle to a heel region of the upper of the article of footwear such that the tip portion of the cradle arm is resiliently deflectable from the expanded position toward a collapsed position of the tip portion against the bias of the spring.
Many of the attendant features will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The present description will be better understood from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in the accompanying drawings.
The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present examples are constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the examples and the sequence of operations for constructing and operating the examples. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.
While various spatial and directional terms, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” “upper,” “lower,” “vertical,” “upward,” and/or the like are used to describe implementations of the present application, it is understood that such terms are merely used with respect to the orientations shown in the drawings. The orientations can be inverted, rotated, or otherwise changed such that the spatial and directional terms apply differently, for example if the structure is flipped 180°: a top side becomes a bottom side; upward becomes downward; a left side becomes a right side; vice versa; and/or the like. Moreover, and for example, vertical may become horizontal when the structure is rotated 90°.
Slipping an individual's foot into the upper of an article of footwear can be difficult without using one or both hands and/or one or more tools (e.g., a shoehorn, etc.). For example, a hand and/or tool may be required to stretch the ankle opening of the footwear and hold the heel region of the upper in the stretched position to enable the foot to be successfully inserted into the foot-receiving cavity of the upper. The examples described below are not limited to implementations which solve any or all of the disadvantages of known footwear.
Certain implementations provide an article of footwear that include an upper and a heel counter operatively connected to a heel region of the upper. The heel counter includes a cradle having a body. The body of the cradle includes a base and a cradle arm extending outward from the base to a tip portion of the cradle arm. The tip portion of the cradle arm is moveable relative to the base between an expanded position (shown in
Certain implementations alleviate the difficulty of slipping an individual's foot into an article of footwear by providing a resiliently collapsible heel counter that enables an individual's foot to be received into the foot-receiving cavity of the upper of an article of footwear without the use of a hand and/or other tools (e.g., only the individual's foot is required for successful insertion into the foot-receiving cavity, etc.). Certain implementations thus enhance the ease of foot entry, allowing hands-free foot entry into an article of footwear. Certain implementations ease manufacturing of articles of footwear, for example by reducing the cost, complexity, and/or difficulty of manufacturing an article of footwear and/or a component thereof (e.g., a heel counter, a cradle, a spring, etc.).
Pronation is the natural movement of the foot that occurs during foot landing while running or walking. Overpronation occurs when a person pushes off mostly from the big toe and second toe instead of distributing weight more evenly among all of the toes. As a result, the shock from the foot's impact doesn't spread evenly throughout the foot and the ankle has trouble stabilizing the rest of the body. Overpronation may also cause an unnatural angle to form between the foot and ankle such that the foot splays out abnormally. Overpronation may result in injury, fatigue, and/or the like. For example, overpronation may have secondary effects on the lower legs, such as increased rotation of the tibia, which may cause lower leg and/or knee problems. Moreover, and for example, overpronation may cause overuse injuries (e.g., medial tibial stress syndrome sometimes referred to as “shin splints”, knee pain, etc.).
Certain implementations provide an article of footwear that includes an upper and a heel counter operatively connected to a heel region of the upper. The heel counter includes a cradle that includes a base that extends a length along a longitudinal axis from a rear end portion of the base to a front-end portion of the base. The rear end portion of the base includes a hub. The base includes lateral and medial legs that extend lengths outward from the hub along the longitudinal axis. In some examples, the lateral leg extends along a lateral longitudinal arch of the article of footwear, a cuboid bone of a foot of a wearer, and/or a lateral longitudinal arch of a foot of a wearer of the article of footwear. In some examples, the length of the lateral leg is greater than the length of the medial leg.
Certain implementations may reduce or eliminate overpronation of the foot of a wearer of an article of footwear. For example, certain implementations may reduce ankle joint eversion movement, plantar force, and/or at least one component of triplanar motion of the foot. Accordingly, certain implementations of the heel counters and methods disclosed herein may reduce injury, fatigue, and/or the like caused by overpronation of a wearer's foot. It should be appreciated that individual results may vary.
