Adjustable Footwear Sole With Inflatable Bladder
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Solution Overview
Problem
Athletic shoes often struggle to balance support and cushioning, leading to soreness, fatigue, and injuries due to inadequate cushioning and energy return, with existing solutions like pressurized fluid systems being expensive and prone to leakage, and the need for separate training and racing shoes being cumbersome and costly.
Innovation Solution
A sole design featuring an upper and lower sole member with an inflatable bladder between them, allowing adjustable inflation to change the sole's thickness, providing customizable cushioning from a deflated state for racing flats to an inflated state for training shoes, using a thermoplastic film and air pressure regulator for control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pressurized fluid systems are used for cushioning, then cushioning performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and leakage risk occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive pressurized fluid systems with a simple air-filled bladder that can be easily manufactured and replaced if needed. The bladder is a simple elastomeric chamber that can be produced at low cost compared to complex pressurized fluid systems, while still providing effective cushioning through air compression.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a pneumatic system (air-filled bladder) instead of a hydraulic system (pressurized fluid). The air bladder utilizes compressed air to provide cushioning, which eliminates the need for complex fluid pressure management systems while maintaining reliable cushioning performance through the compressibility of air.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single shoe is designed to serve both training and racing functions, then versatility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates an adjustable air bladder system that allows the shoe to dynamically change its cushioning properties. The user can inflate the bladder for training shoes (more cushioning) or deflate it for racing flats (less cushioning, lighter feel), enabling a single shoe to adapt to different functional requirements without complex mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of air volume in the bladder to adjust shoe performance. By varying the amount of air in the bladder, the shoe transitions between training and racing modes, providing versatility through simple parameter adjustment rather than complex structural changes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adjustable sole provides customizable cushioning and support, simulating both racing flats and training shoes in a single shoe, enhancing comfort and reducing the risk of injury by allowing the user to adjust the ride based on their needs.
Implementation Method 1
the formation of shoe soles that include springs, gels or foams such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or polyurethane (PU)... These devices attempt to enhance cushioning and energy return by transferring a pressurized fluid between the heel and forefoot areas of a shoe
Implementation Method 2
The at least one inflatable bladder has an inflated state and a deflated state. A distance between the upper sole member and the lower sole member is greater in the inflated state than the deflated state
Implementation Method 3
These devices attempt to enhance cushioning and energy return by transferring a pressurized fluid between the heel and forefoot areas of a shoe
Implementation Method 4
A cushioning device which contains air at ambient pressure provides several benefits over similar devices containing pressurized fluid. For example, generally a cushioning device which contains air at ambient pressure will not leak and lose air, because there is no pressure gradient in the resting state
Data Source
AI summary
An article of footwear has an upper and a sole. The sole has an upper sole member, a lower sole member, and at least one inflatable bladder disposed between the upper sole member and the lower sole member. The at least one inflatable bladder has an inflated state and a deflated state. A distance between the upper sole member and the lower sole member is greater in the inflated state than the deflated state. Varying the inflation of the inflatable bladder varies the amount of cushioning in the sole and the thickness of the sole so that the shoe can serve as a multipurpose shoe for activities requiring different amounts of cushioning, such as a training shoe and a racing flat.