Boa Technology Inc.

3m Innovative Properties Company

Sean T Cavanagh

Michael Joseph Nickel

Mark Stanley Soderberg

James Paul Goodman

Brett Vladika

Robert E Burns

Mark Kerns

Eric Craig Irwin

Kristopher C Lovett

James Alan Capra

Ilya Minkin

Andrea Cavanagh

David Dickensheets

Edward Leonard Weaver, Ii

Jesse Daniel Cotterman

Jeremy J Jacobs

Randon Kruse

Dominic J Julian

Christopher Converse

Adam Auell

John R Elrod

Sherry A Hinds

Beth E Gramza

William O'Dell

Beth Erin Gramza

Edward Leonard Weaver

Edward Leonard Ii Weaver

A lacing system configured to selectively adjust the size of an opening on an object and allow for the incremental release of the lace within the lacing system. The lacing system can have a reel that includes a housing, a spool supported by the housing, and a knob supported by the housing. The reel can be configured so that cable is gathered in the channel formed in the spool when the spool is rotated in a first direction relative to the housing, and so that cable can be incrementally released from the spool when the spool is rotated in a second direction relative to the housing.

Reel-based lacing system

According to an embodiment, a component for attachment to an article includes an upper component that is made of a thermoplastic material having a first melting temperature and a flange member that is molded onto the upper component and made of a thermoplastic elastomer material having a second melting temperature that is lower than the first melting temperature of the upper component. The flange member extends laterally from a bottom end of the upper component so that a bottom surface of the flange member is flush with or positioned axially below a bottom surface of the upper component. The melting temperature of the thermoplastic elastomer material enables the flange member to be directly coupled to the article via heat welding and the like without substantially affecting the upper component.

Guides and components for closure systems and methods therefor

A lacing system configured to selectively adjust the size of an opening on an object and allow for the incremental release of the lace within the lacing system. The lacing system can have a reel comprising a housing, a spool supported by the housing, and a knob supported by the housing. The reel can be configured so that cable is gathered in the channel formed in the spool when the spool is rotated in a first direction relative to the housing, and so that cable can be incrementally released from the spool when the spool is rotated in a second direction relative to the housing. In some embodiments, the reel can include a rotation limiter which can be configured to prevent over-tightening of the lacing system and/or to prevent rotation past the substantially fully loosened state.

Reel based lacing system

According to an embodiment, a device for tightening an article includes a housing having an interior region and a spool positioned within the interior region and rotatable relative thereto. A tightening mechanism is operably coupled with the spool to cause the spool to rotate within the interior region of the housing. A tension member is coupled with the spool and is configured to be tensioned upon rotation of the spool via the tightening mechanism. The device also includes a tension limiting mechanism that allows the tension member to be tensioned via the tightening mechanism until a tension threshold is achieved. After the tension threshold is achieved, further operation of the tightening mechanism does not substantially tension the tension member due to the tension limiting mechanism.

Tension limiting mechanisms for closure devices and methods therefor

The disclosure relates to medical braces having lacing systems for tightening of the medical braces. Some embodiments include multiple components of the lacing system integrated into a single housing piece. For example, multiple reels can be used to tighten different portions of the lacing system, and the multiple reels can be mounted onto a single housing. Also, multiple lace guides can be integrated into, or attached to, a single housing piece.

Braces using lacing systems

A reel based lacing system is configured to allow the incremental tightening of a lace about a spool by rotation of a knob in the tightening direction. In some embodiments, the system can include a substantially inflexible pawl beam configured to resist rotation of the knob in the loosening direction and a pawl spring configured to bias the pawl against the housing and to allow the pawl to be displaced away from the housing when the knob is rotated in the tightening direction.

Growing community of inventors

Golden, CO, United States of America

Sean T Cavanagh