With references now to the figures,
As shown in
The upper 106 of the footwear 100 includes a forefoot region 116 that generally includes portions of the footwear 100 corresponding with the anterior (i.e., front) portions of a human foot (e.g., including the toes, the joints connecting the metatarsals with the phalanges, etc.) when the footwear 100 is worn by a human individual. For example, the forefoot region 116 of the upper 106 extends over at least a portion of the anterior of an individual's foot when the individual's foot is received within the foot-receiving cavity 108, for example as shown in
The footwear 100 includes a sole structure 124 to which the upper 106 is secured. The sole structure 124 includes one or more sole components that define any number of layers of the sole structure 124. For example, the sole structure 124 may include an outsole and a midsole that are discrete components joined together. In another example illustrated in the exemplary implementation shown in
Traditionally, slipping an individual's foot into the upper of an article of footwear often requires the use of one or both hands and/or one or more tools (e.g., a shoehorn, etc.) to stretch the ankle opening and hold the heel region of the upper in the stretched position as the foot is inserted into the foot-receiving cavity of the upper. The heel counter 102 of the present application alleviates this difficulty by enabling an individual's foot to be received into the foot-receiving cavity of the upper of an article of footwear without requiring the use of a hand and/or other tools (e.g., only the individual's foot is required for successful insertion into the foot-receiving cavity, etc.). In other words, the various implementations of heel counters and methods disclosed herein enhance the ease of foot entry, allowing hands-free foot entry into an article of footwear. As will be described in more detail below, the heel counter 102 includes a cradle 130 and a spring 132 (not visible in
Optionally, the upper 106 includes a stretchable material (e.g., an elastic material, a stretchable fabric, a 4-way stretch nylon fabric, etc.) along and/or adjacent the heel region 112 of the upper 106 to increase the amount of stretching of the ankle opening 110 along the longitudinal axis 104, for example to facilitate (e.g., assist, etc.) the functionality of the heel counter 102 (e.g., enabling at least partial collapse of the heel region 112 of the upper 106, enabling stretching of the ankle opening 110 along the longitudinal axis 104, enabling entry of an individual's foot into the footwear 100 without the use of a hand and/or other tools, etc.). For example, in the exemplary implementation of
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
In some implementations, the open-ended shape of the front-end portion 156 enables the heel counter 102 to be accommodated by (i.e., operatively connected to, used with, implemented within, etc.) a greater variety of different sizes and shapes of footwear. For example, the open-ended shape of the front-end portion 156 of the base 146 enables the size and/or shape of the base 156 to be adjusted by moving the free end portions 162 of the legs 160 toward or away from each other. Accordingly, the open-ended shape of the front-end portion 156 of the base 146 may reduce the number of different versions (e.g., sizes, shapes, etc.) of the heel counter 102 required to serve a given number of different sizes and shapes of footwear, which may reduce manufacturing costs. Optionally, one or more of the bottom walls 164 and/or one or more of the side walls 166 of the legs 160 of the base 146 include one or more slots and/or other openings that enable further adjustment of the size and/or shape of the base 146. For example, the exemplary implementation of the base 146 shown in
Referring now to
Referring again to
In the exemplary implementation shown herein, and as seen in
Optionally, the body 400 of the cradle 130 includes another cradle arm 176. The cradle arm 176 extends outward from the base 146 to a tip portion 178 of the cradle arm 176. The cradle arm 176 extends between cradle arm 148 and the base 146 along the height (e.g., along the vertical axis 140, etc.) of the heel region 112 of the upper 106. As will be described below, when the heel counter 102 is operatively connected to the heel region 112 of the upper 106, the cradle arm 176 extends upward toward the ankle opening 110 and toward the posterior wall 114 of the heel region 112. The tip portion 178 of the cradle arm 176 is moveable relative to the base 146 between an expanded position 180 and a collapsed position 182 thereof in a similar manner to the tip portion 150 of the cradle arm 148. An example of the collapsed position 182 of the tip portion 178 of the cradle arm 176 is shown in
One or more collapsible windows are defined between the cradle arm 148 and the base 146. For example, a collapsible window 184 is defined between the cradle arm 148 and the cradle arm 176; and a collapsible window 186 is defined between the cradle arm 176 and the base 146. As will be described below, the collapsible windows 184 and 186 are configured to collapse along the vertical axis 140 of the footwear 100 as the cradle arms 148 and 176 move toward the collapsed positions 174 and 182, respectively, thereof. The heel counter 102 may include any number of collapsible windows 184 and/or 186 (e.g.; a single collapsible window, for example in implementations that do not include the cradle arm 176; three collapsible windows, for example in implementations that include a third cradle arm; etc.).
