Autolacing footwear motor having rotary drum encoder

1 . A wearable article, comprising:

a structure configured to enclose, at least in part, and interact with a body part of a wearer of the wearable article, wherein the structure has a property related to how the structure is configured to interact with the body part;

a motorized system, operatively coupled to and configured to change the property of the structure, comprising:

a motor, including a motor shaft;

a processor circuit;

an optical encoder, comprising:

a three-dimensional encoder forming a drum and defining a major axis extending along a length of the drum and having an outer surface having a first plurality of segments positioned between a second plurality of segments, the first plurality of segments having a different light reflecting characteristic than the second plurality of segments, the three-dimensional encoder secured to the motor shaft such that the turning of the motor shaft causes the three-dimensional encoder to rotate about the major axis, wherein the outer surface of the three-dimensional encoder faces away from the major axis; and

an optical sensor, positioned within optical range of the three-dimensional encoder, configured to output a signal to the processor circuit indicative of a detected one of the first and second plurality of segments;

wherein the processor circuit is configured to operate the motor to cause the property of the structure to change among a plurality of preset levels based, at least in part, on the signal as received from the optical sensor; and

a printed circuit board on which the processor circuit and the optical sensor are positioned, wherein the optical sensor comprises a first optical sensor on a first major surface of the printed circuit board and a second optical sensor on a second major surface of the printed circuit board on an opposite side of the first major surface; and

a user interface, operatively coupled to the motorized system, configured to receive a user input related to the property of the structure and to provide an output to the processor circuit to change the property according to the plurality of preset levels.

2 . The wearable article of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional encoder forms a cylinder.

3 . The wearable article of claim 1 , wherein a spacing between the first and second optical sensors is approximately the same as a spacing between adjacent ones of the first plurality of segments.

4 . The wearable article of claim 1 , wherein the each of the plurality of preset levels corresponds to predetermined ones of the first and second plurality of segments being detectable by the first and second optical sensors.

5 . The wearable article of claim 4 , wherein the each of the plurality of preset levels corresponds to a predetermined adjacent pair of segments of one of the first and second plurality of segments being detectable by the first and second optical sensors.

6 . The wearable article of claim 4 , wherein the each of the plurality of preset levels further corresponds to a predetermined number of times the predetermined ones of the first and second plurality of segments are detectable by the first and second optical sensors during a predetermined period of time.

7 . The wearable article of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of segments are less reflective of light than the second plurality of segments.

8 . The wearable article of claim 7 , wherein the first plurality of segments are dark and the second plurality of segments are reflective.

9 . The wearable article of claim 1 , further comprising a lace operatively coupled to the motor and to the structure, wherein operation of the motor is configured to increase and decrease tension on the lace, and wherein the property of the structure is related to a tightness of the structure in relation to the body part of the wearer.

10 . The wearable article of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of preset levels correspond to a plurality of different tension levels on the lace.

11 . A method for making a wearable article, comprising:

obtaining a structure configured to enclose, at least in part, and interact with a body part of a wearer of the wearable article, wherein the structure has a property related to how the structure is configured to interact with the body part;

making a motorized system, the motorized system configured to change the property of the structure, comprising the steps of:

positioning a processor circuit on a printed circuit board;

operatively coupling a motor to the processor circuit, the motor including a motor shaft;

positioning a three-dimensional encoder in relation to the motor, the three-dimensional encoder forming a drum and defining a major axis extending along a length of the drum and having an outer surface having a first plurality of segments positioned between a second plurality of segments, the first plurality of segments having a different light reflecting characteristic than the second plurality of segments, the three-dimensional encoder secured to the motor shaft such that the turning of the motor shaft causes the three-dimensional encoder to rotate about the major axis, wherein the outer surface of the three-dimensional encoder faces away from the major axis; and

positioning an optical sensor on the printed circuit board and within optical range of the three-dimensional encoder, the optical sensor configured to output a signal to the processor circuit indicative of a detected one of the first and second plurality of segments;

wherein the processor circuit is configured to operate the motor to cause the property of the structure to change among a plurality of preset levels based, at least in part, on the signal as received from the optical sensor; wherein the optical sensor comprises a first optical sensor on a first major surface of the printed circuit board and a second optical sensor on a second major surface of the printed circuit board on an opposite side of the first major surface;

operatively coupling the motorized system to a structure of the wearable article; and

operatively coupling a user interface to the motorized system, the user interface configured to receive a user input related to the property of the structure and to provide an output to the processor circuit to change the property according to the plurality of preset levels.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the three-dimensional encoder forms a cylinder.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a spacing between the first and second optical sensors is approximately the same as a spacing between adjacent ones of the first plurality of segments.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the each of the plurality of preset levels corresponds to predetermined ones of the first and second plurality of segments being detectable by the first and second optical sensors.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the each of the plurality of preset levels corresponds to a predetermined adjacent pair of segments of one of the first and second plurality of segments being detectable by the first and second optical sensors.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the each of the plurality of preset levels further corresponds to a predetermined number of times the predetermined ones of the first and second plurality of segments are detectable by the first and second optical sensors during a predetermined period of time.

17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the first plurality of segments are less reflective of light than the second plurality of segments.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the first plurality of segments are dark and the second plurality of segments are reflective.

19 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising operatively coupling a lace to the motor and to the structure, wherein operation of the motor is configured to increase and decrease tension on the lace, and wherein the property of the structure is related to a tightness of the structure in relation to the body part of the wearer.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of preset levels correspond to a plurality of different tension levels on the lace.