Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a smart shoe that is capable of generating electricity to recharge a battery from driving the electronic components of the shoes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Typically, several methods are used to measure the amount of energy expended by an individual during an walking. The most usual is for the person walking to keep a steady pace of work for a set amount of time. This results in an indirect measurement of the energy used by the person walking. Charting the length and intensity of the walking is manual and error-prone. Alternatively, one can use an instrumented machine to directly measure the amount of walking that has been done. This type of walking is limited by the configuration of the instrumented machine. These specialized machines are equipped with an on-board microprocessor to monitor a user's activities.

[0003] CN108021163B discloses a control method and a control device for an intelligent shoe and the intelligent shoe, wherein the method comprises the following steps: controlling at least one sensor arranged on the intelligent shoe to enter a working state; acquiring a sensing signal generated by the at least one sensor based on the foot behavior of the user; and controlling the intelligent shoe to execute target operation according to the sensing signal. According to the technical scheme, the intelligent shoe can be controlled to automatically execute the target operation through the foot behaviors of the user identified by the sensor, and the intelligent shoe is convenient and quick.

[0004] CN107753026B discloses a smart shoe adaptive monitoring method for spine and leg health, comprising: dividing the sole and/or the inside of the shoe into a plurality of preset areas, collecting the respective pressure data of the areas during walking by using a collection module, and recording the time data during collection; the acquisition module transmits the pressure data and the time data during acquisition to the analysis module; and the analysis module provides a motion state identification result by establishing an identification model which is perfect in self-adaptation according to the pressure data and the time data during collection. And performing sole pressure characteristic health assessment on the corresponding pressure characteristic population, the corresponding pressure characteristic healthy population and the corresponding population. The sole pressure distribution is automatically adjusted adaptively according to the comparison result of the individual crowd and the crowd so as to form a sole pressure model which is most suitable for the individual, so that the sole can be automatically adjusted to be the most comfortable and healthier sole pressure model for the individual, and the sole can be used as an input factor in the user portrait crowd to influence the initial sole pressure distribution of the crowd with the same characteristics.

[0005] Conventionally, many shoes have been mentioned in the prior arts, but still none of the existing shoes are capable of generating electricity to recharge a battery from driving the electronic components of the shoes or providing navigation to a user and providing proper ventilation to the user’s foot.

[0006] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, there is a requirement to develop a shoe that is capable of generating electricity to recharge a battery from driving the electronic components of the shoes or providing navigation to a user and providing proper ventilation to the user’s foot for increasing the comfort of the user while walking.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to develop a shoe that is capable of shoe capable of generating electricity to recharge a battery from driving the electronic components of the shoes.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to develop a shoe that is capable providing navigation to a user.

[0010] Yet another object of the present invention is to develop a system that is capable of providing proper ventilation to the user’s foot for increasing the comfort of the user while walking.

[0011] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention relates to a smart shoe, capable of recharging the battery integrated within the shoe by harnessing the force generated from the movement of the user wearing the shoes.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a smart shoe comprises a kinetic energy harvesting unit generates electrical energy based upon the movement of a user while the user is walking in order to recharge a rechargeable battery associated with the shoe, a temperature control unit i capable of regulating internal temperature of the shoe, based upon the external environmental conditions, a ventilation unit allows air flow within the shoe, thereby reducing accumulation of moisture and thus provide comfort in warm environmental conditions, an illumination unit emits light for improving visibility during low light conditions, and an AI-assisted module is capable of providing a directional guidance to the user via an audio unit based upon location of the user determined by a GPS module.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the shoe further comprises the kinetic energy harvesting unit is piezoelectric sensors that are embedded within sole portion of the shoe, the temperature control unit pertains to be a thermoelectric cooling module that adjust internal temperature of the shoe based upon external environmental temperature determined by external temperature sensors integrated within the shoes, the ventilation unit comprises of micro-perforations within shoe material and a small fan to enhance air circulation within the shoe, the illumination unit pertains to be an LED light and is controlled based upon the user’s movement determined by a motion sensor, the AI-assisted module is connected with user’s smartphone via a wireless communication unit, thereby enabling the user to change temperature, lighting and other features of the shoe and a haptic feedback unit creates a vibration to alert the user regarding navigation.

[0015] While the invention has been described and shown with particular reference to the preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that variations might be possible that would fall within the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of a smart shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] The following description includes the preferred best mode of one embodiment of the present invention. It will be clear from this description of the invention that the invention is not limited to these illustrated embodiments but that the invention also includes a variety of modifications and embodiments thereto. Therefore, the present description should be seen as illustrative and not limiting. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, it should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0018] In any embodiment described herein, the open-ended terms "comprising," "comprises,” and the like (which are synonymous with "including," "having” and "characterized by") may be replaced by the respective partially closed phrases "consisting essentially of," consists essentially of," and the like or the respective closed phrases "consisting of," "consists of, the like.

[0019] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” designate both the singular and the plural, unless expressly stated to designate the singular only.

[0020] The present invention relates to a smart shoe capable of generating electricity to recharge a battery from driving the electronic components of the shoes, which aids the user to travel in different places in comfortable and easy manner.

[0021] Referring to Figure 1, illustrates a block diagram of a smart shoe.