In the exemplary implementation, the cradle arm 176 extends a length along a continuous path between the legs 160 of the base 146 (i.e., extends continuously from the lateral leg 160a to the medial leg 160b). In other implementations, the length of the cradle arm 148 is not continuous between the legs 160 of the base 146, but rather is segmented into any number of segments that enables the heel counter 102 to function as described and/or illustrated herein (e.g., two segments that extend outward from a corresponding leg 160 of the base 146 to free end portions that are spaced apart by a gap and that define the tip portion 178, etc.). Although two are shown in the exemplary implementation, the cradle 130 may include any number of cradle arms. The cradle arm 148 may be referred to herein as a “first” cradle arm, while the cradle arm 176 may be referred to herein as a “second” cradle arm.
Referring again to
In the exemplary implementation, the base 146, the cradle arm 148, and the cradle arm 176 of the heel counter 102 are integrally formed as a single, unitary structure, as is shown herein. The base 146, the cradle arm 148, and/or the cradle arm 176 may be integrally formed using any suitable method, means, process, and/or the like, such as, but not limited to, molding, casting, machining, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and/or the like.
In other implementations, the base 146, the cradle arm 148, and/or the cradle arm 176 are not integrally formed as a single, unitary structure, but at least two of the base 146, the cradle arm 148, and/or the cradle arm 176 are discrete components that are connected together using any suitable method, means, connector, fastener, manner, and/or the like, such as, but not limited to, adhesive, cement, bonding, welding, melding, heat molding, brazing, soldering, threaded fasteners, rivets, clips, pins, a snap-fit connection, an interference-fit connection, and/or the like.
Referring now to the spring 132 of the heel counter 102, the spring 132 is encased within the body 400 of the cradle 130 such that the spring 132 biases the tip portion 150 of the cradle arm 148 toward the expanded position 172 of the tip portion 150. In other words, the spring 132 is operatively connected to the cradle arm 148 such that the spring 132 provides a spring force that biases the tip portion 150 of the cradle arm 148 against movement away from the expanded position 172 in the direction 144. The spring force provided by the spring 132 configures the cradle arm 148 to be resiliently deflectable toward the collapsed position 174 (shown in
In the exemplary implementations shown herein, the spring 132 is a cantilever spring. For example, the spring 132 includes a lateral end portion 190, a medial end portion 192, and a spring arm 188 that extends a length from the lateral end portion 190 to the medial end portion 192. The spring arm 188 extends outward from the end portions 190 and 192 to a tip portion 198 of the spring arm 188. The spring arm 188 is cantilevered from the end portions 190 and 192 such that the tip portion 198 of the spring arm 188 is resiliently deflectable in the direction 144 against a bias of the tip portion 198 of the spring arm 188 to the natural resting position of the tip portion 198 shown in
In the exemplary implementation, the length of the spring arm 188 extends continuously from the end portion 190 to the end portion 192, with the tip portion 198 extending at approximately a central location along the length of the spring arm 188. In other implementations, the length of the spring arm 188 is not continuous between the end portions 190 and 192, but rather is segmented into any number of segments that enables the spring 132 to function as described and/or illustrated herein (e.g., two segments that extend outward from corresponding end portions 190 and 192 to free end portions that are spaced apart by a gap and that define the tip portion 198, etc.).
As briefly described above, the spring 132 is encased within the body 400 of the cradle 130. For example, the spring 132 is enveloped within the material of the body 400 of the cradle 130. The cross sections of
The spring 132 is encased within the body 400 of the cradle 130 of the heel counter 102 such that the end portions 190 and 192 of the spring 132 extend along the bottom walls 164 of the respective legs 160a and 160b of the base 146. Moreover, the spring 132 is encased within the body 400 such that at least a segment of a length of the spring extends within the base 146 of the body 400. For example, in the exemplary implementation, segments of the end portions 190 and 192 of the spring 132 extend within the corresponding bottom walls 164 of the base 146 of the body 400 of the cradle 130. Accordingly, the spring 132 is encased within the body 400 such that the lateral end portion 190 extends along the lateral side 120 of the upper 106 and the medial end portion 192 extends along the medial side 122 of the upper 106 when the heel counter 102 is operatively connected to the heel region 112 of the upper 106. The bottom walls 164 of the base 146 and the bottom wall 126 of the upper 106 support (e.g., hold in place, etc.) the end portions 190 and 192 of the spring 132 to enable the tip portion 198 of the spring arm 188 to resiliently deflect in the direction 144 relative to the end portions 190 and 192.
The spring 132 is encased within the body 400 of the cradle 130 of the heel counter 102 such that at least a segment of the spring arm 188 of the spring 132 extends within the cradle arm 148 of the cradle 130. Accordingly, the spring arm 188 of the spring 132 provides a spring force that resists (i.e., biases against) movement of the cradle arm 148 away from the expanded position 172 in the direction 144 toward the collapsed position 174 (shown in
In addition or alternatively to a cantilever spring, the spring 132 may include any other type of spring that enables the spring 132 to function as described and/or illustrated herein (e.g., to provide a spring force that configures the cradle arm 148 to be resiliently deflectable in the direction 144, etc.), such as, but not limited to, coil springs, leaf springs, torsion springs, flat springs, and/or the like.
The spring 132 may be fabricated from any material(s) that enable the spring 132 to function as described and/or illustrated herein (e.g., to provide a spring force that configures the cradle arm 148 to be resiliently deflectable in the direction 144, etc.). Examples of suitable materials used to fabricate the spring 132 include, but are not limited to, metals, metal alloys, metal composites, composite materials (e.g., carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar®, metal matrix composites, etc.), elastomeric materials, plastics, thermoplastics, nylon, polyether block amide, fiberglass reinforced polyamides, wood, and/or the like. In some implementations, the spring 132 is metallic, which as used herein is intended to mean the spring 132 includes at least the property of a metal of being resiliently deflectable.
The geometry, material(s), and/or other variables of the various components of the heel counter 102 (e.g., the cradle 130, the spring 132, etc.) may be selected to enable the heel counter 102 to function as described and/or illustrated herein (e.g., to provide the spring 132 with a predetermined spring force, to enable an individual's foot to be received into the foot-receiving cavity 108 of the upper 106 the footwear 100 without the use of a hand and/or other tools, to provide heel counter functionality or assist the functionality of a heel counter (not shown) of the heel region 112 of the upper 106, to provide a predetermined amount of support to the posterior of an individual's heel, etc.). Examples of geometry, materials, and other variables that may be selected to enable (e.g., establish, tune, etc.) the heel counter 102 to function as described and/or illustrated herein include, but are not limited to: the thickness, length, width, angle, shape, geometry, size, cross-sectional shape, path, material composition, and/or the like of the base 146, the cradle arm 148, the cradle arm 176, and/or the spring 132; the method, process, means, manner, and/or the like of encasing the spring 132 within the body 400 of the cradle 130; and/or the like. For example, the spring 132 may include: a wire, a circular cross section, a rectangular cross section, a flat cross section, and/or the like.
The spring 132 may be encased within the body 400 of the cradle 130 using any method, means, process, steps, equipment, tool, and/or the like. In some implementations, the material of the body 400 of the cradle 130 is molded over the spring 132 to encase the spring 132 within the body 400 during fabrication of the body 400 (e.g., the body 400 includes material molded over the spring 132). For example, the body 400 may be fabricated using injection molding, for example wherein the spring 132 is positioned (e.g., pinned, held, secured, etc.) within a mold and liquid material (e.g., above room temperature, at approximately room temperature, below room temperature, etc.) is injected into the mold around the spring 132. Any other molding method, means, process, equipment, step, tool, and/or the like may be additionally or alternatively used. Moreover, in addition or alternative to molding, any other fabrication method, means, process, step, equipment, tool, and/or the like may be used to fabricate the body 400 and/or encase the spring 132 within the body 400.