[0022] The present invention generally concerns a smart shoe for improving comfort, safety, and convenience for users by integrating various advanced technologies. It is an intelligent wearable device with an energy harvesting kinetic unit, a temperature control unit, a ventilation unit, an illumination unit, and an AI-assisted unit all integrated into one device to provide multi-functionality to the footwear.

[0023] This kinetic energy produced is utilized through a kinetic energy harvesting unit that may be integrally embedded within the shoe, particularly within the sole portion of the smart shoe, and converted into electrical energy. The kinetic energy conversion unit includes piezoelectric sensors placed in an appropriate strategic manner to capture the mechanical energy produced during the walking of a user. This electric energy is further utilized to recharge a rechargeable battery integrated within the smart shoe. The self-sustaining energy generation system enables the powering of the shoes without any external charging for a convenient and eco-friendly solution.

[0024] A temperature control unit integrated within the smart shoe maintains the internal temperature of the shoe with respect to external environmental conditions. The temperature control unit is basically a thermoelectric cooling module that adjusts the inside temperature of the shoe in accordance with data fed into the temperature sensors associated with or embedded in the shoe. This feature is very vital to users whose feet are swollen in cold regions, as it tries to regulate appropriate temperature inside the shoe for comfort and improvement of general foot health.

[0025] The smart shoe includes a ventilation unit to reduce the discomfort resulting from moisture accumulation and sweating, especially in hot regions. The ventilation unit comprises micro-perforation on the shoe material to facilitate natural airflow within the shoe. Moreover, it has a small fan driven by the rechargeable battery in it, which circulates cool air in order to keep the user's feet continuously dry and comfortable throughout the day.

[0026] The illumination unit will be located on the rear part of the smart shoe. It includes an LED light that can be powered by the rechargeable battery mentioned earlier. The illumination unit will increase visibility in case of limited light, like walking on the road at night. Inside the shoe, there is fitted a motion sensor which controls the LED light to turn on every time one is moving and off upon arrival at destination, hence promising safety without handling.

[0027] A feature included in the smart shoe is the AI-assisted module, giving the user some simple functions like direction instructions. It is integrated into the shoe, containing a GPS module that ascertains the location of a user. Then, using this location information, the AI module offers navigation to the user through audio provided in the audio unit integrated into the shoe. Similarly, the AI-assisted module is interfaced with the user's smartphone via a wireless communication unit. A user can thus program certain attributes of this shoe, such as temperature regulation and illumination adjustment, through their smartphone.

[0028] With a view of enhancing user experience further, the smart shoe is equipped with a haptic feedback unit that can provide certain tactical alerts to the user. This unit produces vibrations in the shoe for notification to the user regarding navigation instructions or other alerts provided by the AI-assisted module. The haptic feedback makes sure that critical information is conveyed to the user even while operating in noisy environments or when audio cues may easily be missed.

[0029] In brief, the smart shoe as realized in this invention integrates a number of state-of-the-art technologies for comprehensive footwear that self-adjusts based on variable environmental conditions, guaranteeing safety and interaction with users thanks to AI assistance and connection to smartphones. It integrates all-in-one smart shoes that include kinetic energy harvesting, temperature control, ventilation, illumination, and haptic feedback systems. Therefore, this smart shoe is unparalleled in the comfort, ease, and functionality promised by the smart shoe for its novelty and value addition in the footwear market.

[0030] Although the field of the invention has been described herein with limited reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention.
, Claims:We Claim:
1) A smart shoe, comprising:
a) a kinetic energy harvesting unit associated with said shoe, wherein said kinetic energy harvesting unit for generating electrical energy based upon the movement of a user while said user is walking in order to recharge a rechargeable battery associated with said shoe;
b) a temperature control unit integrated within said shoe, wherein said temperature control unit is capable of regulating internal temperature of said shoe, based upon the external environmental conditions;
c) a ventilation unit arranged within said shoe, wherein said ventilation unit allows air flow within said shoe, thereby reducing accumulation of moisture and thus provide comfort in warm environmental conditions;
d) an illumination unit arranged at rear portion of said shoe, wherein said illumination unit emits light for improving visibility during low light conditions; and
e) an AI-assisted module integrated within said shoe, wherein said module is capable of providing a directional guidance to said user via an audio unit based upon location of said user determined by a GPS module installed within said shoe.

2) The smart shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein, said kinetic energy harvesting unit comprises piezoelectric sensors that are embedded within sole portion of said shoe.

3) The smart shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said temperature control unit pertains to be a thermoelectric cooling module that adjust internal temperature of said shoe based upon external environmental temperature determined by external temperature sensors integrated within said shoes.

4) The smart shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ventilation unit comprises of micro-perforations within shoe material and a small fan that receives power from said battery to enhance air circulation within said shoe.

5) The smart shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said illumination unit pertains to be an LED light that receives power from said battery and is controlled based upon said user’s movement determined by a motion sensor integrated within said shoe.

6) The smart shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said AI-assisted module is connected with user’s smartphone via a wireless communication unit installed within said shoe, thereby enabling said user to change temperature, lighting and other features of said shoe.

7) The smart shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein a haptic feedback unit installed within said shoe that creates a vibration to alert said user regarding navigation instruction provided by said AI-assisted module.