The spring 132 may be fabricated using any method, means, process, steps, equipment, tool, and/or the like. In some implementations, a body of the spring 132 is fabricated using a molding process (e.g., injection molding, etc.). In addition, or alternative to molding, any other fabrication method, means, process, step, equipment, tool, and/or the like may be used to fabricate the spring 132. For example, an elongate material (e.g., a wire, a cable, a bar, another elongate structure, etc.) may be cut to a predetermined length and shaped to form the spring 132. Examples of shaping the elongate material to form the spring 132 include, but are not limited to: forcing, feeding, and/or the like the elongate material through a mold; winding the spring 132 around a mandrel; and/or the like.
Referring now to
Optionally, the backing 200 includes a flexible material such that the backing 200 is a flexible backing 200, for example to facilitate (e.g., assist, etc.) the functionality of the heel counter 102 (e.g., enabling at least partial collapse of the heel region 112 of the upper 106, enabling stretching of the ankle opening 110 along the longitudinal axis 104, enabling entry of an individual's foot into the footwear 100 without the use of a hand and/or other tools, etc.). Examples of the flexible material of the backing 200 include, but are not limited to, a compressible foam, a compressible foam textile, a flexible textile, leather, vegan leather, vinyl, nylon, a stretchable material, an elastic material, and/or the like.
In the exemplary implementation of the heel counter 102, the cradle 130 is operatively connected to the heel region 112 of the upper 106 such that the base 146 extends along a bottom portion 202 of the heel region 112 of the upper 106. For example, as should be apparent from
As shown in
As is also shown in
When the cradle 130 is operatively connected to the heel region 112 of the upper 106 as shown in
In some implementations, the heel counter 102 is configured to provide heel counter functionality or assist the functionality of a heel counter (not shown) of the heel region 112 of the upper 106. For example, in some implementations the heel counter 102 facilitates holding the heel region 112 open (i.e., facilitates preventing the heel region 112 of the upper 106 from collapsing) at rest or while the footwear 100 is being worn by an individual. In some implementations, the heel counter 102 is configured to support a posterior of the individual's heel.
In operation, and referring now to
As the individual's foot is fully received into the foot-receiving cavity 108, the stored elastic energy due to the bias of the spring 132 automatically moves the cradle arm 148 back from the collapsed position 174 in the direction of the arrow 208 toward the expanded position 172, as is illustrated in
Referring again to
As described above, a midfoot region 118 of the footwear 100 includes portions of the footwear 100 corresponding with a longitudinal arch area of the human foot (e.g., including the navicular joint, the cuboid bone, etc.) when the individual's foot is received within the foot-receiving cavity 108 of the upper 106. For example, the midfoot region 118 of the footwear 100 includes a lateral longitudinal arch area 250 whereat a lateral longitudinal arch 252 of the wearer's foot is generally positioned when the individual's foot is received within the foot-receiving cavity 108 of the upper 106.
As can be seen in
The support provided by the length L of the lateral leg 160a along the lateral side 120 of the article of footwear 100 is configured to reduce or eliminate overpronation of the foot of the wearer the article of footwear 100. For example, the length L of the lateral leg 160a reduces ankle joint eversion movement, plantar force, and/or at least one component of triplanar motion of the wearer's foot while wearing the footwear 100. Accordingly, the length L of the lateral leg 160a may reduce injury, fatigue, and/or the like caused by overpronation of the wearer's foot. For example, the length L of the lateral leg 160a may facilitate reducing or preventing secondary effects on the lower legs (e.g., increased rotation of the tibia, etc.), lower leg issues, knee issues, overuse injuries (e.g., medial tibial stress syndrome sometimes referred to as “shin splints”, knee pain, etc.), and/or the like. As mentioned above, individual results may vary.
In some examples, the length L of the lateral leg 160a is greater than the length that the medial leg 160b extends along the longitudinal axis 104, for example as shown in
Optionally, the method 300 includes fabricating, at 302, the spring including molding the spring. At 304, the method optionally includes fabricating the spring including: cutting a length of material; and shaping the material.
The method 300 includes encasing, at 306, a spring within a body of the cradle such that the spring biases a tip portion of a cradle arm of the cradle toward an expanded position of the tip portion. At 308, the method 300 includes mounting the cradle to a heel region of the upper of the article of footwear such that the tip portion of the cradle arm is resiliently deflectable from the expanded position toward a collapsed position of the tip portion against the bias of the spring.
In some implementations, encasing at 306 the spring within the body of the cradle includes molding, at 306a, a material of the body of the cradle over the spring. In some implementations, encasing at 306 the spring within the body of the cradle includes injection molding, at 306b, a material of the body of the cradle over the spring.
Optionally, encasing at 306 the spring within the body of the cradle includes: positioning, at 306c, the spring within a mold; and injecting, at 306d, liquid material into the mold around the spring.
In some implementations, encasing at 306 the spring within the body of the cradle includes encasing, at 306e, the spring within the body such that the body covers an approximate entirety of a surface area of the spring. Optionally, encasing at 306 the spring within the body of the cradle includes encasing, at 306f, the spring within the body such that at least a segment of a length of the spring extends within the cradle arm of the body of the cradle. Encasing at 306 the spring within the body of the cradle optionally includes encasing, at 306g, the spring within the body such that at least a segment of a length of the spring extends within a base of the body of the cradle.
In some implementations, mounting at 308 the cradle to the heel region includes mounting, at 308a, the cradle to an exterior layer of the upper along the heel region. Mounting at 308 the cradle to the heel region optionally includes mounting, at 308b, the cradle to the heel region such that the cradle arm extends over a posterior wall of the heel region.
Optionally, mounting at 308 the cradle to the heel region includes mounting, at 308c, the cradle to the heel region such that a spring arm of the spring extends continuously from a lateral end portion of the spring that extends along a lateral side of the upper to a medial end portion of the spring that extends along a medial side of the upper.
Various implementations of heel counters and methods disclosed herein enhance the ease of foot entry, allowing hands-free foot entry into an article of footwear. Various implementations of heel counters and methods disclosed herein reduce or eliminate overpronation of the foot of a wearer of an article of footwear.
The following clauses describe further aspects:
Clause Set A:
Clause set B:
Clause Set C:
Clause Set D:
Clause Set E:
Clause Set F:
Clause Set G:
Clause set H:
As used herein, a structure, limitation, or element that is “configured to” perform a task or operation is particularly structurally formed, constructed, or adapted in a manner corresponding to the task or operation. For purposes of clarity and the avoidance of doubt, an object that is merely capable of being modified to perform the task or operation is not “configured to” perform the task or operation as used herein.
Any range or value given herein can be extended or altered without losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilled person.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above can relate to one implementation or can relate to several implementations. The implementations are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages. It will further be understood that reference to ‘an’ item refers to one or more of those items.
The order of execution or performance of the operations in examples of the present application illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations can be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and examples of the application can include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation (e.g., different steps, etc.) is within the scope of aspects and implementations of the application.
The term “comprising” is used in this specification to mean including the feature(s) or act(s) followed thereafter, without excluding the presence of one or more additional features or acts. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there can be additional elements other than the listed elements. In other words, the use of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and additional items. Accordingly, and for example, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, implementations “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property can include additional elements not having that property. Further, references to “one implementation” or “an implementation” are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional implementations that also incorporate the recited features. The term “exemplary” is intended to mean “an example of”.
When introducing elements of aspects of the application or the examples thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. In other words, the indefinite articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” as used in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.” Accordingly, and for example, as used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and preceded by the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not necessarily excluding the plural of the elements or steps.
The phrase “one or more of the following: A, B, and C” means “at least one of A and/or at least one of B and/or at least one of C.” The phrase “and/or”, as used in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one implementation, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another implementation, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another implementation, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
As used in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of or “exactly one of” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e., “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of” “only one of” or “exactly one of” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.
As used in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one implementation, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another implementation, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another implementation, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. Ordinal terms are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term), to distinguish the claim elements.
Having described aspects of the application in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the application as defined in the appended claims. As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the application, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described implementations (and/or aspects thereof) can be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the various implementations of the application without departing from their scope. While the dimensions and types of materials described herein are intended to define the parameters of the various implementations of the application, the implementations are by no means limiting and are example implementations. Many other implementations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the various implementations of the application should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
This written description uses examples to disclose the various implementations of the application, including the best mode, and also to enable any person of ordinary skill in the art to practice the various implementations of the application, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the various implementations of the application is defined by the claims, and can include other examples that occur to those persons of ordinary skill in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if the examples have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if the examples include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
